So one rather significant omission from my last blog was a proper explanation of what I am actually doing. Well, this summer I am off to Zambia to work for Sport in Action, a Zambian NGO providing sporting opportunities to young Zambians. In addition to this, SIA runs education and food programmes across the country; changing lives positively through sport.

Of course, all of this requires financial support to sustain and develop. So one of my roles in Zambia will be to develop relationships with corporate bodies in Zambia in order to secure funding for these programmes. Whilst there are relationships already in place, I will be developing these as well as identifying new companies to speak to; thereby replicating some of my work for the London 2012 Games. This will include setting up meetings, developing contracts, working out fees and potential returns on investment and, crucially, ensuring that it is sustainable after I leave.

In preparation for this work in Zambia, whilst in the UK I have been developing the plan of action for my 10 weeks in Zambia, for instance liaising with the leadership team at SIA in order to hit the ground running and working with The Perfect Day Foundation (http://www.theperfectdayfoundation.org/) team both on fundraising and communications activities. I have been duly warned that, amongst other unfamiliar challenges in Zambia, I will have to reset my expectations when it comes to punctuality and so the more I can establish and set up before I arrive, the more chance of success I will have when I am there.

For all of this, I am truly grateful for the support of the Vodafone Foundation which has allowed me to focus on these activities in the last two months. This has allowed funds to be raised during this time for TPDF which will go towards supporting SIA and other initiatives that they support as well as helping to raise the profile of the work with the people that I will be working with once I arrive in Zambia. Intriguingly, it has also specifically led to some potential interest from and ideas for working with technology organisations.

And as a result I now have a plan for week 1 in Zambia which includes: meeting the team at SIA; visiting the Olympic Youth Development Centre; and visiting the Fountain of Hope orphanage; amongst other things. It’s very exciting to have plans established, all of which is making me even more excited about my impending work.

My life has been positively changed by sport and I look forward to helping others benefit similarly.

Posted in 2013

Published by Mark Scholey

After a successful fourteen year career in business, predominantly in the business of sport, I retrained as a teacher. I am currently a Head of Prep and Vice-Chair of a Multi Academy Trust. As a hard working and ambitious person with a passion for learning, I love working with and leading children and staff. I use my experiences and skills to inspire and ensure the academic, extra-curricular and pastoral development of each individual.

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