UK Charity Number: 1145858
OUR HISTORY
The Trust was founded by Monica Thandi in 2010, when she first visited Uganda as a volunteer for the Tag Rugby Trust. She was coaching at the Army Boarding school, where the children often don’t leave the compound for months on end, if ever. One afternoon, after her rugby coaching sessions, she saw some girls playing netball with an old battered ball, made of carrier bags and string. Her instincts took over and she went to chat to them and to play. This then became a daily activity and Monica spent as much time with the netball girls as she did coaching tag! On returning home after that tour she was determined to go back the year after with netball volunteers and launch a similar programme.
Since then NDT became a charity (2012), we’ve worked in 5 countries (Uganda, India, Kenya, Pakistan and Ghana) and we’ve touched the lives of tens of thousands of people. And we’re proud.
When working with the Kenyan team in 2016, we worked with girls who had trained with us all week and weren’t taking part in the Friday tournament. Asking them “why” was the start of the rest of our history. “They were on their period”, came the reply.
“So what?” was our response. We’ve learned a lot since then.
Due to cultural taboos many intimate, sexual and personal conversations are not happening. Kids are not learning about their bodies, their feelings and their reactions. They’re talking about gender based violence or why teenage pregnancy isn’t right.
Most of our projects now overlap netball with an appropriate sexual health topic.
OUR VISION
“Using netball to educate, create opportunities and improve the health of the communities we serve.”
Working with each of our regional teams (Uganda, Kenya, Ghana) we have benefited from a time of reflection, learning, and sharing at the end of the strategic period 2017-2020.
Our beneficiaries are not just the young people on our projects, but the leaders, teachers, and volunteers we have all around the world working collectively to deliver the NDT vision. We also acknowledge the global challenge of mental health and will incorporate this alongside our focus on sexual health.
Our collective learning has modified the vision of 2017-20 to our new vision above.
“I am volunteer coach at Machakha primary school. I was first trained netball by the NDT UK volunteers in 2015. I have played netball for my secondary school up to regionals. I am happy to be coaching netball. We train the participants in netball and sexual and reproductive health.“
Shaulin Musanii, Kenya beneficiary coach
OUR MISSION
There are four pillars to our work and together they underpin how we will achieve our vision.
Pillar 1: Netball
Teaching and playing the game of netball to coaches and young people.
Pillar 2: Health Education
Delivering mental, physical, and sexual health education to empower young people to make better decisions.
Pillar 3: Opportunities
Offering life skills and positive pathways for everyone linked to NDT.
Pillar 4: Equality
Promoting gender equality across all aspects of our work.
OUR CORE BELIEFS AND VALUES
These have been designed collaboratively with our delivery teams (based in each project country) and Trustees. They underpin everything that NDT does and form the basis of our Code of Conduct. We expect everyone involved in NDT to live and work by these, and to challenge those who don’t.
We operate on the following core principles:
Every child has the right to play netball.
Having fun is integral to a healthy life.
Giving opportunities to people, through sport, to develop life skills will enable a positive impact in their communities.
Everyone should have access to information on their health and their human rights, allowing for a safe and happy life.
We operate using the following values:
Growth
Openness
Respect
Leadership
All trustees and volunteers will lead by example and demonstrate these values in their daily lives. As with the core beliefs, we should all expect to be challenged on them if we are not living by them.
UK CORE TEAM
MONICA THANDI
CEO, Founder and Trustee
“Setting up NDT has been a great way for me to share the amazing personal experiences and opportunities I have got from netball and help make a difference to other young people around the world”
WE'RE LOOKING FOR A FUNDRAISING VOLUNTEER
NDT relies on fundraising to deliver its mission and this role provides the structure and drive for that ongoing fundraising effort.
The priority is to establish an approach which aligns with the overall NDT strategy. This role will help us to think strategically and to set in motion a plan for future volunteers to follow
We are looking for an experienced fundraising professional who can commit several hours per month (or more if you can) to help NDT establish its new fundraising approach. It is an exciting opportunity and pivotal for this new strategic period and to steer the NDT team
INTERNATIONAL TEAMS
We are so lucky to have wonderful volunteers running our programmes in each project site. Some are netballers, some are teachers, some work for other organisations who are passionate to help us grow netball. Three such volunteers are Joseph Olita (Kenya national coordinator), Mary Papa Emoit (sanitary pad project coordinator) and Scarlette (volunteer with X-Suba in Jinja, Uganda). Hear their stories:
JOSEPH OLITA
Kenya National Manager
"Being a staff with NDT Kenya to me is a worthy way to spend my career in the service of others and NDT is a model charity that addresses the pressing needs of people at the grassroots so as to empower them with knowledge for life. I am grateful to God that through NDT I have the opportunity to change the fortunes of the people from our communities for the better."
OUR PARTNERS AND SUPPORTERS
ENGLAND NETBALL
England Netball generously support us through promotional work, offering us their young leaders as volunteers, and offer us space at various events to collect kit and promote our charity.
INTERNATIONAL NETBALL FEDERATION (INF)
NDT is supported by the International Netball Federation (INF), who has given us opportunities to be a part of events such as the World Netball Championships, Asian Netball Championships and World Netball Series – thereby providing us a platform to reach out to netball fans from around the world.
AKWAABA VOLUNTEERS
We started working with Akwaaba Volunteers in 2018, and haven't looked back. They are a charity with similar ideas and aims to us and we're privileged that the relationship is growing as well as it is.
The aim of Akwaaba Volunteers is to make a long term positive change to communities and the lives of disadvantaged children using projects to improve as many lives as possible whilst providing the opportunity for them to have great fun at the same time.
X-SUBA
We are very proud of our relationship with X-SUBA. They are a non-profit organisation working with vulnerable children in Jinja, Uganda. They provide their children with the tools they need to protect themselves from disease, and encourage them to attend and stay in school.
THE BIG YELLOW SELF STORAGE COMPANY
Netball Development Trust is delighted to be working with the Big Yellow Self Storage Company in Edmonton who are kindly supporting us with our most recent activity.
Big Yellow is the UK’s favourite self storage company and provides a range of secure storage rooms for homes and businesses which can be accessed seven days a week. Big Yellow has provided us with free storage space, allowing us a safe working environment to collect, store and sort through all of our donated items.
YOUTH OPPORTUNITY UGANDA
Netball Development Trust is fortunate to be able to work with Youth Opportunity Uganda. YOUganda is a USA Non Profit bringing hope to thousands of kids in Western Uganda through sports and the arts.
HARROD UK
Harrod UK are proud supporters of The Netball Development Trust’s amazing work around the world and wish the programmes continued success for the future. Harrods UK provide the Trust with goal posts and nets.
GILBERT NETBALL
Gilbert has consistently supported us with kit and equipment on our tours and we rely on them to provide us with bibs, netballs and other essential kit and equipment – no NDT tour is complete without Gilbert being part of it.
If you're interested in supporting us, we'd love to talk about the different ways we can work together