Africa Tennis Connect (ATC), in partnership with the Rotary Club of Accra-South, is rolling out a two-day community engagement programme this August under the theme “Using Sports to Simulate Change Where Language Fails.” The initiative seeks to position sport as a powerful tool for leadership development, emotional resilience, and cross-cultural healing, particularly in communities where formal systems may not fully empower young people.
The programme kicks off with a Kids Tennis & Dance Clinic on Friday, August 22, 2025, at the LEKMA 2 Cluster of Schools in Ledzokuku. More than 100 students from six public schools will participate in beginner-friendly tennis drills, group dance sessions, creative team-building games, and emotional intelligence workshops. The activities are designed to simulate real-life lessons in cooperation, resilience, and adaptability.
A highlight of the day will be a student-led mural session, where learners, alongside artists and volunteers, will co-create public artworks across the school compound. These murals will reflect identity, aspiration, and community pride, leaving behind a lasting legacy of resilience and collective strength.
The second activity, a private stakeholder dialogue, will be held on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, at SAF Studios in Adabraka. This fireside-style session will gather diaspora professionals, development leaders, health experts, creatives, and funders to explore sport’s potential to drive systems change and build youth-led community connections.
Two leading sports personalities are at the centre of the initiative. Naa Shika Adu, professional tennis player, certified international coach, and president of Africa Tennis Connect Foundation, emphasised the power of sports to transform lives. “Sports can do what speeches cannot, and it enters the body and stays in the heart,” she said, highlighting how sport teaches resilience, leadership, and courage.
Joining her is Eckow Amoako, popularly known as Clock, a basketball player, skill enhancement coach, and graphic designer. As a physically challenged sportsman, he has broken barriers within Ghana’s basketball community and beyond, inspiring others with his message that “anything is possible when pursued wholeheartedly.”
This collaboration between Africa Tennis Connect and the Rotary Club of Accra-South aims to create more than a moment—it seeks to build a movement that speaks where words fall short, using sport as a catalyst for empowerment, purpose, and community transformation.