Speakers, including government officials, on Thursday, said that there was no alternative to building safe playgrounds for the mental development of children and youths.
They said this at a 鈥楽ports for Protection, Resilience and Transformation鈥� project learning sharing discussion, organised by聽 Breaking the Silence and Solidarity with the support of the Terre des hommes, at a hotel in Dhaka鈥檚 Gulshan.
Additional secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Md Salim Fakir, said that safe play was not only important for physical development but also for mental and social growth.
鈥楾hat鈥檚 why the ministry supports such initiatives and we will continue to try our best for the development of youths,鈥� he said.
SPIRIT project manager Surojit Kundu, who presented the project鈥檚 final evaluation report, said that the project created inclusive and safe spaces for sports, especially for children and youths affected by climate risks and displacement.
The three-year project was carried out in Baunia Bandh in Dhaka鈥檚 Pallabi area, and at Chilmari, Ulipur, and Sadar upazilas in Kurigram with an aim to help vulnerable children and youths build mental and social resilience by giving them opportunities to play in safe environments and prepare them for future challenges, he said.
According to the final report based on a survey of 399 participants, adolescent involvement in sports increased from 59 per cent to 95 per cent after participating in the SPIRIT project.
Access to safe sports opportunities increased from 31 per cent to 100 per cent in Dhaka, and from 59 per cent to 89 per cent in Kurigram鈥攎arking significant progress. Mental well-being, which was only 8 per cent at the beginning, also rose to 54 per cent by the end of the project, the report showed.
Parents participated in the event expressed their concern that with the project ending, children might return to mobile phone addiction and social isolation and urged the authorities to continue such initiatives permanently at school and union levels.
Forest Department deputy chief conservator Rakibul Hasan and Bangladesh Women Sports Federation secretary Feroza Karim Nelly were also present as special guests.
