Former Mullumbimby High student Meisha Grant has returned to the Byron Shire after implementing her Netball Indonesia project with co-founder Rebecca Lambert.
‘The project has been very successful, and support both in Indonesia and Australia has been overwhelming,’ she said.
The project provides the opportunity for cross-cultural understanding, encourages young women to participate in sport, and provides a safe space for women to develop skills such as teamwork, leadership and self-confidence.
It was all about teaching netball in three high schools in Mataram Lombok with 12 Australian netball representatives visiting the participating schools and implementing a two-day intensive netball workshop.
It ended in a social competition between the participating schools and an Australia v Indonesia netball game.
Beyond expectations
At the beginning Adlini Ilmas Ghaisany Sjah, Netball Indonesia’s chief liaison officer, doubted the impact of the project because sport is not a major focus of Indonesia.
‘But over these last two months I’ve seen timid girls become more confident in their skills and not give up in the face of better opponents.
‘I’ve seen girls who just learnt the basics take the initiative in spreading what little info they have to other girls who were less sure. I’ve seen girls constantly encouraging each other to be better,’ she said.
Netball Indonesia is a newly developed project, supported by the Australia-Indonesia Institute through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), founded by Meisha Grant and Rebecca.
The website is www.netballindonesia.com.
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