Accelerating Social Change Through Sports: A Collaboration Between Africa Tennis Connect and Rotary Club of Accra South
Africa Tennis Connect (ATC), in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Accra-South, is set to roll out a transformative, two-day community engagement programme this August. Under the theme “Using Sports to Simulate Change Where Language Fails”, the initiative reimagines sport as a vehicle for leadership development, emotional resilience, and cross-cultural healing, especially in communities where formal language, policy, and structures often fail to reach or empower young people.
The engagement activities begin with a Kids Tennis & Dance Clinic on Friday, August 22 2025, at the LEKMA 2 Cluster of Schools in Ledzokuku, where over 100 students from six public schools will take part in a vibrant, full-day youth activation. Activities will include beginner-friendly tennis drills, group dance sessions, creative team-building games, and emotional intelligence workshops, all designed to simulate real-life experiences such as pressure, cooperation, failure, and bounce-back in a safe, joyful, and culturally relevant format. A major highlight of the day will be a large-scale, student-led mural session in which learners supported by local artists and volunteers will co-create and complete public artworks across the school compound. These murals will reflect themes of identity, aspiration, and community pride, transforming the school space and leaving behind a lasting, visible legacy of resilience and collective strength.
The next activity, scheduled on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, is a private stakeholder dialogue session to be hosted at the SAF Studios in Adabraka. The session will bring together diaspora professionals, development leaders, health experts, creatives, and funders in an intimate fireside-style conversation. Participants will explore sport’s unique potential to drive systems change, unlock agency, and foster community connection in youth-led environments. Rather than scripted speeches, the dialogue will encourage open exchange and challenge guests to reframe how they measure impact and build partnerships that honour lived experience.
At the core of this initiative are two personalities who have made exceptional strides in their respective sports. Naa Shika Adu, a professional tennis player, certified international coach, and president of the Africa Tennis Connect Foundation, has long believed in the transformational power of sport, particularly for girls and under-represented youth.
According to Naa Shika, “sports can do what speeches cannot, and it enters the body and stays in the heart. It teaches kids how to move through fear, how to stand tall after falling, and how to lead without needing permission. When a child picks up a racket, they are not just learning how to play, they are learning how to live with intention, balance, and courage.”
Joining her is Eckow Amoako, widely recognized as Clock within Ghana’s basketball fraternity and the broader sporting community. Amoako is a multifaceted professional; a basketball player, skill enhancement coach, and graphic designer. As a physically challenged sportsman with a deep passion for basketball, Amoako continues to break barriers and defy odds, exemplifying resilience and determination. Through his journey, he seeks to inspire the next generation with the powerful message that anything is possible when pursued wholeheartedly.
This collaboration between Africa Tennis Connect and the Rotary Club of Accra-South is more than a moment, it is a movement that speaks where words fall short and leads with purpose, play, and community.
