Thondwe Youth Skills Development Organization (THOYODO) on Saturday 26^TH October, 2013 lived up to its billing when it launched the K200,000 THOYODO Challenge Trophy at St. Anthony Primary School ground to become the first organization to sponsor the biggest inter-schools competition in Zomba rural.

 

The tournament, which drew hundreds of students and football fans and will be competed for by eight schools, was launched with football and netball games between St. Anthony and Golgotta Primary Schools.

 

Speaking before kick-off, THOYODO’s Advocacy and Communications officer, Alexander Banda said the organization is committed to its quest to identify and promote, in rural areas,  youth with exceptional skills, talent and performance to enable them to realize their full potential.

 

‘’This tournament will run for five weeks and will end on 30^th November 2013’’, said Banda ‘’because we do not want to spend a lot of money on administration costs as is the case with most trophies. The money is for prizes and these will be given to the top five teams.’’

 

Leonard Matekenya, a teacher at St.Athony Girls primary school and chairman of sports patrons committee commended THOYODO for the good gesture. He observed that this was the first time a primary school team would get K35,000 as prize money in a tournament. ‘’We can not hesitate to call THOYODO Challenge Trophy the most prestigious trophy in our time because most competitions give our pupils very meager prizes like K3,000 for overall winners,’’ he said, adding that most organizers spend competition money on administration. ‘’They forget that it is the pupils who sweat on the field of play.’’

 

On his part, Executive Director of THOYODO, Andrew Ziya Tsamwa thanked Mr. Hastings Fukula Nyeka-nyeka, his friends within Malawi and in Diaspora for the timely support towards the initiative.

‘’We had initially planned for a trophy worth K50,000. But one Board member of the organization, Mr Nyeka-nyeka, in collaboration with well wishers have raised the stakes and the overall winners will now get ten times what they usually receive,’’ Tsamwa said.

 

The Director further said that THOYODO is not interested in football and netball only. ‘’Competition enhances performance and quality. We have observed that very few pupils from the rural areas are selected into government boarding secondary schools which have better facilities. It means they are not performing well during national examinations,’’ he pointed out and called upon well wishers to support their other programs.’’

 

He said they are organizing an Inter-schools Quiz competition to arrest that problem but needs sponsors to give out prizes to the best performing students and schools.

 

The THOYODO Challenge Trophy is an annual event and this times the competing schools are Msamba, Thondwe, St.Anthony, Likhubula, Makoka, St.Pius, Utwe and Golgotta.

 

At the end of the launching games, St.Anthony triumphed in both games whipping the underdogs 2-1 in football and 22-10 in netball.