GAM3 – Arabian Street Basketball Project: March 2007

Pictures from GAM3 Cairo

The day before the day 3 practice in Beirut, Simon og I were fortunate to be able to visit the GAM3 Zone Practice in Cairo. It was great to see the team of competent coaches in action and 88 participating kids. Have a look!

Pictures by the GAM3 Team.

The Third Day of Practice in Qas Qas, Beirut

The few days leading up to the third GAM3 practice had been dry and warm from the passing layer of dust that’s been hovering over Beirut, depositing a thin layer of grime on all parked cars and patio furniture left out, exposed to the elements. This Sunday’s workout however, was as bright and clear as the first true day of spring should be: the perfect morning for GAM3 Founding Partner’s Martin and Simon to visit Beirut, and a perfect day for basketball.

Due to the seasonal time change, a few coaches, children, and volunteers (including myself), were late to the practice, none-the-less the basketball drills and games went off without a hitch. Gone were the sectarian chants that we had heard from the ten year old boys on the first day, in fact, full court 5-on-5 games were played without any conflict or injuries what-so-ever, and when the under-privileged GAM3 youth weren’t dribbling basketballs and attempting lay-ups, they were enjoying the hip-hop beats throbbing from the speakers set up around the courts.

It’s not every day that children from varying walks of Lebanese society (Druze, Sunni, Shia, and Maronite Catholic just to name a few) can get together under the banner of “good sportsmanship” and “team work,” disregarding the usual sectarian issues that have divided this country for decades.

The neighborhood of Qas Qas, which GAM3 has chosen as the center for practices and games, holds a special significance. Not only does this area sit in the middle of a divided Sunni and Shia area, but more specifically, during the opposition rally held in December, an Amal supporter was shot and killed here, sparking a series of violent acts between proponents of the pro-government stance and those who side with the opposition. We hope through the lessons learned from team sports, these children will grow up with an ability to look at the other kids not just as Druze and Maronite, . . . but as Lebanese, just like themselves.

GAM3 Practice in Cairo

Cairo, the city of millions, is facing the GAM3 challenge from Friday the 9th of March. In the hot sun and under the supervision of local coaches 30 kids have started their way to a GAM3 season.

Street kids and orphans with a smile on their faces and a basketball in their hand, is an image of a successful start for GAM3- ASBP. Dribbling along with instructions from our pro-Coaches headed by Hassan. The two-hour training was site of fulfilment as happy was the word to imply. Despite of the great Egyptian routine and the issues we faced to launch our GAM3 start all was up to our expectations of happy kids on happy feet on the basketball court.

Kids in orange and blue, GAM3 Zone II, the sun was hiding in another happy day for the kids, that's more kids...from around the Zone area came along to join the training some in their flip flops some in their shoes.

Smiles fill the cloudy skies as we had a wonderful Zone with food and colour in our truck!! With more drills we could see the progress of the kids and their determination to Get GAM3.

The Daily Star shines on GAM3

Things are looking bright for the start up of the GAM3 Season in The Middle East. A little more than a week ago the only English written newspaper in Lebanon - The Daily Star - could report that the long deadlock in Lebanese politics are now easing up. Here on the GAM3 Team we were getting a bit worried after the break out of street violence at the end of January this year in Beirut. But with the milder political winds the tense situation now seems to be evaporating with the coming of the spring.

Readers of the Daily Star this weekend (and blog readers like you) had the chance of getting an insight to what the GAM3 project will bring to the kids of Beirut. In the article you can read the following statements:

"We want to open up the opportunity for people who wouldn't be able to [play basketball] through the help of their parents or school" Mac McClenahan (GAM3 Project Manager, Beiut)

"That's the important thing for me. They're [Palestinian kids] going to go outside the camp and meet Lebanese kids. If you want to have a good Lebanon, you have to have good relations." Ahmed Iskandar (Leader of Palestinian Boy Scout Organization)

Read the full article here from The Daily Star 10/03/07

http://www.GAM3.dk
http://www.myspace.com/mygam3

GAM3 in the Middle East!!

Welcome to the blog for GAM3 in the Middle East. Thanks for droppin' by!

This blog will primarily be written by Waleed Aly Ibrahim, who's the project manager for GAM3 in Cairo. Joining Waleed occassionally will be Mac McClenahan from GAM3 in Beirut and Simon Prahm from GAM3 in Copenhagen.

If you don't know, GAM3 is a street basketball-oriented social project. And it is pronounced ["game"] - nothing tricky about that! :-)

Here's some pictures from the research trip we did a few months ago.