The International Table Tennis Foundation (ITTF) through Table Tennis Dream Building Fund powered by GSD funded ICODI with a Table Tennis for Development (TT4D) grant to implement a project titled “Using Table Tennis Sport Based Approach as a Tool to Improve on the Mental Health among Adolescents and Youth in Nakivale Refugee Settlement and Surrounding Host Communities in Isingiro District-South Western Uganda” The project focused on using table tennis sport as a tool to improve on the mental health among 600 vulnerable and most at risk refugee and non-refugee adolescents and youth in Nakivale Refugee Settlement and the rural host communities.
The project used Table Tennis sport alongside using buffering hypothesis and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to raise awareness and reduce stigma related to adolescents’ and youth mental illnesses and also support early detection of mental health problems as well as strengthening referral services for those with mental illnesses to access care and treatment.
Buffering hypothesis is theory holding that the presence of a social support system helps buffer or shield individuals from the negative impact or stressful events and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a psycho-social intervention that aims to improve mental health issues among people. The project also trained 80 young table tennis sports coaches involving an equal number of female and male adolescents and youth in order to promote gender equality and also promote young girls into table tennis sports programing. The implementation of this project led to improved physical and mental health among targeted adolescents and youth, promoted equal participation of female and male adolescents and youth in table tennis sports programming, promoted peace of mind and increased resilience among adolescents and youth populations, improved on communication and life skills among refugee adolescents and youth and finally it lead to increased knowledge of table tennis for mental health among teachers and administrators from primary and secondary schools.
