Laureus-supported project member completes Olympic torchbearing run
Nottingham, July 4, 2012
All summer, thousands of people across the United Kingdom have gathered to watch the Olympic torch as it journeys through their cities and towns. And in the past few days, it was the turn of one lucky young sports lover, a Laureus-supported project member, to show the people of Nottingham the iconic flame.
Tumaini (pictured above during his run), a participant of the International Inspiration project in his home country of Tanzania, had been chosen from many other young sports lovers to journey to the UK to represent his country as an official Olympic torchbearer.
International Inspiration is the international London 2012 legacy programme, encouraging youngsters worldwide to get involved in sports. And Tumaini was joined by some of his fellow International Inspiration project members from across the globe who were all taking part together last Thursday.
Laureus.com caught up with Tumaini following his run, and it was clear it had been an experience he would never forget.
He said: “It was great, getting [this opportunity] is like a miracle. At first I was nervous, but when I started carrying it my nerves went away and I started being very happy. It has inspired me a lot.”
And having spoken to Tumaini (below), it is clear that this isn’t the first time he has been inspired by the world of sport.
In fact, having started taking part in the Laureus-supported project in Tanzania, sport has not only helped change his own life for the better, but other people’s around him as well.
Tumaini told us that having begun activities at the project “I started knowing the advantages of games, especially the ability to build positive attitudes. Through that idea I started building those attitudes amongst my friends.”
He did this in a very specific way.
“I started solving conflicts at my school,” he tells us, referring to animosity between older and younger classes, “I didn’t like the situation, so I just arranged a [football] match. I mixed them [both classes] up… and after I told them… ‘let’s leave the grievances behind’. After playing the match, there were no more.”
Tumaini is a brilliant example of how sport can help young people work toward making the world around them a better place.
And in the future, he tells us, he intends on doing even more: “I am interested in getting involved with young people after my studies. I want to help tackle problems in Tanzania, like drugs abuse, through sport.”
Find out more about the ongoing legacy work of London 2012 here and keep an eye on @LaureusSport for more news on young people making a positive change through sport.
