The program currently has two main focuses.
On the one hand, the badminton section brings together between 250 and 300 youngsters from poor and underprivileged backgrounds, divided into 12 teams in Java and Sumatra in particular. Aged from 3 to 17, they play at their own pace and according to their desires, whether in “recreational” or professional teams. Some even take part in large-scale tournaments.
In September, they received a visit from Loris Dufay, coach of the French para badminton team at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. He had contacted Solibad, and went to Jakarta to help the program with the badminton part. He stayed for 15 days and turned their operations upside down. He raised a point that was missing from the youngsters' training: the question of strategy: it needs to be combined with physical, mental and technical skills, because simply repeating movements is not enough. You have to think about every stroke. Loris has begun passing on this knowledge to all the local coaches, who have benefited from this new expertise, with a real difference in their game.
Tom Navarre, another volunteer, was also in Jakarta at the same time. A good French badminton player, he too has been supporting the young Indonesians for several weeks, going from club to club. He gives badminton lessons to children, as well as academic classes. He's a great help to the association and will carry on the dynamism that Loris has brought.
The second center helps young people in very precarious situations. There are between 15 and 20 of them, aged between 14 and 25. The youngest are in secondary school, while the others are in high school or university. Thanks to Bintang Kidul, they benefit from full scholarships, accommodation, food, health care, as well as courses in English, mathematics and more. They live together, cook and do their homework as a group. There, the young people in the current cycle each follow their own passion, whether in IT, management, nursing, leatherwork, law or finance. They grow and develop to the full.
In short, Bintang Kidul offers them as normal a childhood and adolescence as possible, and they're very happy about it. Solibad supports this initiative by helping to finance it and sending badminton equipment. The association also provides human and organizational support, with a relationship of mutual trust between the teams in France and Indonesia.
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