Youngsters in Doramba, Nepal, are getting the chance to play sports that have never been available to them before, thanks to the implementation of Game On! Youth Sports.

Game On!, a program of the International Alliance For Youth Sports (IAYS), works with local governments and recreation departments to create opportunities for youngsters to play sports. The program has been successful across the globe in countries such as Mexico, Zambia, Dominica and Trinidad and Tobago, among others.

IAYS Asia-Pacific regional representative Dan Bahadur Ghising is planning to institute Game On! in three local schools. “These schools are located in very remote villages where they don’t even have electricity,” said Ghising. “They deserve lots of help from us.”

With the help of IAYS’ Global Gear Drive, an initiative of IAYS that ensures underprivileged children around the world receive much-needed sports equipment, these children will receive that help. The Global Gear Drive was created by the Alliance to collect new and used youth sports equipment that is distributed to children in poverty-stricken regions of the world.

Ghising and his staff are currently preparing to run clinics on volleyball, football, and general athletics.

“I am going to distribute t-shirts that have the Game On! logo on it,” he said.

Many serious issues are affecting Asia-Pacific today, such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the sudden rising of child obesity statistics.

Educating youngsters through youth sports is a productive way to reach them and combat these issues.