Rangers International Football Club Foundation says it will partner with Cope and Live Mental Health Awareness Foundation on schools quiz and debate competition on mental health to check substance abuse in sports.
The Chairman of the foundation, Coach Ebere Amaraizu, said this at the weekend when the management Cope and Live Mental Health Awareness Foundation, an NGO, paid him a courtesy call in his office in Enugu.
Amaraizu described the ongoing nationwide schools quiz and debate competition by the NGO as ‘a right step in the right direction’.
“The ongoing nationwide schools quiz and debate competition will help to deepen the knowledge of children and young people among others on mental health, positive coping, emotional resilience and management for general well being.
“We join other partners to express our profound regards to the management team of Cope and Live Mental Health Awareness Foundation for this initiative aimed at deepening mental health awareness and education among persons across Nigerian communities.
“For us at Rangers Foundation, this is one of strategic action plans to help educate the populace on mental health and negative emotions in line with the realisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS 3 Good Health and Well Being).
“Rangers Foundation wants children and young sports athletes to get involved because of the holistic nature of mental health awareness and its positive futuristic outcome for sports development and the society at large,” he said.
Amaraizu noted that Rangers Foundation would keep partnering with groups to educate children, young persons and others on the dangers of negative emotions on mental health and how it affects an individual especially in sports.
According to him, through the partnership with NGOs and groups we can remedy and manage any such negative emotions for positive outcomes at the end and getting the sports athlete rehabilitated.
Earlier, Executive Director of the NGO, Rev. Chukwudiebube Nwachukwu, said that the nationwide school quiz and debate competition was in line with the cardinal objectives of the foundation.
Nwachukwu said, “Our cardinal objective in Cope and Live Mental Health Awareness Foundation is to educate members of the public on the effect of negative emotions on mental health as well as the way out.
“The initiative is in line with the foundation’s education framework to bring up children with sound physique, learning and character in order to build positive adults in the near future.”
It would be recalled that the NGO had kick-started the nationwide school competitions under her Students-to-Students (S2S) Initiative.
The competition was meant to equip children and young persons with basic knowledge about mental health, self awareness, emotions and consequences of negative emotions on mental health and how they can be managed.
