We, Zambia Japan Handball Exchange Project (ZIKOMO Project) is a voluntary group which is forging capable people in Africa and Japan through sports and personal exchange.
Where we are
Lusaka, Zambia
Secretariat
New York, USA
Project Head office
Tokyo, Japan
Coordination office
Message from the founder
The population of Japan will continue to decrease. The population of Africa will continue to grow. The population pyramid is the exact opposite. Know-how and money flow from top to bottom. Labor and raw materials flow from bottom to top. Japan is top and Africa is bottom. This project started with an awareness of the question of whether handball could be a catalyst for this trend.
Not only the field of sports, but capable people development is also a critical issue in the world. Especially in Africa, it is an urgent issue. Low productivity normalizes low incomes. With a little training and income-earning opportunities, people strive to increase their income. In this point, external mechanisms such as capable people development and opportunity creation will be needed.
If there is an opportunity to visit Japan, it will be a motivation to advance their career. Perhaps there will be opportunities such as studying abroad.
Focusing on individual growth, accumulating experience, and building life skills through capable people development opens the possibilities of their lives. In the future, we may be able to produce players who can play in European leagues through experience in Japan as a one of step. It is not just a dream. It has the potential to make their dreams come true.
It is possible to find athletes from Southern African countries, not only Zambia, but train also them in Japan and then play in Europe. Eventually they replicate their experience into children in their home countries when they come back.
Based on the above hypothesis, when we derived the method from the purpose of capable people development and creation of opportunities, we concluded that what we would like to do and what benefit to the society is to contribute internationally through Handball.
In 2016, as the Zambia Handball Team visited in Tokyo Japan, the Zambia Japan Handball Exchange Project has started.
Zambia Japan Handball Exchange Project “ZIKOMO Project”
Founder Tashiro Seiji