The Clarisse Machanguana Foundation already has solid figures and wants to expand its horizons. Plans include a multifunctional academy that, in addition to sport, will include professional skills, promoting education and emancipation.
The Foundation is named after its creator, Clarisse Machanguana, the first Mozambican to play in the WNBA, a professional women’s basketball league in the United States (between 1999-2002), the most competitive in the world. The organisation was born in 2014 and has used sport to create opportunities for young people throughout the country. A new stage is coming. The former player announced her intention to open a multifunctional academy in the district of Marracuene, Maputo province, on a one hectare site. The project’s ambition includes more areas of activity than just sport.
What do you want to achieve with the academy?
We usually do our activities in public schools. Some schools don’t have the infrastructure, they just have a sandpit. So, as we are an organisation that uses sport to emancipate young people, we need a space to implement these activities, where we can have coaches prepared to continue empowering the boys and girls. We also prioritise contact with the children’s parents: they take part in our programmes so that they understand what we are doing and become part of the change in behaviour that we want to bring to young people. This is essentially why we need an academy, not to mention a place to teach subjects we want to focus on. This will be our future academy.
Who are the Foundation’s partners in this idea?
Our main partner is MozaBanco. But there are other partners of the Clarisse Machanguana Foundation that have nothing to do with the multifunctional academy project. These include the US Embassy, ExxonMobil, the WNBA (US women’s basketball league), the Canadian Embassy and Agility. Although we already have these partners, we are still looking for the support of large companies to strengthen us as a foundation and to strengthen the multifunctional academy project.

How will the academy contribute to job creation?
Firstly, at least 50 to 60 people would be employed through the creation and operation of the academy. Secondly, indirectly, it will provide opportunities for suppliers of goods and services who will guarantee us the means to run the academy: sports, academic, technological and audiovisual equipment, among others. Thirdly, those who benefit directly are the young trainees. Fourthly, there are the teachers, coaches and administrative staff. Finally, we have to consider the talents that will come out of the academy.
“Four young people have already left the academy to train in the USA and Europe. I think we’ve created a credible movement that shows that young people have a lot of desire…”
What kind of professional or technical skills will be offered to make it easier for young people to enter the labour market?
When we have the academy, we’re going to provide materials related to the subjects that will be taught, whether it’s computers, machines for working on mechanics or electricity, everything related to the courses we’re going to teach. But I have to admit that it’s very difficult to make promises in a country like ours, where tomorrow I could die and the Foundation could go bankrupt. So you have to be very careful what you say, because the future is uncertain. The important thing is that there is a dream and we’re going to run, we’re going to do everything we can to realise it.
The foundation’s interventions place a lot of emphasis on female emancipation, through computers offered to girls in schools, for example. What do you want to change with this intervention?
We live in a society where girls are not prioritised. The boy comes first, then the girl. When parents think about their children’s jobs, they put the boy first and then the girl. So we’re trying to instil the notion of gender equality, in other words, to educate girls to believe that they can do most of the jobs that a man can do. To do this, we have to prepare her, not just mentally, but by offering her a proper education.
Since the foundation was set up in December 2014, what have been the biggest milestones achieved?
We’ve worked in several schools across the country, interacting with at least 20,000 children in all of them. Four of them have gone on to train in the United States and Europe. But above all, I believe that we have created a credible movement that shows that young people are very keen to develop their skills. We’ve also created opportunities for coaches, through clinics that improve teaching practices. We do the same for younger referees to improve their ability to work.
And what have been the big challenges?
I’ll give you an example: we were doing very well before Covid-19, but when the pandemic started, everything came to a standstill, because those who support our initiatives are mostly foreigners and when they leave, everything stops. In other words, we’re not sustainable. The second example is the recent post-election political tension, in which the organisations that support us are starting to become reluctant.
Generally speaking, I would say that everyone who takes part in a programme like ours should be aware that these are opportunities to benefit children, not to respond to personal challenges. Often programmes are run with teachers or coaches who have salary difficulties, transport problems and other barriers to activities. That’s what needs to change.
How do you see the future of the Foundation and its influence?
I look at the Foundation with optimism. We’ve made some very important and high-profile partnerships, such as the link with the WNBA, which shows that we’re a serious organisation that deserves the embrace of an organisation like that. We’ve also done it with ExxonMobil, an international organisation. And we have a partnership with MozaBanco, which also has a significant national presence. We continue to work towards other partnerships and I believe we have taken very important steps that demonstrate the seriousness of our work.
Text: Celso Chambisso – Photo: D.R