Nafasi Rugby is an Australian registered, ‘Sport for Development’ charitable organisation which uses the values and life skills enhanced through playing rugby as a vehicle for impacting youth in disadvantaged parts of East Africa.
Nafasi, which is the Swahili word for space (opportunity), aims to provide advancement opportunities to local youth, communities and partners in the region.
It encourages participation and learning connections to be made between playing the game and critical life skills.
It also identifies and develops youth rugby talent through world-class training, education and character-building.
Critical to the fulfillment of our mission, Nafasi promotes the following core values in all of its programs.
David Alagna
Founder & CEO
We are a team of rugby loving Australians and East Africans who all recognise the game’s potential to create opportunities.
With eighteen years experience in education and rugby development, a period of which was spent coaching professionally in Kenya, and qualifications in Long Term Athlete Development and Talent Identification, David brings an understanding of the development continuum needed to ensure our aspiring athletes can realise their potential. He also uses this experience to ensure the projects fulfill their mission.
Phillip is arguably the best current player in East Africa. He started playing rugby relatively younger than most East Africans at age eight thanks to the involvement of some dedicated Ugandan coaches. He spearheads both the national 7’s and 15’s sides and, as a current professional player in France with Bourges Rugby Club, he understands first-hand the opportunities that the game provides.
Eddie is an enthusiastic rugby coach based in Melbourne. Having played rugby in Australia for 15yrs and grown up in East Africa (Kenya), he is conversant with both worlds and brings his cultural and contextual
understanding to assist in shaping the vision of the organisation.
Greg is a former professional coach who assisted Fiji at both the 2007 and 2011 Rugby World Cups and was forwards coach at the Waratahs. He is co-founder of Career HQ and the Final Whistle, two career guidance platforms. His understanding of athlete pathways and connections within the rugby fraternity is a great help.
Mike is a professional coach who has worked at the Sunnybank club in Queensland as well as in Kenya and Europe. He is well respected in the rugby fraternity and his connections to various East African stakeholders and awareness of the cultural context is of invaluable assistance.
John is a successful lawyer with over forty years experience. In this time, he has devoted himself to doing pro–bono legal work acting as director of Calvary Hospital for six years and a board member of Waverley College for ten years. He has also worked for Barnardos and Catholic Aged Care and advises Men of League on legal matters.
Luke Jacob has been a practising accountant for twenty years and is the Managing Director of Apaust Australia, an accountancy firm in Sydney. He has previously volunteered as a treasurer for the GPS rugby club in Brisbane as well as serving in the same role for Eastern Suburbs Juniors Rugby.
Whilst participating in rugby activities, life skills are taught to primary and high school aged children during weekend and holiday rugby clinics. The incidental learning arising from playing the game is used to teach the life skills. To ensure the skills taught are relevant, Nafasi uses empirical research to identify key community development priorities for post-conflict.
Talent identified and means tested students gain access to elite level rugby coaching, academic enhancement, character building and soft skills training and post curricular employment and tertiary opportunities. As part of this program, the students receive accommodation, food and medical care.
Mentored by highly qualified international and local rugby coaches, a comprehensive coaching development program up-skills local coaches technical knowledge. In recognition of the multiple roles beyond the field our coaches have in terms of educator, mentor and role model, they also receive intensive life skills mentorship training.
All our programs are underpinned by our locally tailored curriculum. The NDC is grounded in current educational, community development and rugby coaching pedagogy, covering the following key areas: life skills and character building, coaching practice and and coping skills and social integration into the community. It provides an operational framework to support the current Schooling Curriculum in Uganda and address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In conjunction with international partnerships, we provide technical support to local educational and sporting organisations looking to adopt elements of the NDC.
By working together with other local implementing partners, we are able to increase the scale and impact of our programs in a sustainable and efficient way. Technical support often includes: training delivery, monitoring and evaluation, curriculum development and project design support.
Nafasi Rugby is an Australian registered charitable organisation. ABN 65613022977