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A Sweet Cry from the Stellenbosch Valley: “I want to win Wimbledon!”

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Tanzania gets its Tennis Colours

From its beginning in South Africa, the Tennis World Foundation (TWF) project is now being developed in Tanzania, as well. A few days ago, we had told you about the promising partnership with a primary school in Arusha, a city not that far from Kilimanjaro, whose authorities understood the potential and intentions of TWF.

Today, we can confirm about a very exciting moment: materials’ arrival for eight-year-olds who will be part of the program.

A simple 41-second movie warms the heart: you can see dozens of children, who are not part of any school, lined up in perfect order, and listening carefully to the words of an instructor and answering in chorus, displaying lively enthusiasm.

They are all wearing the Foundation t-shirt: it's beautiful, white in colour with the word "Love" and a stylized tennis ball in place of the "O". Apart from the t-shirt’s interactive graphic, an important message is conveyed through the simple word. Not only does TWF aim to improve the children’s tennis-playing abilities but its main goal is to share joy, happiness and – indeed – love with so many children who would not have any such opportunity, otherwise.

“Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.” ―Vivian Greene

Everyone also wears a hat: if, it is a habit for us at times to wear one, in Sub-Saharan Africa it is a necessary tool to protect oneself from the sun’s heat.

Observing the children’s enthusiasm for the newly-received material provides two-fold happiness. Not only does it help open their eyes to what should have been life’s priorities but for us, it fills our heart with happiness. It also reminds us of how certain things that are taken for granted in the opulent western world are not the same elsewhere. Like, for us, getting a new t-shirt is almost trivial. For those children, it is the best moment of the week, perhaps even of the month, and a topic of discussion when they return to their respective homes.

The Tanzanian project is aimed at helping 140 children, and is of a three-month duration. A few who display best talent among these numbers (anywhere between 24 to 32) will participate in a more competitive course that will be of a six-month duration. All this has been made possible thanks to TWF’s commitment and, of course, because of offers and donations of enthusiasts from all over the world.

It’s easy to donate, too through The TAB Tennis Foundation initiative. It has been active for some days now: it is a very simple tool to use. Just install the extension and every time, you open a new tab on your browser, a small gift reaches the foundation. The extraordinary aspect is that this activity does not cost anything for those who do so, yet it contributes in making the world a better place.

Up to now, TWF has helped around 600 children, but we do not want to stop there. Your help is essential to see more and more movies like this. Movies that improve the day of those who see them.

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My story related to South Africa

Hi, my name is Federico Coppini, founder of the international Tennis World Publishing group. As you can hear from my accent, I am Italian … but I have fallen in love with Africa and spend most of time in a small city called Stellenbosch, just north of Cape Town, in South Africa. During my time here, I have come to understand what devastating poverty looks like, and what touches me the most are the children in these poor communities. 

I knew that I had to do something, and started offering tennis coaching in the Kayamandi Township, which is a predominantly black and severely impoverished area. The interest in my coaching started growing and I set out to try and understand why these children were so keen to join. What I realised was simply that playing tennis made them happy and they were drawn to me, as a safe and constructive adult influence in their lives. This lead me to start the Tennis World Foundation, in order to reach more children in this way.

What started off as me spending my spare time coaching vulnerable children, has grown into a formal foundation that uses tennis as a tool to reach and strengthen children emotionally, physically and mentally.

Have you ever asked yourself the question, ‘why do I love tennis?’ I have, and by asking this simple question, I came to the realisation, that picking up a racket gives me a rush of good feelings and a way to test and grow myself. I also love the fact that I belong to a community of tennis players. This is exactly why the children in our programme love tennis.

Through tennis we are able to reach and offer traumatised children a way to process their feelings, achieve personal growth and most of all, to have a safe space where caring adults can help and guide them. Children that live in dangerous places often join gangs as a way of to protect themselves. By being part of a tennis team, they can replace this need by joining a team of mates that understand each other, look out for each other and experience an alternative way of seeing themselves. In a world where children have virtually no access to support, they come into our programme to find safety, belonging and caring adults.

Our programme has been widely accepted and welcomed by schools and community care organisations, to such an extent, that I am here today to ask for your help, to make the foundations reach wider and deeper.

There is a saying in Africa that: “it take a village to raise a child” and today I am speaking to the global tennis ‘village’, asking for your support to help reach and contribute to raising children that are stronger and happier.

Currently with my own finances I have managed to help (with an annual program) 600 children. My goal is to reach, at the end of 2020, three thousand children! I need help from you ... I don't want to ask you for money, but simply using TENNIS FOUNDATION TAB Use it and spread it to all your friends ... everywhere! Really if you want to help this is a simple way, free and that requires ZERO time! It's all automatic!

Please visit our website for more information on or programme, and how you can get involved.

www.tennisworldfoundation.com

Visit our pages and follow them - Facebook - Twitter - Youtube - Instagram - Gruppo su Telegram  

THANKS FOR ALL

Federico Coppini

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Tennis World Foundation Lands In Tanzania. It all starts with 140 children.

A famous Italian song begins with a phrase that has now become part of the collective imagination: “In the Black Continent, at the foot of Kilimanjaro.” We do not know if Edoardo Vianello has ever been there, but Tennis World Foundation has, as they have extended their philanthropic efforts to this charming corner of Africa in the north east of Tanzania, not too far from the Kenyan border. To be more precise, Federico Coppini’s Foundation has started working in Arusha, a stone's throw from the Arusha National Park and not too far from the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro National Park.

In this quiet region there is an elementary school, which was founded in 1975 and is managed by Amani Palangyo Epaphras. He has embraced the Tennis World Foundation, excited by its initiatives which have already seen tremendous results in South Africa.

Coppini, an Italian transplanted to Africa and in love with the continent, has finally fulfilled his dream of expanding into a new nation, and believes Arusha is the ideal place to start.

It’s a very large school, with over 900 children (477 girls and 468 boys). Of these, 140 are involved in the very first Tennis World Foundation project.

RELATED: Raise money for charity every time you open a new tab in the browser. It's very easy to use! And free for you but a gift for the purpose you care about. Whenever you open a tab, help the world be a better place.

The financial resources needed to pay the teachers and subsidize transport is already in place, as are funds to supply t-shirts, caps, rackets and nets. Balls have already arrived in Arusha (not those used by adults, but ones suitable for children under the age of 10).

The initial phase of the project involves third grade children and will last three months. Of course, it does not end here: 24 (or 32) children will be selected to continue for the next six months, playing tennis in the afternoons and giving a more competitive spirit to their activity. The dream – also supported by Epaphras – is to train a tennis professional.

Dreaming is beautiful, but it is equally important to have concrete objectives. Coppini’s dreams were born in Kayamandi, a poor district of Stellenbosch in South Africa. A player and coach himself, he soon found success in his endeavours with the young children, and wanted to expand his activities. He realized that playing tennis made them happy and that he could have a positive influence in their lives.

What initially was a hobby in his free time quickly turned into a massive commitment with his foundation. He aims to help children grow emotionally, physically and mentally, and believes that tennis is a wonderful tool to achieve these goals.

“I realized that tennis gives me a wonderful feeling, it makes me grow and I like to belong to a community. And I discovered these are the same reasons why children love being part of it.”

With tennis, kids grow up in a safe space and are led by adults who can guide them in a positive way. They will therefore not risk running into gangs or other troublemakers, as so often happens for youngsters in tough circumstances. The Tennis World Foundation has been met with great enthusiasm by all the schools and organizations with which it plans to work.

The project has started, but now the time has come to expand it. With its resources, TWF helps around 600 children, but the goal is to multiply them quickly. For this reason it is important to obtain any kind of support for a project of high human value and (crucial) very transparent. For this reason, an initiative has been launched at no cost to anyone, but fundamental for the Tennis World Foundation: the instructions to join the initiative (very simple) can be found at www.tabtennisfoundation.org: in a nutshell, installing the app, every time you open a tab in your browser you provide a contribution (totally at no cost) for Tennis World Foundation and its exciting initiatives.

In Africa, on the other hand, there is a saying that it takes a village to raise a child. Right now, TWF is turning to the immense tennis "village" to wrest many children from poverty and contribute to the development of strong and happy human beings.

“No matter what kind of challenges or difficulties or painful situations you go through in your life, we all have something deep within us that we can reach down and find the inner strength to get through them.” ―Alana Stewart

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Tennis World Foundation: Wonderful Results From The Boland Wilson Masters

The following phrase from Mother Teresa of Calcutta resonates with all of the staff of the Tennis World Foundation: “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

The hope of making a real difference animates our foundation, and to that end we are all extremely happy for the first successes of a project that is making great strides every day.

Two boys from the Tennis World Foundation have realized their first significant results. The event was the Boland Wilson Masters, and it took place in picturesque Stellebosch. Oyama Fikiso, who competed in the Under-12 category, won all of his matches! Oyama is personally accompanied by Tennis World’s Federico Coppini to every tournament, including those organized by TSA (the South African Tennis Federation). At the moment, Oyama is ranked number 212 in the country, but has already showed tremendous promise and made enormous strides in improving his game. The goal is to help him fulfil his potential so that he can be best tennis player he can be! By heeding Mother Teresa’s words and putting all of his passion into tennis, the sky is certainly the limit for this young man.

Oyama, however, was not the only TWF player to achieve significant results.

At the Stellenbosch Masters Ayabulela Qeqe, who is 17 years old and loves tennis, placed fourth in the Open category, a brilliant achievement indeed. Like Oyama, he has excellent skills and has improved greatly in recent months.

Thanks to the support of the Tennis World Foundation, they can try to cultivate a dream. Both Oyama and Ayabulela use the Twf's full time of services, which provide them with everything necessary to play: racquet, stringings, shoes, clothing and - - essential - - accompanying to the tournaments. Because It is good to be coached professionally in training, but the presence of skilled coaches in the tournaments is crucial to accompanying the children in their growth, by verifying progress when it really matters: during the tournaments.

The Tennis World Foundation is tremendously proud of introducing the wonderful world of tennis to these boys and others like them.

Without the Foundation, they may never have had the opportunity to pursue these opportunities, and we look forward to many more stories like theirs in years to come!

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FUNDRAISING IKHAYA PRIMARY SCHOOL in Kayamandi (Stellenbosch) South Africa

Even though the meaning has been lost over the years, the South African townships keep looking dismal, lived mainly by black people. Kayamandi, located just outside Stellenbosch, is the second oldest township in South Africa and has quite a fascinating history: its development happened over the course of decades to cope with the living needs of workers coming from Eastern Cape.

With time, a nice community has risen, united and warm. Still, poverty is a major issue in the area and children are especially affected by it.

Visiting Kayamandi, you come across the Ikhaya primary school. Its principal Thulani Nofemele has a big passion and humanity. The school has become a reference point and serves more than 2000 kids. 

The project of the Tennis World Foundation focused on a group of 250 children from the third grade. 

Pinkie Yoliswa is in charge of sports training and she firmly believes that sport is essential when it comes to education. In the school, there’s also a tennis court, now abandoned, which needs some intervention to be ready for use again. 

Tennis World Foundation identified important possibilities within this school and would like to intervene having in mind two clear goals: offer their development program for children and fix the tennis court.

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TENNIS WORLD FOUNDATION - A COURSE FOR 35 KIDS IN KAYAMANDI

South Africa is a country with a strong tennis tradition but all the best players from the country (including the most recent, Kevin Anderson) have come from the upper class.

Even though the apartheid ended several years ago, it still takes time to see the changes in the long term. It’s within this context, that the Tennis World Foundation (TWF) organized a great event in partnership with Kingdom DNA.

This partnership came natural, given that Kingdom DNA is a non-profit organization that supports children in the area, especially in Kayamandi, a 25.000 people suburb in the Stellenbosch area, not too far from Cape Town. During the event, a coaching workshop was held, in addition to a donation of tennis equipment. 35 kids from different levels took part in the event, starting from amateurs to baby tennis players. Seven coaches - both professionals and volunteers - took care of the kids.

What happened in Kayamandi is fully in line with the mission of the Tennis World Foundation: involve kids who otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to play tennis.

Before the arrival of the TWF, the group had been training under the guidance of Kingdom DNA, although a desperate need of help and support is now requested in order to allow the most promising kids to keep playing tennis.

Just to give a better idea, right now there is no tennis court to play. Training sessions take place on a multi-functional court where a net has been added to allow them to play. There’s no further need to say how important it is to give equipment and the chance to access tournaments in order to challenge other players and assess their current level, helping them understand what needs to be improved.

Whoever wants to help, supporting this group of baby tennis players, can do it starting from here.

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WE RAISE 500 dollars

Thanks to everyone who is using TAB TENNIS (www.tabtennisfoundation.org).

With your help we raised $ 500!

With TAB TENNIS you help Tennis World Foundation to help more and more children through tennis.

It's really simple to use .... it's free! A small gesture that really can change things.

If you want to contribute too ... use TAB TENNIS.

Those who are already using it ... can share it to all your friends

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Tennis can be such an extraordinary vehicle for human and personal growth

In addition to providing a unique service, available in several languages, for all tennis fans all over the world, Tennis World wants to do more. A non-profit organization, the Tennis World Foundation, has recently been created, thanks to the collaboration and support of all our tennis websites. The TWF aims to bring tennis where only few people have the chance to play and - who knows - discover rising stars that may be play in the future in professional tennis

Tennis is a wonderful sport. Being able to love it is, however, a privilege not anyone can afford. We are in the heart of the 21st century but the world is still burdened by inequalities, poverty and injustice. Sport is an extraordinary way of bringing people together and can play a key role to help build a better world, but we need to have the courage to overcome the laziness created by wealth in today’s society. That is something not granted for those who have a roof above their heads, food and the chance to cultivate their own hobbies. Having the opportunity to do something big, together with the huge love for tennis, is what drives Tennis World Foundation, a non-profit organization with a wonderful goal, better than a Grand Slam title or a Davis Cup Trophy: give a tennis racket to those children who otherwise would not have a chance to play the sport we all love. Nowadays, there are still too many places where children are not even allowed the right to dream, but where all they can hope for is just to survive one more day. Several research projects have shown that poverty often leads to collateral damages including alcohol and drug abuse, risky sexual behaviors. This happens first and foremost because there is a complete lack of recreational and sports facilities. Children go to school but parents can afford them no more than that. In such a complicated environment, where the potential is however very high, Tennis World Foundation aims to play a key role, with the aim of taking tennis where children don’t stand a chance to even hold a racket, like primary school and orphanages. Tennis can be such an extraordinary vehicle for human and personal growth. Together with its partners, TWF is currently developing a programme that wants to support the growth and development of these little human beings.

Tennis particularly fits this process because it develops several qualities including education, leadership and social skills. Actually, tennis is more than a sport, it’s a tool to help them develop what they will need in their life: discipline, resilience and fairness. This is the primary goal of the TWF, as well as finding also emerging talents and giving them the chance to keep playing and - who knows - start a career in professional tennis. To sum up, the goals we hope to achieve are the following:

* Take tennis as an extracurricular activity to places where it never arrived

* Form high-level trainers and teachers

* Offer children an additional chance to develop useful skills for their everyday life

* Identify potential talents

TWF ideal partners should be collaborating with tennis institutions at different levels, from local to international, including also companies who cover commercial aspects. In addition to that, a collaboration with governmental organizations and media representatives would be desirable. This is a brave and innovative project, in which it is really important to believe. Several VIPs, including tennis players, have launched over these years commendable initiatives, starting their own foundation. However, in the majority of these cases, the purpose - noble as it is - is mainly connected to education. Tennis World Foundation, on the other hand, aims to put tennis at the heart of the project. Through our beloved sport, it is possible to raise better people, more involved in our society as well as contribute to the creation of a better world. And that is the only way to discover a new talent, a new story that may be told in a future, hopefully, not so distant.