I&M Bank Foundation partners with Shamas Rugby Foundation on Life Skills Development for Youth

Mr. Sarit Raja-Shah, I&M Bank Foundation Trustee, and Mr. Azim Deen, Shamas Rugby Foundation Founder signing the MOUI&M Bank Foundation has launched its partnership with Shamas Rugby Foundation by sponsoring the Take Control Program to reach 1,500 young people from 5 informal settlements and rural areas in Nairobi and Kiambu County. The Shamas Rugby Foundation uses rugby sport as a platform to develop young people and instill off the rugby pitch life skills focusing on character building through mentorship, counseling, and community welfare programs.The Take Control Program is tailored to engage young people through rugby sports and help them to develop into holistic people. We are living in a multifaceted world with new different challenges facing different generations. The majority of the young people that the Shamas Foundation is working with are faced with various challenges that limit their endeavors to achieve quality life to an extent of being detrimental to their development, leading to poor decision-making skills and the arising of mental health issues.The I&M Bank Foundation is keen on changing the educational outcomes and achieving a holistic person through its Education and Skills Development pillar which resonates with the Take Control Program initiative. In line with the sustainable development goals, developing a holistic person is a societal goal to tap on in shaping young people’s lives for themselves and for generations to come.I&M Bank has supported Shamas Rugby Foundation since 2013 in the areas of education, counseling, mental health, and boosting their rugby teams.Rugby teaches us:**“Your biggest enemy isn’t someone else, it’s the ache in your lungs; it’s the burning in your legs; it’s the voice inside your head that yells CAN’T… but you don’t listen, you just push harder and then you hear the voice whisper CAN and you discover that the person you thought you were is no match for the person you really are”**The lessons we are providing to the young people through the Take Control Program is a lesson for all of us; *“… the person you thought you were is no match for the person you really are”***** … So let’s change our *CAN’Ts***** to *CANs ***this** year.