Sophia Cole (IAFS ’16) is busy connecting sports, international affairs, and women’s programs. During her semester as an IAFS fellow for the annual Conference on World Affairs (CWA), she connected with Maggie Duncan Simbeye, the Executive Director of the Dare Women’s Foundation in Arusha, Tanzania. As an IAFS Fellow for CWA, Sophia helped organize the conference and served as a student ambassador assisting participants during CWA week. For Cole, being a student ambassador to Simbeye was a perfect match. “Immediately, we connected during one of the participant and volunteer meet-ups during CWA week,” says Cole.
The Dare Women’s Foundation is working to spread news about conservation, education, birth control, and nutritional value for women within and beyond Tanzania. Intrigued, Cole kept in close contact with Simbeye after the conference and shortly thereafter, they collaborated on an exciting program, the Dare Rugby Project.
“Rugby is a popular sport in Tanzania, but the opportunity for women to play is limited,” notes Cole. The Dare Rugby Project aims to assist young women in gaining self-discipline and self-confidence by participating. Cole explains: “Young women in Tanzania are faced with a great number of financial, physical, and psychological adversities. I hope that the game and its values will have a positive impact on the girls and the community.”
Cole credits her accomplishments as an IAFS fellow with CWA to her experiences with Simbeye and the Dare Rugby Project. What started as student involvement at CU-Boulder has evolved into a challenging project in Arusha, Tanzania, with Cole continuing her efforts for the project’s success as the Dare Rugby Project Director. Cole proudly says that “the Dare Rugby team is currently 22 girls strong” and the first team is scheduled to play a rugby match in the summer of 2015."