Haiti is one of 135 countries in which BWF’s Shuttle Time School Programme was implemented since its launch seven years ago.
Having suffered a setback with a devastating earthquake in 2010, which severely damaged its infrastructure and economy, Haiti has attempted to bounce back. Like many organisations that have used sport to help in recovery, the Federation Haitienne de Badminton has used Shuttle Time to involve children in badminton since 2014 and is enthused by the response.
Diane Delorier, General Secretary of Federation Haitienne de Badminton, speaks about the journey of Shuttle Time in Haiti:
In the years since the implementation of BWF Shuttle Time in 2014, Haitian badminton has grown considerably. Several new Shuttle Time teachers and tutors have been trained and the number of badminton trainees has increased dramatically. Thanks to the Shuttle Time programme, badminton has increasingly become a popular sport in Haiti.
The BWF Shuttle Time programme has had a positive impact on young people and schoolchildren. Since the implementation of the programme in Haiti, young people have taken up badminton enthusiastically, they considered badminton as the ideal sport that can allow them to develop their intelligence and to get closer to each other. School children show a great desire to play badminton, their love for this sport is immeasurable.
The Haitian Badminton Federation aims to work towards the integration of badminton in schools in Port-au-Prince and provincial cities by setting up training courses for PE and sports instructors working in schools and agents interested in teaching badminton.
The response of children, teachers and coaches has been more or less favourable. But we must especially note in their comments the lack of equipment such as racket, net, shuttlecock, lack of sports infrastructure, insufficient financial support, etc.
