Grupo Desportivo de Manica

GDM is a sport and recreation club that was founded in 1980 by the community of Manica, in the province of Manica, Mozambique. In a time of brutal civil war; ordinary people expressed their need for social cohesion, hope and a belief that life under the Mozambican sun can be good.

26 Years later, the very same club, crippled by overbearing poverty and socio-economic challenges still held fast to their dream. Their building was dilapidated, but their pride and belief in a better life remained. And so in 2006 they partnered with the University of Johannesburg to start ‘operation reclaim the dream’: a dream of a holistic club that use sport, specifically football to facilitate social change.

The mission of GDM is to create an integrated community club that uses sport for social good. The club is an inclusive hub which provides infrastructure and relationships that facilitate change. Specifically, the club’s objective’s include to: 

  • Promote social inclusion and integration (vibrant civil society)
  • Provide a wide variety of positive opportunities for youths to be involved in (participation)
  • Promote gender equality (Mozambique at grass-root level is still very paternalistic)
  • Promote skills-transfer (entrepreneurship, sport, life-skills, financial literacy, etc)
  • Provide sustainable infrastructure (social hub)
  • Promote physical health and safe places (including HIV/AIDS and violence/crime free environments)
GDM also partners with other local organizations, including the Anda Orphanage, in Manica, Mozambique.