(CNN) US Olympian Daryl Homer paid a surprise visit to Senegal's state penitentiary to teach young offenders how to fence.
The Rio silver medalist coached juveniles and street children during his trip to the West African country.
"I grew up in the Bronx," said the two-time Olympic medalist. "But this was a totally different experience. It was my first time in a prison. It was my first time seeing young people in a prison. I started in a program that used fencing as means to give children opportunity, and to better their lives," he told CNN.
Orphaned street children and incarcerated youths aged 13 to 17 are being taught to fence in twice weekly classes in a program run by Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and partner ASE. They aim to rehabilitate and improve prisoners' self esteem by providing access to the sport.
Daryl Homer: Olympian teaches juveniles fencing
At 26, Daryl Homer has a place in history: the first American to win a silver medal within the men's individual sabre in 112 years at the 2016 Olympic Games.
Through informal training sessions, Homer hopes to inspire the next generation by supporting a historic grassroots initiative within Senegal.
The West African country is experimenting with a
new form of rehabilitation for juvenile prisoners and street children. They are taught fencing in twice weekly classes to learn how to follow rules and regulations.
It "offers them a unique way of experiencing incarceration differently," Hawa Ba, its program manger, told CNN in a previous interview.
Pictured: Street children being taught to fence.
Many juvenile inmates are there for petty or social crimes - a result of poverty. The country has a
child poverty issue with forced child labor and begging.
There's
an estimated 30,000 child beggars within the capital. Some of the fencing participants come from its children's shelter for former street kids. "Most of the children come from families who are in a very difficult situation economically," explains Ba. "We're just trying to get them out of the street.
Many who are part of the fencing program are orphans or former child beggars.
"Ultimately," said Homer, "I just hope the youth in the program are able to take tangible skills away from these experiences, and that continued exposure to the sport will lead to more opportunities."
Pictured: Child in a children's shelter
Organizers believe fencing is an effective method to engender determination and respect (both for themselves and others) amongst the children.
In an impassioned article for
The Huffington Post, Homer wrote, "our society praises winners but shares nothing about the hardship we overcome to win," highlighting the value of giving back.
Pictured: Photos of footballers on the wall of a children's shelter.
Homer's interest in fencing was sparked after reading a children's dictionary, which showed two men and the word fencing below it. His mother, having searched around enrolled him at the Peter Westbrook Foundation (PWF). He trained under fencing legend Yury Gelman, who agreed to coach him pro bono.
PWF's intake of students leans heavily towards inner city youths of black and Latino descent. Westbrook, a former Olympic saber fencer is of Japanese and African American heritage himself, and started the foundation on similar grounds of promoting diversity within the sport
Pictured: Sporting equipment line the wall of a fencing studio in Senegal.
One of the program's fencing trainers is a former juvenile prisoner, it's hoped overtime many more will become trainers once released.
"I've seen how 'play' and discipline can be connected seamlessly to help youth succeed in the real world," says Homer. He hopes to tutor more off-duty sessions.
Homer said he was inspired to fly to Senegal after reading about the program in a CNN article.
"Sport transcends language," he said "We talked about how sports can be empowering especially how analytical fencing is as a sport," he added. "You have to feel what your opponents are doing. A lot of it is feeling and thinking - it's a very controlled pressure."
Visiting the continent for the first time, Homer said: "It was a special moment to share my passion for the sport. The images I'd grown up with did not match the beauty I saw there," he told CNN.
For decades, Senegal has faced heavy criticism for the living conditions, overcrowding, and long pre-trial detentions inside its prisons, as well as the harsh judgments handed out for minor offenses.
Its prison population of children stands at 1780, according to a recent UN report. Many are there for social reasons -- orphaned or abandoned street children turning to petty crime through hunger or teenage girls who have had illegal abortions.
"The children are not the problem," program manager Hawa Ba, told CNN in an earlier interview. "It's something wrong with the system."
Fencing, they believe, shows another way. "It shows the children that they are not outcasts," says prison guard and fencing coach Fatoumata Sy. "That they are still part of the society, and that there are people here to support them."