Location and general information
Terminé
Access to Sport - 
Personal developmentContext
Due to its central geographic location and as a strong economic partner in Southeast Asia, Thailand is a regional hub for migrants as a place of origin, transit and destination. Tens of thousands of migrant children currently live in construction site camps in Thailand (Baan Dek and UNICEF, 2018). As their parents have come to Thailand to work, these children live in precarious temporary shelters with limited access to education, health or security. They are exposed to various forms of abuse, violence and neglect. None of them have the opportunity to escape from the slums and socialise with others, so they are forced to stay and play in unsafe surroundings with little stimulation or interaction with others. Their vulnerable situation means that they are at risk of being deprived of their basic rights. Moreover, the limited opportunities for socialisation and play mean that these children have no opportunity to just be children.
Project content
Baan Dek Foundation believes that football is a necessary component of childhood development, a fertile ground for learning essential skills such as teamwork, self-esteem, confidence, good sportsmanship and discipline. The Football4Good programme encourages positive peer relationships among children from different ethnic backgrounds through coaching, physical activity, the provision of quality sports equipment and by training the foundation’s staff in sports development. The programme also aims to promote gender equality by empowering marginalised girls and young women.
This year Baan Dek Foundation wants to go a step further by emphasising the development of community leadership through its new programme, Football4Good and youth empowerment. The idea is to train and empower youth peer educators to deliver regular football training sessions in the communities where they live. With an increased understanding of social issues and how to better promote values such as equality and tolerance, the youth peer educators will be able to act as role models for marginalised children and young people living in urban slums and construction site camps.
The youth peer educators will also have direct involvement in improvements to their living environment. They will work with Baan Dek Foundation staff to design and implement new football pitches, more child-safe spaces and other improvements to their communities’ physical infrastructure. This will give children living in their community the opportunities to benefit from safe areas in which to play football outside of training sessions.
In addition to providing football sessions for the community and during children’s school holidays, the foundation aims to inspire children to pursue sports and to create awareness of the benefits of sports for development by inviting local professional footballers to come and present their career at a local school.
Objectives
Football is a crucial multipurpose tool for social workers and can positively influence children in need of support at a very fundamental level. The Football4Good and youth empowerment programme aims to help connect marginalised communities through regular football sessions, as well as providing sports equipment for targeted vulnerable communities. Children and teenagers will develop motor skills, improve their levels of physical activity, have the chance to socialise with their peers and build new social relationships within communities where violence between various ethnic groups may sometimes be a daily occurrence. Furthermore, football teaches these children to become team players, to integrate into and socialise in a diverse group and to practice good sportsmanship. All of these benefits, in addition to simply providing a fun activity for the children, make football and sports education in general a primary focus for the foundation’s community programmes.
Project Activities
Football is a crucial multipurpose tool for social workers and can positively influence children in need of support at a very fundamental level. The Football4Good and youth empowerment programme aims to help connect marginalised communities through regular football sessions, as well as providing sports equipment for targeted vulnerable communities. Children and teenagers will develop motor skills, improve their levels of physical activity, have the chance to socialise with their peers and build new social relationships within communities where violence between various ethnic groups may sometimes be a daily occurrence. Furthermore, football teaches these children to become team players, to integrate into and socialise in a diverse group and to practice good sportsmanship. All of these benefits, in addition to simply providing a fun activity for the children, make football and sports education in general a primary focus for the foundation’s community programmes.
Expected results
- More than 100 football sessions a year held as part of Smile Holiday programmes and in marginalised communities.
- More than 400 children a year attending Smile Holidays and community Football4Good sessions.
- More than 3,500 attendees of Smile Holidays and community football sessions cumulatively.
- 150 girls and young women attending Smile Holidays and community football sessions.
- Seven communities where football, sports facilities and child-safe environments are improved and made accessible to children.
- 50 balls provided to communities and youth peer educators.
- 40 youth peer educators a year trained on the value of football.
Partners
