Location and general information
Access to Sport - 
Conflict victims - 
Gender Equality - 
Healthy lifestyle - 
Personal developmentContext
Bossaso, a rapidly growing city in the state of Puntland, Somalia, hosts over 250,000 internally displaced people (IDP). They have fled conflict, humanitarian crises and the worsening effects of climate change. Most of them live in poor, overcrowded camps with limited access to services. Women and girls face some of the most severe and alarming forms of gender-based violence, including rape, sexual harassment, domestic violence, child abuse, early and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation or cutting.
Somali girls, particularly those from the marginalised IDP community in Bossaso, face significant barriers to participating in sport, which is still widely seen as the preserve of men. This exclusion deprives girls of the benefits that sport offers and reinforces harmful societal norms that silence their voices, limit their visibility and perpetuate gender inequality. The lack of inclusive, girl-centred programmes and safe, supportive opportunities further compounds their marginalisation, stifling their potential and curbing their development.
Project goals
- Create safe and inclusive access to football for displaced and marginalised girls
- Strengthen girls’ physical, emotional and mental well-being
- Promote girls’ confidence, leadership, teamwork and active participation in sport
- Train and empower 12 young women as community-based sport coaches and peer mentors and establish safe play areas
- Raise awareness of girls’ rights, menstrual health, prevention of gender-based violence and inclusion of displaced and marginalised girls in sport
Project content
- Safe, structured football and mentorship sessions for 300 displaced girls across six IDP settlements in Bossaso led by trained female coaches, integrating physical activity with psychosocial support, mental health promotion and rights-based education
- Training for 12 young women from IDP communities to become football coaches and peer mentors, including modules on gender inclusion, children’s rights and safeguarding
- Six inclusive, safe play areas within selected IDP camps
- Four quarterly awareness-raising sessions, in person and online, each reaching 100 participants – including parents, elders and girls – to discuss gender-based violence, child protection, menstrual health and girls’ participation in sport and foster supportive community environments
- Annual Girls Play for Change festival, bringing together over 150 girls, families and stakeholders to showcase and celebrate girls’ talents, build solidarity and advocate for inclusive sport and the protection of all girls
Partner
