Ensuring Continued Access to Education for Afghan Girls

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Afghanistan
Start date 01/01/2024
End date 01/31/2025
Cost of the project €701,644
Foundation funding €25,000
Project identifier 20230601
Partners Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan (CW4WAfghan)
Categories Gender Equality

Context

Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, more than 80 decrees have been issued that restrict Afghan women and girls’ rights, including a ban on the right to learn. This is an alarming violation of fundamental human rights and poses a grave threat to the progress, prosperity and well-being of the nation.

By leveraging technology, this project aims to bridge the educational gap and empower Afghan girls – both those who remain in the country and those who have been displaced – through access to high-quality learning materials and educational opportunities.

Project goals

  • Increased access to secondary education for out-of-school female Afghan students
  • Professional development and employment opportunities for Afghan women, enabling them to continue teaching virtually, whether in Afghanistan or in exile
  • Access to free, high-quality resources in Afghan languages so that students can further their education, educators can continue their careers and families can instil a love of reading in their children

Project content

The Darakht-e Danesh (DD) Academi is a collection of virtual educational tools that allow Afghan women and girls who have been cut off from conventional education to access high-quality educational resources and reach their full potential.

It consists of three virtual strands:

  • DD Library: a free repository of more than 7,000 resources on 127 different subjects in nine languages (including minority Afghan languages). With UEFA’s support, CW4WAfghan will be able to develop, translate and include new resources on nutrition, sport, inclusion, gender equity and healthy living.
  • DD Classroom: a live virtual secondary school for Afghan girls in grades 7 to 12, providing an internationally recognised qualification upon graduation. In 2024, this will be expanded to Afghan students living in neighbouring regions such as Pakistan and Tajikistan. The teachers hired are all qualified, and priority is given to out-of-work female teachers who have been denied employment in Afghanistan. All students based in Afghanistan receive ‘learning plus baskets’ (educational materials and nutritious food staples for their whole family).
  • DD Courses: professional development for educators, including DD Classroom teachers. Educators can complete a variety of online trainings, at their own pace, on a variety of topics, including virtual teaching, basic computer and digital literacy, English for beginners, an introduction to trauma, and creating gender-responsive learning environments.

Partners

Her Voice. Her Choice.

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Nepal, Lumbini Province
Start date 03/01/2024
End date 02/28/2025
Cost of the project €120,000
Foundation funding €25,000
Project identifier 20230020
Partners Atoot
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

In rural villages of southern Nepal, women and girls have no voice and are effectively excluded from life. Girls are isolated in their communities and given no decision-making power. From birth, they are expected to be nether seen nor heard, and to obey the boys and men. Their sole purpose is to become wives, mothers and homemakers.

There is an urgent need for safe, empowering spaces for these marginalised girls facing intergenerational inequalities, discrimination and injustice. The following problems in particular need addressing:

  • Child marriage: Kapilvastu district has one of the highest rates of child marriage in Nepal. 62% of girls get married between the ages of 10 and 19. The national average is 41% (Nepal Census, 2011).
  • Gender-based violence: Kapilvastu has one of the highest rates of gender discrimination and gender-based violence in the country (Nepal Census, 2011).
  • Early school dropouts: Girls’ need for education is systematically ignored and school dropouts are rampant among girls aged 11 to 14 (UNICEF). They work in servitude to their families, preparing to serve their future husband and his family.
  • Dowry system: Although it is illegal in Nepal, the dowry system is one of the most pressing issues facing girls in Kapilvastu. From birth, a girl child is seen as a burden and a liability due to the high price of dowries and, although unreported, female foeticide/infanticide is common.
  • Girls have no voice: Girls are isolated in their communities and given no decision-making power. They have no say in their own lives.

Project goals

  • Help girls break out of the vicious cycles that trap them, enabling them to make their own life choices
  • Provide multiple platforms for girls who have never had a voice to gain confidence and form empowering relationships
  • Create multiple safe spaces where girls can come together in a progressive environment to play, learn, and surround themselves with positive peers

Project content

  • Football sessions: Atoot conducts football sessions five times a week. These inclusive sessions give girls an opportunity to play sport and to meet, connect with and learn from their peers in a fun, encouraging and thought-provoking environment. The sessions focus not only on football skills but on a plethora of soft skills, offering an empowering safe space in which to be bold, take chances and gain mental, physical and emotional strength together. Girls learn about self-worth, leadership, conflict resolution, fair play, teamwork, time management, taking responsibility for themselves and their team-mates, and holistic, long-term capacity building.
  • Educational classes: Atoot organises extra classes in English, Nepali and arts & crafts five times a week to supplement the girls' studies at understaffed, often poorly taught public schools. The classes are specially designed to cater to children with different levels of literacy and continuous in-class assessments are conducted to help Atoot staff tailor the lessons to the girls’ needs. The educational classes and football sessions are intertwined, so that the girls can practise what they encounter in the classroom and on the pitch. They learn literacy, awareness, language skills, overall comprehension and alternative ways of thinking in a fun, caring and nurturing environment, increasing their educational capacity exponentially, which then encourages their families to give them more opportunities and keep them out of childhood marriage.
  • Life skills workshops: Atoot conducts life-skills workshops two to three times a week on various personal, cultural and societal issues directly affecting the project beneficiaries, as identified in discussions with the girls themselves. Topics include the girl child, gender-based violence, child marriage, human trafficking, savings, children’s rights, female empowerment, hygiene, environmental issues, etc. By broaching topics otherwise not discussed or taught in schools, families or the community, the girls bolster their capacity to break down norms ingrained in the local society.
  • Community engagement: Regular community engagement builds trust within communities and helps raise awareness and promote advocacy around the grave social and societal issues affecting the girls. We ensure that local voices are heard and opinions are valued, promoting greater acceptance in the community.

Partner

Football for All

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Vietnam
Start date 01/01/2024
End date 12/31/2024
Cost of the project €59,165
Foundation funding €48,306
Project identifier 20230184
Partners Football Association of Norway/Football for All in Vietnam (NFF/FFAV)
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Men and boys enjoy a sociocultural advantage among many of Vietnam’s ethnic minorities, while girls – expected to grow up to be wives and mothers – are often deprived of education, forced into early marriage and given few opportunities. Despite national laws and international conventions prohibiting it, child marriage remains a widespread phenomenon in Vietnam, particularly in rural areas. Although the practice is in decline, it was estimated as recently as 2019 that 14% of women in the country had been married before their 18th birthday.

Moreover, boys benefit from a cultural preference for males rooted in customary laws and practices, such as the belief that only men can perform ancestral rites. Children see themselves and their roles and relationships through the lens of socially constructed gender norms, which directly affects their own attitudes and behaviour.

In the Quảng Tri and Cao Bằng provinces, football is perceived as being only for boys, which is a form of gender discrimination that excludes girls and limits their opportunities.

Project goals

To raise awareness of gender rights, foster equitable practices among ethnic minority groups, empower women and girls, and equip them with leadership and life skills by supporting their equal participation in a football and life skills programme.

Project content

  • Set up 15 grassroots football clubs in Quảng Tri and 15 in Cao Bằng, replicating the FFAV model developed in Hà Giang. FFAV uses football to challenge stereotypes, promote gender equality and provide all children with an enabling environment by developing school-based clubs where equal participation of girls and boys is mandatory. Training sessions are held once or twice a week and, in parallel, girls are mentored by Women Win in Goal facilitators who teach them about economic empowerment, leadership, gender rights and reproductive health. This life skills programme helps to build girls’ self-esteem and gives them positive role models and trusted women to turn to for support.
    • Train teachers, volunteers, parents and other interested locals in coaching and refereeing, as well as teaching them how to attract participants and make their clubs fun, safe and inclusive. The training takes place over four days and is delivered by the Vietnam Football Federation using its grassroots coaching manual.
    • Train female teachers as Women Win in Goal facilitators in a three-day course delivered by FFAV’s key facilitators.
  • Continue to provide technical support and football equipment to the 30 football clubs in Hà Giang province.
  • Organise 30 Fun Football Festivals where both boys and girls can play football matches as well as games teaching life skills that they might have not experienced before. These festivals are also an opportunity to promote the clubs, attract supporters and volunteers and introduce the life skills campaign to more people.
  • Hold two internal evaluation and planning workshops for all clubs using a participatory approach, whereby coaches and Women Win in Goal facilitators evaluate their club’s activities, share experiences and learn best practices. The outcomes will be documented in a final report used for advocacy and to inform the activity plan for the coming years.

Partner

Preserving children’s well-being in displacement camps in Yemen through play and sport

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Yemen
Start date 11/01/2023
End date 10/31/2024
Cost of the project €96,840
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier 20230339
Partners Medair
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

After nine years of conflict, more than 60% of its population depends on vital humanitarian aid. People are forced to flee, sometimes far from friends and family. As many as 4.4 million people, including 1.8 million children, live in displacement camps all over the country. Life in these camps is marked by extreme distress and precariousness, which has a negative impact on well-being and mental health, especially of children who are the most vulnerable.

Project goals

Improving and preserving the well-being and mental health of children living in two displacement camps, through sport and play activities.

 

Project content

  • Improving playing areas for children aged 0 to 6. We run sessions focused on mother-child interactions through activities, and develop positive parenting and stress management to provide caregivers with the tools and knowledge to stimulate early child development.
  • Establishing and running sports and recreational activities for children aged 7 to 13 to promote psychosocial well-being, a sense of security, and social cohesion.
  • Handing the management of the places and activities over to trained community leaders and facilitators to enable play areas to continue after the project ends.

Partner

Canchas Libres, Fields of Freedom

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Costa Rica
Start date 05/01/2024
End date 03/31/2026
Cost of the project €250 204
Foundation funding €97 846
Project identifier 20230483
Partners Fundación GOLEES
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

After four years of creating spaces where we have reduced the rates of violence against girls and women through football, it is time to go a step further and use football to promote new forms of leadership, where the players, who were initially recipients of the methodology, now become promoters of it. They will start self-managing and replicating the sports and psychosocial spaces while promoting equal educational opportunities in a community where girls barely ever have access to university studies.

 

Project goals

  • Empower leadership through the acquisition of sports and psychosocial skills and knowledge as promoters of sports for peace.
  • Increase educational and job opportunities for the players by advocating for the right to university education and promoting future economic autonomy to break the cycle of social exclusion.
  • Initiate organisational self-management processes, so that the players begin to plan, organise, and implement sports and psychosocial spaces.

 

Project content

We aim to take action that encourages recognition of the youngsters’ interests, knowledge, and desires. This process will enhance greater leadership in sports and psychosocial matters, turning them into promoters of sport for peace and agents of personal, family and community change in terms of gender equality through football, using this sport as a bridge to university studies and a dignified future job, creating a better future for themselves and their communities.

Partner

Inclusive football based education for disabled children

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Indonesia, Jakarta
Start date 01/01/2024
End date 12/31/2024
Cost of the project €30,000
Foundation funding €20,000
Project identifier 20230282
Partners ASA Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Indonesia is now one of the world’s largest plastic waste producers, producing over 3.2 million tonnes of plastic waste per year. The country also struggles with high levels of poverty, poor health and education, inadequate sanitation and nutrition, and discrimination against women, girls and those with disabilities. These nationwide issues affect both rural and urban populations, including the 30.5 million people living in the capital city of Jakarta.

Disabled children face numerous barriers to education and consequently are less likely than their peers to start and complete school. Inclusive sport can improve their well-being and self-esteem and can transform how communities view disabled people.

Football is Indonesia’s most popular sport – played by children and adults alike – and is gaining popularity among women and girls.

Project goals

  • Improve the emotional, psychological and social well-being of beneficiaries
  • Develop a cohesive society that fights exclusion and promotes upward mobility
  • Enhance inclusive education through awareness and skills training in health, life skills, gender equality and the circular economy
  • Encourage female participation (at least 50%) to promote female empowerment and equal access to opportunities, resources, decision-making and autonomy
  • Improve access to education and learning outcomes for disabled children through inclusive sports and education development activities
  • Achieve a cleaner, greener society by encouraging local government ministries and schools to adopt the programme’s circular economy and recycling management processes

Project content

15 male and 15 female teachers from schools for disabled children, mainly from particularly disadvantaged areas of the capital, will be selected to attend a two-day training of trainers workshop at a carefully selected special needs school in Jakarta. They will be introduced to a collaboratively designed football-based curriculum, available in both Bahasa Indonesia and English, covering life skills development and gender equality, health and well-being, the circular economy, and waste management development. They will also learn to lead simple activities geared towards long-term sustainability, such as how to recycle plastic materials to produce sports training equipment.

The teachers will then return to their schools to lead weekly extracurricular training sessions for disabled boys and girls. The teachers will be supported, mentored, monitored and evaluated by master trainers on a weekly basis and will attend a refresher training day after six months.

Partner

Young Coach Education Ecuador

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Ecuador, Ibarra
Start date 11/01/2023
End date 03/24/2024
Cost of the project €198,341
Foundation funding €52,610
Project identifier 20230885
Partners Scort Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Once a safe haven in South America, the situation in Ecuador has visibly worsened over the past few years, with widespread insecurity and a vast increase in violence across the country, which nonetheless continues to host numerous refugees and migrants from Colombia and Venezuela. Almost 1 million people are exposed to violence, poverty and displacement. Children’s mental and physical well-being are particularly affected, with a heightened risk of discrimination, exploitation and abuse. Inclusive and safe spaces where children can play, learn, de-stress and simply be children are essential. Football in particular has proven to be an important means of restoring social connections, promoting learning and supporting psychosocial well-being.

For this reason, the Scort Foundation and its partner the Football Club Social Alliance (FCSA) have teamed up with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and local organisation Fundación de las Americas para el Desarrollo (Foundation of the Americas for Development, FUDELA) to train 45 committed young adults to become grassroots football coaches and community leaders. The Young Coaches not only learn how to provide safe and structured sports activities for children in their communities, but also how to use football to promote resilience and foster inclusion.

Project goals

  • Educate 45 young adults to become role models and coaches for children in vulnerable and/or conflict-prone communities
  • Promote access to quality, fun, educational activities for over 5,000 girls and boys from refugee and host communities
  • Promote social cohesion through sport
  • Promote access to sport for girls and disabled children
  • Strengthen the network of Young Coaches (and other organisations) within Ecuador using sport for protection

Project content

The Young Coach Education project empowers committed young coaches in their roles as proactive community leaders, on and off the pitch.

During their training, the Young Coaches learn how to use football to create a safe environment for children, promoting health, inclusion, social cohesion and protection. The project combines football and educational games to improve children’s life skills as well as their physical and mental well-being. It aims to be as inclusive as possible, including disability-specific educational content. This can help break down barriers and promote the inclusion of disabled children in the regular activities run by the Young Coaches.

The training consists of three modules: two five-day face-to-face modules in Ecuador, and one online. Interactive and illustrative learning is at the heart of the programme. During the on-site modules, a strong focus is placed on practical learning, in order to make optimal use of the FCSA instructors’ expertise and provide the Young Coaches with their first tools. While the instructors initially show solutions, they increasingly demand creative problem-solving from the Young Coaches, who come up with strategies in groups. The lessons are immediately put into practice at two festivals held during each on-site module for children from the local community. Additional workshops are delivered by experts on topics such as child protection and safeguarding, first aid, and the role of sport in strengthening resilience and mental well-being.

Between the two on-site modules, the Young Coaches are expected to apply what they have learned in their communities and independently complete the additional online module. Regular live webinars provide a space for mutual support and a deeper understanding of the content.

Partner

Football, Rock and Water

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Peru
Start date 02/01/2024
End date 12/31/2024
Cost of the project €86,648
Foundation funding €62,559
Project identifier 20231029
Partners NGO Mama Alice
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Since 2005, the NGO Mama Alice has been working in Ayacucho, Peru, to improve the lives of children affected by underdevelopment, isolation and poverty. During Peru's internal conflict in the 1980s and 90s, Ayacucho’s rural population suffered extreme violence. Many fled their homes, settling in the city’s outskirts, where they lack basic facilities such as water, sanitation and electricity, which contributes to an increase in infectious diseases.

Unemployment has led to poverty, malnutrition, family break-up, domestic violence and child abandonment. The population remains deeply scarred by the violent conflict, and lives in a culture of fear and distrust. The indigenous population are particularly affected by poor access to healthcare, high infant mortality rates and a low life expectancy.

Facts about Ayacucho:

  • 39.4% of the population live in poverty, 7.8% in extreme poverty
  • 17.3% of children suffer from malnutrition, and 45% of children under three are anaemic
  • 13.4 % of the population is illiterate and only 24.1% have completed primary school
  • 64% of women have been victims of sexual violence, and in 33% of cases the attacker was a family member

 

Project goals

Mama Alice’s mission is to forever change Peruvian communities from the inside out, with a focus on educational and psychological support. The Football, Rock and Water project aims to motivate children to be more active and to improve their football skills, while connecting with others and improving their self-esteem, social skills, assertiveness and leadership skills.

The goal is for at least 80% of the 1,120 participating children to get fitter, gain a more positive self-image, improve their resilience and adaptability, learn to collaborate and lead, and feel valued and nurtured, and at least 70% to attend regularly and learn the rules of football. The aim is for 90% of the participating teachers to observe positive physical and psychosocial development in their pupils.

Project content

Mama Alice has been offering Rock and Water activities alongside football training, including intensive camps, to primary and secondary school children in Ayacucho since 2021.

The Rock and Water programme teaches children to face life’s challenges with a ‘rock’ (strong and resilient) and ‘water’ (flexible and adaptable) attitude.

In addition to constructing a football pitch, Mama Alice will provide two-month-long football and psychosocial training to 32 groups (35 children per group) of children aged 7 to 12. The project will conclude with the groups coming together for final activities and football matches between schools. All children receive participation certificates and a Rock and Water bracelet, and help to evaluate the activities.

Partner

Bijzondere Eredivisie

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Netherlands
Start date 09/22/2023
End date 05/31/2028
Cost of the project €1,281,810
Foundation funding €150,810
Project identifier 20230682
Partners Stichting het Gehandicapte Kind
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

Sport is crucial to children’s physical and mental well-being, and team sports also help develop social skills through collaboration. Unfortunately, it is often a challenge for disabled children to join their local football club and participate in team sports generally.

Project goals

  • Promote social interaction and friendship through football clubs.
  • Improve disabled children's health and confidence.
  • Foster positive, inclusive perceptions of disabled children, both inside and outside the football community.
  • Increase disabled children’s participation in football during and as a result of the project.
  • Involve a minimum of 18 professional clubs within three years.

Project content

  • Bijzondere Eredivisie (Special Eredivisie) competition: every club hosts a one-day competition involving four visiting teams travelling with their official club bus.
  • Press conference: a press conference is held with journalists that make the children feel like professional
  • Clinics and training sessions: clinics and training sessions are organised with professional footballers from the participating
  • Friendly matches: friendly matches are organised against other clubs in the Bijzondere
  • Grassroots activities: activities are organised for disabled footballers through the grassroots sections of the professional

Partner

Learn to be Healthy

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Romania, Bucharest
Start date 01/01/2024
End date 12/31/2024
Cost of the project €70,000
Foundation funding €70,000
Project identifier 20230507
Partners United Way Romania
Categories Access to Sport - Healthy lifestyle - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

In Romania, 1 in 4 children has weight problems. That is why it is imperative to continue the UEFA Foundation project and increase its reach by adding 1 new community, 850 disadvantaged children and 100 parents, reducing part of costs by reusing previously purchased equipment.

By 2030, almost 500,000 children aged 5-19 will suffer from obesity, because of unhealthy diets and reduced sport activity (estimated by The World Obesity Federation), in the absence of prevention and treatment measures.

Project goals

To promote and support a healthy lifestyle for children in three disadvantaged communities, one urban and two in rural areas of Bucharest:

  • Inform, educate about the importance of a balanced nutrition, sports and anti-bullying
  • Promote the importance of sport by practicing soccer, basketball, volleyball, badminton, table tennis
  • Ensure healthy snack during activities
  • Organize Sports Days, sports events and info sessions on the importance of nutrition, sports for a healthy life and anti-bullying

Project content

Sports and education sessions on the importance of healthy life to foster improved long-term wellbeing for children and parents from disadvantaged communities.

Parents from target group are not even aware of their children's weight and health problems. More than this children often witness inappropriate behaviours of adults, verbal aggression and often physical. Involving them in project activities, we teach them what fair-play means and to develop positive behaviours with parents, teachers.

Partner

Employment for girls and young women leaving in rural areas

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Democratic Republic of Congo, Kalebuka
Start date 02/01/2024
End date 01/31/2025
Cost of the project €104,000
Foundation funding €60,000
Project identifier 20230592
Partners Malaika
Categories Employability - Gender Equality - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Girls and young women in rural DRC have limited career options. Even for those fortunate enough to have completed their schooling, the path to economic independence is fraught with risks of violence, sexual exploitation, dependency and abuse.

Cultural norms and gender stereotypes also play a significant role in restricted career choices. Many young women are forced to enter the informal sector of low-paid and often exploitative jobs that offer little security and limited prospects for upward mobility, trapping them in a cycle of poverty and vulnerability.

Entrepreneurship is a potential pathway to economic empowerment and job creation. However, little funding is available to support aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly young women, who struggle to access the necessary capital and resources to start and scale their ventures.

Entrepreneurship is rarely considered as a viable career option due to a lack of early entrepreneurship education and a supportive infrastructure. The absence of mentors and role models makes it difficult for aspiring female entrepreneurs to navigate the entrepreneurial landscape.

Project goals

  • Increased entrepreneurial awareness, with students and community centre beneficiaries demonstrating a keen understanding of what it means to be an entrepreneur
  • Improved self-confidence, illustrated by at least 70% of participants expressing a heightened belief in their ability to succeed as entrepreneurs or gain employment
  • A rise in the number of aspiring young entrepreneurs
  • Creation of a mentorship network of at least five successful female entrepreneurs actively mentoring and guiding future female entrepreneurs
  • Access to professional training at the Malaika community centre for more than 1,500 young women and girls, equipping them with the skills they need to find decent and dignified employment

Project content

Malaika has launched an entrepreneurship and leadership programme for girls aged 13–19 in rural Kalebuka. Girls at the Malaika school will be introduced to the world of work, coached to develop their professional aspirations and equipped with practical skills to prepare them for employment.

Teachers will receive tailored training, entrepreneurship clubs will be set up, and a mentorship scheme will provide additional support and guidance. At the community centre, young women will receive vocational training, including in male-dominated industries, and guest speakers will be invited to share insights.

A thorough assessment of the challenges and opportunities for female entrepreneurship in Kalebuka will be conducted and a sustainability plan will ensure that the project has a lasting impact for young women in the community.

Malaika aims to forge partnerships with local businesses and organisations to provide internships and job-shadowing opportunities. Additionally, support will be provided to help the young women to develop business plans and present their entrepreneurial ideas to local investors and business leaders.

Partner

Mighty Members

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Cambodia, Battambang
Start date 01/01/2024
End date 01/01/2025
Cost of the project €61,400
Foundation funding €15,000
Project identifier 20220444
Partners SALT Academy
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Employability - Environmental protection - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development - Strengthening partnerships

Context

Generation after generation of young people in Cambodia experience neglect, trafficking and abuse as a result of poverty.

Mighty Members sets out to break this cycle through education, football and mentoring, with 40 carefully selected young adults cascading the programme in their communities and creating a positive cycle that impacts thousands of people a week.

Project goals

Empower young people to be change makers through sport

  • Build self-efficacy
  • Promote good health, nutrition and physical activity
  • Educate and create future job opportunities
  • Instil character strengths and moral values

Project content

Mighty Members is a full-time programme designed to empower young men and women who have experienced poverty, domestic violence, abandonment, child labour and trafficking. We have 40 members – 20 male and 20 female – between the ages 13 and 20. The programme uses education, mentoring and football training to give the 40 Mighty Members real-world, marketable skills that will serve them for the rest of their lives.

What makes the programme special is that, as the Mighty Members rise up, they themselves take what they have learned out into their communities, coaching, mentoring and teaching life skills to others.

Partner

LEARN&PLAY – Equal educational and sport opportunities for all children

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Montenegro
Start date 01/01/2024
End date 06/10/2024
Cost of the project €77,308
Foundation funding €56,308
Project identifier 20230543
Partners NGO Parents
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Alarmingly, every third child in Montenegro (33.7%) is facing poverty, according to UNICEF research “Multidimensional Child Poverty in Montenegro”. Parents Association is supporting children living in extreme poverty –often in non-formal houses, without electricity, regular meals, discriminated and socially isolated. They are struggling with learning at school and often drop of in early age. Non of them never have access to any sport. Without education and social inclusion, they have no chance for better life.

Project goals

General objective:

  • Support education, sport and social inclusion of 1560 children who live in poverty in north Montenegro.

Specific objectives:

  • Provide access to sport -  free football trainings for 1080 children who live in poverty
  • Provide free lessons for 480 children to acquire basic school curriculum–reading and writing.
  • Increase self-esteem, motivation and social skills of the children
  • Promote equal opportunities for all children among main stakeholders.

Project content

Equal educational and sport opportunities for all children! The mission of this project is to improve chances for children age 6 – 10 who live in poverty in suburban and rural areas in undeveloped north part of Montenegro, by supporting their education and social inclusion through football. The project will consist of regular football trainings, mentorship (teaching classes of reading and writing) and a final event – sports tournament. LEARN&PLAY will help them to finish the school, include in social life, and spin the wheel of change!

Activities:

Organization of football training in 12 small municipalities in north Montenegro

  • Selection and coordination with chosen schools and townhall football centers
  • Developing Training program for licensed coaches.
  • Providing sport equipment for children and football centers
  • Recruiting volunteers who will help coaches delivering the trainings
  • Coordinating football trainings, twice a week for 90 children per municipalities
  • Organizing visits of famous Montenegrin football players

Organization of free classes for school curriculum

  • Developing reading and writing workshop program for learning coordinators
  • Recruiting volunteers who will help children in learning
  • Training for learning supervisors and volunteers

Organization of football tournament for 24 football  teams (2 per municipalities)

Partners

UniDeportes: Sport for Youth Empowerment

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Honduras, Trinidad
Start date 01/01/2024
End date 12/31/2024
Cost of the project €15,640
Foundation funding €10,640
Project identifier 20230575
Partners educate
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

Honduras has the highest rate of economic inequality in Latin America and over 60% of the population lives in poverty. The NGO educate. is based in the rural department of Santa Bárbara, where barely half of children go to the end of primary school. Even for those who do encounter very few opportunities for personal development, creating a sense of belonging and engaging meaningfully in the community. Sport has both an educational and a social role and can help young people acquire the values, skills and confidence they need on and off the sports field.

Project goals

  • Help young people develop a sense of unity and belonging to a community through sport
  • Help young people develop core values and soft skills such as leadership, teamwork and communication through sport and monthly workshops
  • Train young people to lead projects, helping them to gain leadership skills, confidence and practical experience
  • Promote meaningful participation in the community by engaging young people in organising and leading community sport events
  • Create spaces for children and young people in rural communities to participate in engaging community sports events that promote active involvement in sport in the longer term
  • Actively promote gender equality by ensuring at least 50% of participants are girls
  • Reach 500+ children and teenagers

Project content

Based at a youth centre in the rural town of Trinidad, Santa Bárbara, educate. runs a variety of educational programmes to support low-income and vulnerable youngsters.

The NGO has access to a community football pitch and, after training three youth leaders, will host activities every Saturday morning. The activities will focus on football but also explore other sports, encouraging participants to build active, healthy lifestyles, while also fostering positive values, soft skills and gender equality.

Project participants, led by youth leaders, will then organise and lead their own sports events such as sports days in the community, in local villages and at nearby children’s homes.

The project also comprises monthly workshops on different personal development topics, including leadership, emotional intelligence, self-esteem, assertive communication and young people’s rights, ensuring holistic support for all participants in their personal development journeys.

Partner

Deporte por Refugio

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Spain, Sevilla
Start date 02/15/2022
End date 03/01/2025
Cost of the project €448,177
Foundation funding €303,165
Project identifier 20230727
Partners Fundación Grandes Valores – Fútbol Más
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Healthy lifestyle - Personal development

Context

The city of Seville is home to four of Spain’s ten poorest areas, with 38.6% of children at risk of or already suffering alarming levels of poverty and social exclusion. These areas also have a large migrant population experiencing exclusion and segregation. Inequality and a lack of employment opportunities also have a negative impact on families, and consequently, the education and development of children.

 

Project goals

  • Promote the inclusion, education and well-being of children and young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds and vulnerable communities in Seville
  • Help children feel more connected, resilient and involved in their local community
  • Reduce children's biases based on gender and cultural differences
  • Help schools to incorporate sport for development into their programmes
  • Raise awareness and advocate for the inclusion of people in vulnerable situations through sports in schools

Project content

The Spanish Commission for Refugees (CEAR), the Real Betis Foundation and Fútbol Más Spain have joined forces to develop a community-based project promoting the inclusion and well-being of vulnerable migrant and refugee children and their families. Deporte por Refugio is an award-winning social sports programme designed to enhance the physical and mental health of children at risk of social exclusion in three neighbourhoods of Seville. It also aims to raise awareness about the role of health in improving the inclusion of migrants and refugees, and to highlight how football can help to achieve this.

Last year, Deporte por Refugio had a positive impact on the lives of more than 2,000 people and received two national awards: a Rompe el circulo (‘break the cycle’) award from the Spanish High Commissioner against Child Poverty and the Spanish High Council for Sport’s award for best inclusion project. Now in its third year and supported by the UNHCR, UNICEF, the Spanish government and Seville city council, the programme aims to convey to society that football can transform the reality of children and refugees.

Partners

Advancing Climate Actions and Protection through Inclusive Sports

Location and general information

Ongoing
Location Egypt, Greater Cairo
Start date 01/01/2024
End date 12/31/2024
Cost of the project €105,847
Foundation funding €105,847
Project identifier 20230440
Partners Terre des hommes Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Environmental protection - Gender Equality

Context

The proposed project capitalizes on the lessons learned from the ongoing project funded by UEFA entitled “Football for Climate Change”. It builds on a bottom-up approach that better addresses the needs of the target groups and enhances the effectiveness of project outcomes. In doing so, Tdh conducted a Focus Group Discussion to identify children’s and youth recommendations and enhance their participation in the proposed project. Children indicated that their engagement in sports activities enhanced their understanding of climate change concepts in addition to helping them acquire life skills such as communication. Children recommended including other types of sports, and they also highlighted the need for more intensive climate change activities. Accordingly, the project seeks to invest in the good practices that proved to be effective during the current phase to reach a greater impact of the intervention.

Project goals

Overall objective:

  • To enhance children's well-being, protection, and leadership skills and to empower them to design and lead positive actions on climate change, with the support of their families, sports coaches, and local government through inclusive sports activities.

Specific objective:

  • Vulnerable children between 13 to 18 years old, from forcibly displaced groups and local communities, are provided with a safe environment for sports activities that promote social cohesion between groups.
  • Children, caregivers, families, and local government representatives design and lead positive actions to address climate change in the local community through the targeted youth centers.

Project content

Sport for protection refresher training for 15 coaches at 5 youth centres

Terre des Hommes’ Football for Protection methodology is used to improve collaboration, communication, emotional management and creative thinking skills, and enhance participants’ sense of responsibility and knowledge of climate issues. The five youth centres will apply this methodology (rebranded ‘sport for protection’) to football and a second sport, selected according to the results of a survey of participants’ interests. Four-day refresher courses for the coaches will include facilitation skills, technical sports skills and soft skills for integrative work with children and adolescents, child protection principles and gender equality in sports participation.

Result: 15 coaches trained to promote a safe and inclusive environment in 5 youth centres

 20 sports coaching sessions organised for 400 children

The 15 coaches will deliver 20 coaching sessions (two different sports) using the sport for protection methodology. Building on the sport for development concept, which uses sport to promote children's social and personal development, the sessions will foster the inclusion of marginalised adolescents of all genders, including refugees, promote access to physically safe and appropriately equipped sports facilities and develop participants’ life skills.

Result: 400 young people participate safely in sports activities that enhance their well-being and develop their life skills

 Climate change training for 25 Terre des Hommes staff and sports coaches

In cooperation with the Egyptian ministry for the environment, an awareness programme will be developed with interactive and practical climate change activities designed to involve sports coaches and youngsters. Two days of training will be organised for Terre des Homme staff and sports coaches to build their knowledge of climate change and equip them to implement the programme effectively. The ministry of youth and sports will also be involved to ensure the replicability of the project.

Result: 25 Terre des Hommes staff and sports coaches trained to deliver climate change awareness programme

Climate change awareness sessions for 400 young people

Climate change awareness sessions will be delivered at all five youth centres in cooperation with the ministry for the environment. They will be associated with sports coaching sessions to foster the link between climate change and sport and enhance young people’s global understanding of climate change issues, with specific reference to the Egyptian context. Participants will gain a robust grounding in climate concepts, causes of change, and adaptation and mitigation practices enabling them to design and implement initiatives of their own.

10 environmental initiatives across 5 youth centres

After completing the awareness sessions and with the support of the project team, their sports coaches and their families, the 400 participants will design and lead 10 environmental initiatives (two per centre) that address environmental problems in their communities.

Result: 400 young people design and lead 10 environmental initiatives coordinated by trained sports coaches

Initiatives promoted among families and communities through sports competitions

Two-day sports competitions (involving two different sports) will then be organised by each of the five youth centres, with opportunities to promote the participants’ environmental initiatives and share their experiences with families, communities and peers – promoting positive climate action and youth advocacy, physical health and healthy competition, and encouraging the replication of initiatives within the community.

Result: 3,000 family members and caregivers introduced to the risks of climate change and recommended action at sports competitions

Partners