UP Unity & Peace

Location and general information

Closed
Location Jamaica, Kingston
Start date 01/15/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €77,126
Foundation funding €77,126
Project identifier 20200964
Partners Fight for Peace
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

In 2019, UEFA funded Fight for Peace (FFP) in Jamaica, providing access to sport in six volatile urban communities. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime included this work in a consultation on global best practices in using sport to reduce violence. Locally, FFP was recognised by the National Commission on Violence Prevention. FFP now has the unique opportunity to contribute evidence on the use of sport to reduce violence to the Commission’s ten-year plan on violence prevention. With the UEFA Foundation’s support, FFP will fund sports, training federations and sports NGOs and codify best practices.

There will be three types of beneficiaries, categorised by risk level:

  • Primary risk level: young people aged 7–24, drawn from the six communities, who will be referred to the programme by community members, the police and other concerned parties and will access the programme at their schools and community centres
  • Secondary risk level: young people aged 15–24 involved in state-led interventions, e.g. probation, child drug treatment court
  • Tertiary risk level: where possible, COVID-19 and other restrictions permitting, young people aged 15–24 in juvenile correctional facilities and young people aged 15–24 identified by the Peace Management Initiative as gang-affiliated

Project content

The project will enable stakeholders in sport, community development and violence prevention to improve their understanding of the use of sport for violence prevention through increased access to sport in volatile communities. It will also strengthen the capacity of organisations delivering sports and promote the codification and sharing of best practices.

Objectives

  • Provide access to sport in volatile communities for cohorts of youth at different risk levels so that their progress can be tracked and reported on.
  • Train sports federations and NGOs in using sport to reduce violence.
  • Codify best practices for sharing with sports and violence prevention communities and promotion by social media.
  • Present best practices for integration into the ten-year plan for violence prevention.

Project activities

  • Sport sessions.
  • Sport tournaments.
  • Sports federation training.
  • Development of print and multimedia resources.

Expected results

  • 1,000 young people served by sports programmes (50% female and 60% under the age of 18).
  • 60,000 indirect beneficiaries (total Fight for Peace community footprint).

Partner

Fun, Friends, Football camps

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Peru, Ayacucho, Quinua
Start date 01/04/2021
End date 05/30/2021
Cost of the project €81,322
Foundation funding €39,444
Project identifier 20201609
Partners Mama Alice
Categories Access to Sport - Conflict victims - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Mama Alice works with refugee children from Venezuela and Peruvian children growing up in extreme poverty.

There is little support or understanding among the Peruvian population for Venezuelan refugee children. Most Venezuelan children in Peru live in extreme poverty, which causes them a great deal of stress, which is then exacerbated by the discrimination they experience.

At Mama Alice, a professional and highly experienced multidisciplinary team guides both Venezuelan and Peruvian children towards a positive self-image and better social skills. All children participating in Mama Alice activities come from homes experiencing poverty, often accompanied by domestic violence, alcoholism, sexual abuse, poor hygiene and malnutrition. These problems have a major impact on educational performance and general well-being. When a child is never told that they are wanted and loved, the effect is devastating. Not only do they have poor self-esteem, but they also lack confidence in a better future. For some this leads to serious emotional or behavioural problems.

Mama Alice trainers and teachers are trained to recognise problems and refer children to social workers, nurses or psychologists. They see that their approach has a positive impact: children become happier, more confident and have better social skills. They also achieve better school results, make friends more easily and increase their problem-solving skills.

Project content

Mama Alice organises football camps for children living in extreme poverty and who are often from families with high levels of domestic violence, whether physical, psychological or sexual. Each camp is for 30 participants, divided into 3 groups of 10 (due to COVID-19 restrictions).

During the football camp, the children will not only improve their football skills, but they will also learn many new personal skills that should lead to significant personal growth.

A participation certificate and a photo book are given to the children at the end of the camp to ensure that they have lasting and proud memories. They may also share them via social media and with their friends and family.

Objectives

Overall objectives:

  • Peruvian and Venezuelan children develop more understanding and friendship.
  • They learn about nature and sustainability.
  • They learn about Peru’s history and culture.
  • They learn more about healthy food.
  • They have fun.
  • They have an unforgettable experience.

Specific objectives:

  • 90% of all participants show improved football skills.
  • 80% have improved self-esteem.
  • 90% show improved social skills.

Project activities

  • Football training : All trainers are trained in the Total Soccer Method by Igor Hameleers, the founder of several football schools in the Netherlands. Children take part in daily training, games and relaxation, which are adjusted depending on their level and motivation.
  • Creative activities: The Mama Alice teachers all have over ten years of experience in offering creative activities, especially for target groups with a negative self-image and no strong social skills. Through creativity and art, children also learn to express their feelings.
  • Wari cultural visit: Wari is an archaeological site in Ayacucho. The excavations show how the Waris (a people before the Incas) lived. Yasser, an archaeologist, guide and history teacher, tells interesting stories at the children’s level.
  • Quinua cultural visit: The last struggle for independence in all of Latin America was fought on the pampas of Quinua. The children visit an independence monument and a small museum at the site.
  • Psychosocial workshop: Mama Alice has been working with Peruvian children since 2005 and has developed a method that works well specifically for this target group. Interactive and playful workshops using this method create a safe environment in which children can express their feelings, gain a more positive self-image, understand themselves and others better, work together better and become stronger.
  • Health workshop: Activities are aimed at better personal hygiene, in order to prevent a number of diseases that are common in Ayacucho. Since 2020, prevention of COVID-19 has been added.
  • Musical games: Music therapist Frederique organises games to connect and relax the children and help those who cannot express their feelings easily.
  • Football match: At the end of each day a small 5 v 5 football match is played within the subgroups of 10 on small football pitches. On the last day, Saturday, there are three big matches between the different subgroups.
  • Presentation of the participation certificate: Every child receives a participation certificate and a printed photo book containing 20 photos of the camp, giving them wonderful memories of perhaps the best week of their lives so far.

Expected results

90% of all participants show improved football skills:

  • 90% know most rules.
  • 90% have a understandings of the game during a match.
  • 80% are able to receive a ball, pass it on and shoot at the goal.

80% have improved self-esteem:

  • 90% have more confidence in themselves, others and the future.
  • 90% are able to ask for help when they need it.
  • 90% are able to participate in all the different activities.
  • 80% are able to form their own opinions.

90% of participants show improved social skills:

  • 80% are more able to express their feelings.
  • 90% have learned to push their own boundaries.
  • 90% have learned to work and play together and to make friends.
  • 90% have increased their understanding of other cultures and backgrounds.
  • 90% have better personal hygiene.

Partner

Urban Football for Hopes and Dreams

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Canada, Montreal
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €86,000
Foundation funding €15,000
Project identifier 20201599
Partners Rêves Passion Montréal
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Almost 70% of Montreal’s population are immigrants. Dreams Passion Montreal works in areas where low-income immigrants are concentrated, offering team sports in partnership with local community centres. Football is used not only as a form of physical activity but also as a tool for integration, especially the integration of girls.

Dreams Passion Montreal helps Montreal’s community centres provide inclusive and equitable mixed football activities. When girls and women come into their own through sports, they can thrive in their private and professional lives and bring positive change to society.

Gender diversity is as much a fact of team sports as it is of daily life, so it is essential for young boys to be educated about tolerance and respect. It is equally important to build girls’ confidence to take part in mixed activities.

Project content

The aim of the project is to create an environment that enables the personal development of vulnerable young people whose parents cannot afford to enrol them in extracurricular activities. The goal is to help young people integrate into their community and educate boys about respecting and including girls.

Objectives

  • Use sports as a tool for integration and social development.
  • Promote equitable and equal participation in sports and combat all forms of discrimination, including gender-based discrimination.
  • Develop the self-esteem and self-confidence of girls through mixed sports.
  • Foster positive attitudes and behaviours in young people and improve their team working skills.

Project activities

  • Supporting community centres in their weekly mixed football activities, by providing a structure, coach, fair play-based methodology and equipment if needed.
  • Providing a series of No Girls Offside football workshops, usually combined with other activities (Zumba, basketball, singing), to promote leadership, self-confidence and a sense of belonging in girls.
  • Organising a yearly Urban Football Festival bringing together all the participants, their families and the project partners to celebrate everyone’s involvement.

Expected results

  • 100 girls will have taken part in activities that are 100% female or led by women by the end of 2021.
  • At least 150 children (minimum 25% girls) will have participated in mixed football activities at community centres.
  • More than 150 young people will have learned about group dynamics, including how to work as a team, respecting diversity and other people’s ideas, accepting criticism, making constructive comments based on mutual respect, peacefully. managing and resolving conflict, and following rules.
  • More than 150 young people will have adopted positive attitudes and behaviours, including honesty, integrity and working together.

Partner

Senior Leaders Programme

Location and general information

Closed
Location USA, Philadelphia
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €235,107
Foundation funding €50,000
Project identifier 20201322
Partners Starfinder Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Employability - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

Philadelphia’s poverty rate is the highest among the US’s largest cities. Nearly 40% of the city’s youth live below the poverty line and face barriers to success: under-resourced schools, limited access to healthy foods, a lack of safe places to play, neighbourhoods with high rates of drug use and gang activity, exposure to violence, and high rates of trauma and adverse childhood experiences. Only one in five gets the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity daily, and one in five gets none at all.

Project content

The intensive Senior Leaders after-school programme combines football with health and fitness, academic support, and leadership training to help low-income and immigrant youth achieve success on and off the field. A positive, intentional culture honours youth voice and promotes accountability. The teens learn to apply mental toughness and lessons from the field to other parts of their lives. 99% graduated high school, and 91% continued to university, far outperforming their peers (69% and 55%).

Objectives

Disadvantaged youth gain:

  • skills, confidence and resilience to overcome challenges and achieve their goals
  • long-term good health and physical fitness by establishing healthy lifestyles
  • social and emotional well-being through healthy, positive connections
  • post-secondary success
  • a future as resilient, empathetic adults and engaged, productive citizens

Project activities

The intensive after-school programme for 100-120 low-income teens requires them to attend two-hour sessions three days per week from November to March. They participate in football, mentoring, leadership, and fitness training. At the weekends they take part in university visits, post-secondary and professionalism workshops, community service projects, leagues, open play, tournaments and social events. Activities then continue from April to August, keeping the teens involved throughout the year.

Expected results

  • 100% of the participants will increase their engagement in physical activity and 100% will increase their knowledge and practice of healthy habits and behaviours.
  • 100% will learn and practice key life/social-emotional skills to support long-term success and 100% will be matched with a mentor.
  • 100% will graduate from high school and 95% will attain post-secondary education or training.

Partner

Promoting Sports to Build Resilience in Rural Nicaragua

Location and general information

Closed
Location Nicaragua
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €96,115
Foundation funding €57,000
Project identifier 20200543
Partners Fabretto Children's Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

Economic activity in Nicaragua has decreased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Reduced disposable income and higher unemployment, together with rising food costs and limited access to hygiene supplies, have led to a rise in health problems and community stress. The uncertainty being experienced by already vulnerable communities is endangering children’s fundamental rights to education, play and development, as well as their access to learning materials.

Project content

The project has two components: (1) health and personal well-being; and (2) education, extracurricular activities and sport. It seeks to mitigate the risk of COVID-19, by promoting personal hygiene, a balanced diet and other healthy habits. It also seeks to reduce exclusion by ensuring access to quality education for 780 children from vulnerable communities in Nicaragua and foster an inclusive and healthy environment through extracurricular activities, sport, and community engagement.

Objectives

  • Educate students and their families about the importance of personal hygiene, a balanced diet and good mental health.
  • Provide children in poor communities with meaningful afterschool activities.
  • Enhance the reading and writing skills of primary school children.
  • Promote physical activities, such as football training and at-home workouts.

Project activities

Promotion of health and personal well-being:

  • Provision of hygiene kits, sports kits and learning materials.
  • Health campaigns.
  • Workshops (in-person and/or online) with parents and educators.
  • Lunches and snacks.

Education and extracurricular activities:

  • Teacher and coach training.
  • Education enrichment and literacy activities.
  • Development of a physical education plan for Fabretto.
  • Formation of sports teams and organised training sessions.

Expected results

  • 780 children enrolled in the education enrichment programme.
  • 550 children playing in football teams.
  • 780 hygiene kits distributed.
  • 650 families accessed information on personal hygiene, balanced diets and good mental health.
  • Sports and educational material kits distributed to all 40 teams.
  • 25 teachers trained.
  • 12 coaches trained.

Partner

Team GOALS

Location and general information

Closed
Location Haiti
Start date 01/01/2022
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €221,326
Foundation funding €15,935
Project identifier 20210108
Partners Global Outreach and Love of Soccer
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

The GOALS organisation uses football to engage young Haitians in programmes focused on education, health and the environment to improve their quality of life. Through leadership development and social change initiatives, GOALS is creating stronger, healthier communities in areas where no other non-profit or government services exist. People in these severely deprived areas have no electricity or running water and 80% of the players’ parents are unemployed.

Project content

Team GOALS is a sport-for-development programme focused on football, education and community service. It is designed to develop leadership skills, spark change, and promote equality. The emphasis is on teaching life skills such as literacy, health literacy, conflict resolution and gender equality. It takes a holistic approach and actively engages each of the participants. Through their love of playing the game, they learn how to be engaged members of their community.

Objectives

Team GOALS aims to improve physical and mental health as well as the environment. Each objective relates to GOALS’ overall mission to create healthier and more stable communities in the long term, so that every child in rural Haiti can realise their potential and follow their dreams. By using football as a platform for development, GOALS reaches children who are left behind by conventional educational systems.

Project activities

  • Football: daily practice using specialised curricula (CAC and SFW games) to teach inclusion, conflict resolution and gender equality; friendly matches; and rural outreach.
  • Health education: disease prevention; sex education; and proper hygiene.
  • Climate action: tree planting; recycling; and community gardens.
  • Leadership training: youth leaders identifying community issues and solutions.
  • Education: literacy programme and high school scholarships.
  • Community service: volunteerism.

Expected results

  • Improved physical and mental health of GOALS participants.
  • 92% of participants will have played sports for the first time.
  • 77% of underweight children reached the normal weight range.
  • Annual pregnancy rate in GOALS areas under 1% compared to a 7% country average.
  • 35 literacy class graduates, 25 scholarship recipients and average test scores up from 13% to 71%.
  • 300 trees and three community gardens planted.
  • 400 youth aged 8 to 18 will have increased their self-confidence, health literacy and awareness of social issues through purposeful play.
  • Six youth-led community improvement projects.

Partner

Empate for Argentina

Location and general information

Closed
Location Córdoba, Argentina
Start date 02/01/2021
End date 12/31/2023
Cost of the project €60,000
Foundation funding €54,000
Project identifier 20200136
Partners Fundación Empate
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

Fundación Empate is an Argentinean NGO that provides free, non-profit spaces and activities for people with Down syndrome to promote their holistic development and social growth. Since 2016, the foundation has offered activities such as football, tennis, music, art and job training workshops.

The activities promote encounters between people with and without different types of disability. The aim is to foster inclusion in all social, cultural and sports contexts, with an emphasis on psychomotor and cognitive development. In this continuous learning environment, people with Down syndrome develop in terms of sports, culture and play, helping them to improve their quality of life and find their place in society. The goal is for them to learn about themselves to better understand the world around them.

Project content

Across Argentina there is a shortage of places where people with Down syndrome can learn to play sports, have fun and develop. Empate for Argentina seeks to fill this gap by offering quality inclusive sports spaces with fewer barriers. To help achieve this, Fundación Empate is developing a scheme of free social franchises to share its experience, methodology, guidelines and success with other locations.

 

Objectives

  • Improve the health of the participants
  • Develop learning skills through sports practice
  • Promote personal and social recognition through sports activities as a framework for social inclusion
  • Encourage socialisation so participants can establish new bonds and create friendships
  • Promote self-esteem, individual growth, self-control, courtesy, social skills, respect and cooperation with others
  • Encourage recreational and sports meetings with other schools and institutions
  • Generate exchanges with society to facilitate the active participation of all those who wish to collaborate

Project activities

  • Developing a franchise model in three Argentinian provinces (Buenos Aires, Tucumán and Mendoza)
  • Developing training programmes to share the knowledge and experience gained by Fundación Empate over the last four years
  • Identifying three institutions to become franchises
  • Supporting and mentoring the franchises in the first few years of development
  • Gathering experiences to provide feedback and improve the methodology so that the franchise can be expanded to more provinces in the future

Expected results

  • Reach 500 people with Down syndrome (110 in Cordoba and 100 per province)
  • Develop free quality sport spaces for people with Down Syndrome
  • Promote the values ​​of Fundación Empate in the three social franchises: respect, empathy, equality and equity, commitment and confidence
  • Develop tools to facilitate the integration of people with Down syndrome into different social environments, such as school, local community, family and work

Partner

A Safe Space to Play for Children in Cabreùva

Location and general information

Closed
Location Cabreùva, Brazil
Start date 03/01/2021
End date 03/01/2022
Cost of the project €271,950
Foundation funding €177,950
Project identifier 20200768
Partners Cruyff Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Infrastructure and equipment - Personal development

Context

The community of Novo Bonfim in Cabreúva, Brazil is the most vulnerable in the region. Children and young people are affected by high levels of poverty, teen pregnancy, drug abuse and drug trade. There are no safe public sports facilities in the community for children.

Project content

The Cruyff Foundation will build a Cruyff Court for this community to give children a safe space to play football and other sports. It will be built next to the school cluster, including a high school, primary school and daycare centre. The Cruyff Foundation’s local partner, the Instituto Plataforma Brasil (IPB), will run daily football sessions based on the 14 rules of Johan Cruyff.

Objectives

  • Use the Cruyff Foundation’s 20 years’ experience developing sports projects for children and the IPB’s 10 years’ experience running activities on a Cruyff Court in São Paolo to create a great facility for the children
  • Have expert IPB coaches running daily sessions and making sure the space stays safe
  • Educate local teachers and coaches in the philosophy and vision of the Cruyff Foundation
  • Engage local youth in the activities, making them role models for their peers and next generations

Project activities

  • Daily football sessions by the IPB’s professional coaches
  • Three-day coach course provided by the Cruyff Foundation
  • The young people (‘heroes’) will organise at least one big event per year through a two-month project helping them develop skills and act as role models
  • School PE classes on the Cruyff Court
  • (Virtual) exchange between Cruyff Courts in Brazil
  • Community events involving the local community/parents

Expected results

  • One safe place for children to play
  • 15-20 coaches trained as Cruyff Foundation coaches
  • 300 children per week engaged in football sessions on the Cruyff Court – more than 4,000 children over a five to ten-year period
  • 1,250 children from the schools also using the Cruyff Court
  • 30% of participants are girls

Partners

Adopt a Ball for All

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Greece and more than 170 countries across five continents
Start date 01/01/2021
End date 01/01/2021
Cost of the project €100,000
Foundation funding €95,000
Project identifier 20200573
Partners Youthorama
Categories Access to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development

Context

There is a challenge globally to include pupils with visual impairment in physical education (PE) in general primary schools. There is generally only one type of PE class for all pupils and there are limited inclusive sports tools. As a result, pupils with visual impairment do not participate in PE at the same level as their sighted classmates. This project meets this global need and provides a sustainable solution. It supports children’s right to education and their right to play as well as Sustainable Development Goals 4 (quality education) and 10 (reduced inequality).

Project content

Youthorama’s founder invented an innovative lightweight sound ball. The unique mini ball for all children is not for sale – it is only donated. In Greece, an educational programme using the mini ball was approved by the ministry of education for all schools – both general and special – and all grades. This project aims to establish a network of schools across the world that will promote inclusive sports through this new educational package.

         

Sierra Leon                                                              India

Objectives

  • Produce and donate up to 2,000 mini blind footballs for children
  • Create a more inclusive society through the use of these balls as a non-formal learning tool
  • Educate mainstream nursery and primary schools, NGOs and public structures on inclusive sport
  • Create a manual of up to 40 good practices
  • Launch an Adopt a Ball pilot initiative for schools to raise awareness of sports for all
  • Establish an Inclusive Football Network across the world (currently spanning 172 countries)

Project activities

  • Donation of the innovative mini blind footballs – the only ones available on a global level and not for sale – to children in need and their schools across 5 continents
  • Designing an inclusive educational package
  • Delivering up to 200 sports workshops in general and special nursery and primary schools to promote personal development, empathy and inclusion
  • Evaluation of the project’s success in achieving its aims
  • Launching the Adopt a Ball campaign and promoting open four-a-side events

Expected results

  • 100 schools in disadvantaged areas across the network delivering the educational programme
  • 25,000 sighted and visually impaired pupils in mixed classes
  • 500 schools registered in the Adopt a Ball network
  • 2,500 questionnaires
  • 500 PE teachers and volunteers using the accessible e-learning platform
  • 3,000 participants in the open four-a-side events
  • 2,000 mini blind footballs donated
  • 1 social message documentary for TV

Our vision is for the ball to be heard in every visually impaired child’s home and school around the world!

Partner

Wash and Learn Initiative

Location and general information

Closed
Location Texas (United States)
Start date 08/01/2019
End date 06/01/2021
Cost of the project € 225,000
Foundation funding € 100,000
Project identifier 2019999
Partners Libraries Without Borders United States (BSF-US)
Categories Personal development

Context

Libraries Without Borders (Bibliothèques Sans Frontières - BSF) is a non-profit organisation committed to increasing access to information for those in need by meeting people where they are—whether in a launderette in the Bronx or a refugee camp in Jordan. BSF-United States (BSF-US) partners with local organisations to transform launderettes, residential lobbies, parks and recreation centres into spaces for children’s education and community development. Internationally, BSF has worked in more than 30 countries, running innovative library programmes to serve refugees, remote villages and disaster relief zones since 2007.

Project content

The average launderette customer spends up to two and a half hours a week there. By meeting families where they are, when they are available, the Wash and Learn Initiative (WALI) makes literacy education accessible for low-income families who may not have the time or money to access other services. Now in eight states, WALI equips launderettes with computers, specialized software, Wi-Fi hotspots, books, specially designed furniture and other educational resources designed to create playful, literacy-rich spaces for young children and families. BSF-US works with libraries and local organisations to align their needs and interests with those of launderette customers. Together with its partners, BSF-US offers bilingual story times for children, workshops on nutrition or maternal health and games and activities to promote parent-child interactions. Researchers at New York University found that children engage in significantly more sustained literacy-related activities (compared to children at non-WALI launderettes) when a librarian is present in the launderette.

WALI San Antonio focuses specifically on the city’s low-income Hispanic migrants. One-third of the population in San Antonio is foreign-born, and as many as 100,000 are undocumented. Thanks to the support of Google Fiber and local organisations and libraries, BSF-US has piloted WALI in two launderettes in the city, delivering dynamic opportunities for early childhood education, digital literacy and community development.

Objectives

With the support of the UEFA Foundation for Children, BSF-US is expanding WALI San Antonio to better support newly arrived migrants. Our goals include:

  • Bringing knowledge and information to those who are most in need. Libraries are excellent places for both personal growth and collective development.
  • Reaching people where they are. Librarians and early-childhood professionals offer in-person classes and opportunities at the launderette, making these services accessible for all.
  • Ensuring equal access to information, which is important to achieve equity. WALI launderettes equip residents with technology and help to spread information about important issues like education, health, employment, citizenship, environment, sustainability and technology.

Project activities

To reach this goal, the following activities are being undertaken:

  • Expanding the Wash and Learn Initiative in San Antonio from two to four launderettes.
  • Collaborating with local non-profits and government agencies to add new services to existing literacy programmes. These new services will include immigration legal services, culturally relevant health information and English language education—all at the launderette.
  • Collecting and disseminating a set of curricula and case-studies so that other non-profits and public agencies can independently scale the work of WALI in San Antonio and across the US.
  • Providing opportunities for parents to observe ideal models of interactive reading and language-rich activities.

Expected results

From October 2019 to February 2020, the San Antonio Wash and Learn Initiative:

  • Oversaw over 100 hours of programming from partners, ranging from story time to voter registration;
  • Engaged with 252 people, from toddlers to seniors;
  • Partnered with 6 different organisations to better serve the community;
  • Delivered 29 library programmes, where library staff at the launderette helped participants download e-books, use their mobile devices and find online resources.

Looking forward, we aim to:

  • Operate four WALI launderettes that serve as community-driven hubs for learning and digital equity.
  • Provide over 300 hours of programming from partners who engage with over 1,000 people of all ages and backgrounds.
  • Partner with a total of 10 different organisations to better serve the communities we are in, especially around issues of legal access and social support for newly arrived migrants.
  • Support the Digital Inclusion Alliance of San Antonio and other digital literacy providers to meet people where they are, when they are available, and create a more equitable San Antonio.

Partner

A goal for gender equality

Location and general information

Closed
Location Santa Cruz Department (Municipality: El Torno), La Paz Department (Municipality: Pucarani) and Chuquisaca Department (Municipalities: Incahuasi, Culpina and Villa Charcas), Bolivia
Start date 02/01/2020
End date 12/31/2021
Cost of the project €106,060
Foundation funding €87,380
Project identifier 2019984
Partners Plan International Belgium
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

Bolivia has ratified numerous international human rights treaties, of which the following are particularly relevant to Plan International’s work: the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women. However, despite progress in legislation promoting the rights of children and young people, violations still occur, especially in rural and indigenous populations. Girls in particular face specific barriers to exercising their rights, especially in the three following areas:

Education:

According to the Ministry of Education, only 11% of young people aged 18 to 24 attend university or a technical training centre. Young women are more affected than young men, mainly due to limited access to alternative or post-secondary education in rural areas and limited support from the family and community environment.

Sexual and reproductive rights:

A large proportion of Bolivia’s population is under 18 years, some of whom are sexually active. Despite this, their sexual and reproductive rights are not recognised, nor is their right to protection against sexual violence. In addition, 25% of teenage girls are already mothers at the age 19 (National Plan to Prevent Teen Pregnancy), and this figure is often higher in rural areas. Furthermore, unwanted pregnancy is an important factor in maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.

Gender-based violence:

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in 2014 Bolivia ranked among the countries where girls and women are most exposed to violence.

Project content

The project’s main component is its social football methodology, divided into three stages:

  • During the first stage, the mixed teams are formed and the girls and boys agree on the rules and how long they will play for. This stage allows the participants to engage in dialogue and reach agreements and compromises.
  • During the second stage, the game is played respecting the previously agreed rules.

The third stage is a time for participants to reflect on their in-game behaviour and the behaviour of their teammates. In social football, sticking to the previously agreed rules is more important than competitiveness.

Objectives

  • Change behaviour towards girls and women and put an end to all types of violence, including sexual violence
  • Support gender equality
  • Ensure children and teenagers can exercise their sexual and reproductive rights

Project activities

  • Work plans for student governments (40) and the community social education councils (40) incorporating the social football methodology
  • Training workshops on the football social methodology for students and student governments (3), community social education councils (2), district directors, unit directors and secondary level teachers (3)
  • Social football cards and audiovisual products (600)
  • 80 student sports meetings applying the social football methodology with a focus on gender equality, violence prevention and the exercise of sexual and reproductive rights
  • Assessments of the educational units’ sports fields
  • 40 refurbished and improved sports fields (one for each educational unit)
  • 80 awards for winners of sports events

Expected results

  • Student government organisations strengthen their organisational capacity and representativeness through the social football methodology; they value the participation of women and positively influence their sexual and reproductive rights, gender equality and prevention of gender-based violence.
  • Community social education councils increase their participation and support for the development of social football with a focus on gender equality, prevention of gender-based violence and the exercise of sexual and reproductive rights of girls, boys and teenagers, especially women in the municipalities where the project is developed.
  • District directors, directors of educational units and secondary level teachers improve the management of sports in the educational units by promoting gender equality, sexual and reproductive rights and the prevention of gender-based violence.

Partner

La Nuestra Football Club

Location and general information

Closed
Location Argentina
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 12/31/2022
Cost of the project € 315,000
Foundation funding € 143,300
Project identifier 2019062
Partners Women Win
Categories Access to Sport - Gender Equality - Personal development

Context

According to Argentina’s Observatory on Femicide, 124 girls were killed in the country between 2008 and 2013 (an average of around 21 a year). The majority of those killings were linked to gender-based violence among young unmarried couples or followed sexual abuse. Poor social status and a lack of access to leadership roles and economic opportunities are both linked to girls feeling powerless and increases in gender-based violence. The use of violence, intimidation and coercion against girls reinforces their subordinate status, takes power out of their hands and limits their opportunities and the decisions they can make for themselves. Early childhood and adolescence are critical periods for interventions aimed at ending this cycle, with football playing a key role in terms of helping Argentinian girls to develop the skills they need to stand up for their rights.

Through football, girls can take on leadership roles and tackle gender stereotypes. Football is a catalyst for the development of leadership skills, giving girls the opportunity to boost their self-esteem and courage. The ripple effects of their experience on the pitch can be observed in all aspects of their lives: footballers take the initiative, speak up and have the courage to take risks; and when they fall, they get back up again. Through football, girls learn to challenge socio-cultural norms and gender stereotypes, both at community level and in wider society. When girls play football, they transcend the limits that society places on them, acquiring skills that will allow them to do the same in other areas of life, such as education and the workplace.

The La Nuestra Football Club project will work with girls from Villa 31, a slum in Buenos Aires that is home to 14,000 girls. Outside their community, those girls are called by the derogatory name ‘villera’, and they face prejudice throughout the city. In addition to Argentinian girls who have moved (either with or without their families) from other parts of the country in search of a better life, Villa 31 is also home to girls from various other countries (including Paraguay, Bolivia, Venezuela and Peru). This project will use football as a means of empowering those girls and encouraging them to exercise their rights.

Project content

Through La Nuestra Football Club, Women Win and its local partner in Villa 31 will use football to develop life skills and empower socially deprived girls, while at the same time combating harmful gender stereotypes and their consequences (gender-based violence, gender pay gaps, lack of female political representation, lack of universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, etc.).

Through football, girls:

  • become physically stronger and healthier and develop greater ownership and understanding of their bodies. If a girl regards her body as her own, she protects it, cherishes it, and demands that it be respected;
  • develop critical life skills that are transferable to other spheres of life, such as teamwork, goal setting, resilience and communication, all through the constant practice that football requires;
  • gain access to a safe space to grow and explore, especially with regard to physical, social and emotional development;
  • connect with peers for social support – a vital reference point and resource for dealing with the challenges associated with growing up;
  • learn from a positive female role model in the form of a female coach or team leader. This provides girls with a caring, supportive mentor to help navigate growing up and inspire a vision of what is possible;
  • explore human differences and connect with others from different classes, races, countries or religions, which in turn promotes mutual respect and a deeper understanding of other people;
  • capture the attention of the community. When girls play in public, they have an instant awareness-raising opportunity to assert their rights within the community. Victories, kits and leadership positions can alter a girl’s status within her community, changing her from a perceived liability to a source of pride;
  • have fun. The opportunity to be distracted from the pressures of growing up is a universal right.

 

Objectives

Year 1

  • Work with local partner on the development of a Girls’ Empowerment Through Football curriculum and programme, to be available in English and Spanish
  • Work with local partner on knowledge exchange in areas such as: leadership and strategy; people and infrastructure; coach development plan and sports facilities; financial management; fundraising and partnerships; communication and networks; training of female coaches; and technical services
  • Train coaches on the Girls’ Empowerment Through Football curriculum
  • Work with local partner on a monitoring and evaluation plan, including the collection of data for Women Win’s international database on girls’ sport
  • Recruit girls to participate in the Girls’ Empowerment Through Football programme and start delivery in partnership with local partner’s coaches

Year 2

  • Recruit new girls to participate in the Girls’ Empowerment Through Football programme and deliver programme in partnership with local partner’s coaches
  • Deliver sessions addressing specific development needs of female coaches, as identified by local partner
  • Work with local partner on knowledge exchange in areas such as: leadership and strategy; people and infrastructure; coach development plan and sports facilities; financial management; fundraising and partnerships; communication and networks; training of female coaches; and technical services
  • Work with local partner on the translation and contextualisation of Women Win’s Girls, Inclusion and Safeguarding self-assessments
  • Help ten Argentinian sports associations and sport for development organisations to identify capacity building needs in relation to the recruitment/retention of girls and child protection and safeguarding
  • Co-design, develop and deliver the Girls, Inclusion and Safeguarding workshop for ten Argentinian sports associations and sport for development organisations

Year 3

  • Recruit new girls to participate in the Girls’ Empowerment Through Football programme and deliver programme in partnership with local partner’s coaches
  • Work with local partner on knowledge exchange in areas such as: leadership and strategy; people and infrastructure; coach development plan and sports facilities; financial management; fundraising and partnerships; communication and networks; training of female coaches; and technical services
  • Work with local partner on the translation and contextualisation of Women Win’s Girls, Inclusion and Safeguarding self-assessments
  • Help ten Argentinian sports associations and sport for development organisations to identify capacity building needs in relation to the recruitment/retention of girls and child protection and safeguarding
  • Co-design, develop and deliver the Girls, Inclusion and Safeguarding workshop for ten Argentinian sports associations and sport for development organisations

Project activities

The La Nuestra Football Club project will use a curriculum in which football drills and matches are intertwined with the teaching of life skills. The girls will play football and have fun, while at the same time boosting their self-esteem and confidence, developing leadership skills, learning about health matters and the environment, and becoming financially literate.

Many of the female coaches working with the local partner are former professional footballers or have coaching qualifications. Women Win will provide the local partner with technical support and other institution strengthening assistance (including training aimed specifically at female coaches) in order to help it become a national point of reference for gender equality and football in Argentina.

Expected results

By the end of the third year, it is expected that:

  • 300 girls will have participated in the Girls’ Empowerment Through Football programme;
  • at least four local coaches will have qualified as ‘master trainers’ for the Girls’ Empowerment Through Football curriculum and programme;
  • at least eight employees of the local partner will have participated in institution strengthening and knowledge sharing workshops, helping it to become a national point of reference for gender equality and football;
  • 20 employees of sports associations and sport for development organisations will have participated in the Girls, Inclusion and Safeguarding workshop;
  • male and female members of the community will have seen the girls playing, challenging gender stereotypes;
  • relatives of girls participating in the Girls’ Empowerment Through Football programme will have been influenced either by seeing the girls playing or through the girls sharing knowledge acquired during the programme.

Partner

Play to Learn 2.0

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Nicaragua
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 12/31/2020
Cost of the project € 74,695
Foundation funding € 50,000
Project identifier 2019899
Partners Fondation Fabretto Children
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

Nicaragua continues to face significant development challenges, including precarious employment and persistent poverty. Many families are struggling to make ends meet and provide food and basic necessities for their children. This affects the socio-emotional well-being of children who suffer from chronic stress, resulting in irritability, anxiety, headaches, and difficulty concentrating.

In addition, Nicaraguan children, especially in rural communities, still face limited access to quality education. Those that do attend school, receive just four hours of classes per day for four days per week.

To support these populations in education and offer them relevant extracurricular activities, the Fabretto Children’s Foundation set up the Play to Learn project, funded by the UEFA Foundation for Children in 2019. By providing organised team sports activities for girls and boys, Fabretto has found a valuable way to enrich the afterschool programme with more emphasis on sports for childhood development and gender inclusion. Physical activities during childhood have a positive effect on mental health in adolescence and later in life.

 

Project content

The foundation’s contribution enables Fabretto to further develop meaningful extracurricular activities in some of the most vulnerable communities in Nicaragua. Fabretto focuses on linking education to sports and recreational activities, especially by training children's football teams in rural communities.

Since the project is run in the Fabretto Education Centres and in the participating schools, capacities are built directly within the communities, creating a lasting impact with educators and sports coaches better equipped for the next generations of pupils.

Objectives

The objectives of the Play to Learn 2.0 project are:

  • extend the programme to 780 students in vulnerable communities with educational enrichment and/or leisure activities for the duration of the project;
  • increase the participation of girls and young women in sports and recreational activities in order to reduce traditional assumptions and stereotypes about roles, and thereby promote gender equality;
  • bridge the gender gap through activities shared by girls and boys, and to include boys and men in the process;
  • train teachers and coaches how to promote active learning through play and student engagement;
  • involve parents in workshops to raise awareness of the importance of education and physical activity.

Project activities

  • Regular – weekly or bi-weekly – football training sessions led by trained coaches.
  • Each session includes a short literacy activity, warm-up, technical practice, and stretching or cool-down exercises.
  • Sports activities are used to instil values of fairness and competition, while fostering a sense of belonging and team spirit, helping students to develop their social and soft skills. The overall goal is to reduce stress and anxiety and to improve the overall mental health of children in extremely vulnerable rural communities.
  • Fabretto also uses team sports to help students overcome negative thoughts and high levels of anxiety and stress so that they become more relaxed, improve their mental health and overall achieve better learning results.
  • Timid and anxious children enrolled in the afterschool programme, who might not naturally join a sports team, are encouraged to take part in the football practice. This has become an effective way to reach some of the children most in need of social interaction and developing social skills.

Expected results

  • The Fabretto Children’s Foundation will provide 780 children with educational and recreational activities; 550 students will join football teams.
  • The project aims to promote gender equality by increasing the participation of girls in sport and combating traditional gender role assumptions and stereotypes.
  • Teachers and sports coaches will be trained to play the critical role of leading activities and guiding the pupils through the learning process.
  • Parent workshops will raise awareness of the importance of education and physical activities.
  • Children will be better educated and become more confident, integrated members of society, with a greater chance of a positive socio-economic future.
  • The institutionalisation of safe environments for sports and play in each community will foster healthy, safe communities enabling children to learn and grow

Partner

Senior Leaders Programme

Location and general information

Terminé
Location Pennsylvania (United States)
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 12/31/2020
Cost of the project € 258,056
Foundation funding € 44,829
Project identifier 2019938
Partners Starfinder Foundation
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

Philadelphia has the highest poverty rate of the ten largest cities in the United States: 37% of children there live in poverty and struggle with underperforming schools, poor diets, unsafe communities and other barriers to success. This entrenched poverty has a long-term impact: Philadelphia ranks last among all Pennsylvania counties on health outcomes and only 67% of Philadelphia public high-school students graduate on time. Less than 20% of those graduates obtain a college degree within six years. Educational attainment is directly linked to social mobility — without a college degree or vocational training, low-income youngsters have little chance of escaping poverty.

Project content

Sports can help to address the problems faced by youngsters in places such as Philadelphia. Young people who participate in athletics are healthier, less likely to be obese and more successful academically, as they are better able to concentrate and behave and therefore complete high school and attend college (Up2Us Sports). Teenage girls who play sport are less likely to smoke, use illicit drugs or suffer from depression, and have a lower risk of osteoporosis and breast cancer later in life (Women’s Sports Foundation). Sports also provide youngsters with caring adult mentors and help them learn critical life skills. Mentored young people tend to have more ambitious goals and attain a higher level of academic achievement.

However, access is a problem. Philadelphia’s low-income young people have fewer opportunities at school, in recreational programmes and in their neighbourhoods, which often lack safe places to play. Low-income students participate less in sports than their middle-income peers, and 37% of low-income youngsters have no mentors in their lives. In the United States, 60% of children who play sport have to pay fees. Low-income youngsters simply cannot afford to participate. Girls especially face barriers to participation in sport owing to a lack of opportunities and role models, and negative societal pressure. The Starfinder Foundation exists to fill these gaps and help children and young people achieve their full potential.

Objectives

Starfinder’s Senior Leaders Program focuses on young people (aged 14 to 18 years) from low-income and underserved Philadelphia neighbourhoods. This intensive after-school programme combines football training with health and fitness promotion, academic support and leadership development in order to help participants achieve success both on and off the field.

The aim of the programme is to help young people develop critical personal and leadership skills that will help them become successful, healthy adults. Football is a great vehicle for both engaging and supporting youngsters to this end.

 

Project activities

  • Football training
  • Leadership development
  • Academic support
  • “Focus Fuel” fitness sessions
  • Mentoring

Starfinder’s leadership curriculum uses football as a framework to help young people develop specific life and leadership skills. The curriculum is organised into different sections: self, interpersonal, team and community. Leadership topics covered in formal weekly sessions are then reinforced and put into practice with coach-mentors in weekly ‘Focus Fuel’ fitness sessions and at football practice. ‘Team Time’ at the end of every practice gives participants an opportunity to reflect on their application of the weekly leadership topic and helps them to make connections between what they are doing on and off the field.

 

Expected results

Operational goals include:

  • building long-term financial health through effective revenue generation and fiscal management;
  • increasing public awareness of and support for Starfinder’s mission, impact and reputation for excellence;
  • upgrading Starfinder’s facilities; and
  • increasing organisational resilience with effective operating practices and a highly qualified, motivated workforce.

The Senior Leaders Program serves 120 high-school students each year, primarily from low-income neighbourhoods in Philadelphia with low to average household incomes. The majority of participants have little or no access to safe and healthy development opportunities, including quality sports programmes or safe spaces to play within their schools and neighbourhoods. The goal is to equip this very diverse group of young people, almost 50% of whom are female, with the above-mentioned tools to help them to better develop their health and physical fitness, emotional well-being and life and leadership skills. Since its establishment, Starfinder has provided services to over 11,000 young people, with its graduating seniors achieving a 100% high-school graduation rate and 91% college matriculation rate in a city where over 30% of kids drop out of high school.

Partner

Afterschool programme

Location and general information

Closed
Location Mexico
Start date 01/01/2020
End date 12/31/2020
Cost of the project € 295,171
Foundation funding € 88,235
Project identifier 2019399
Partners Fundación del Empresariado Chihuahuense (FECHAC)
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

Chihuahua is the largest state in Mexico, with over 3.5 million inhabitants. Most of the population are aged 5 to 14 years old and in need of basic education.

Social, health and education conditions

According to the multidimensional poverty measurement conducted by CONEVAL, the national board of social development, evaluation 30% of the population of Chihuahua lives in poverty:

  • 40% have no access to social security.
  • 18% lack access to proper nutrition, but children also suffer from obesity and high rates of diabetes. According to the national institute for public health, within the urban population of the state, 13% of children under five are overweight or obese.
  • 50% of children and teenagers have not engaged in any physical activity over the past 12 months.
  • Chihuahua is in a climate of insecurity, and has one of the highest crime rates due to its strategic border position.
  • More than 30% of the state’s population are illiterate and did not finish elementary or secondary school.

The afterschool programme was created by FECHAC and it is run by different organisations around the state to provides vulnerable children with tools to deal with life situations in a resilient way and motivate them to continue with their studies, by means of fun and formative evening activities that promote their cultural, social and physical development, in a variety of workshops.

Project content

The sports component serves two main purposes: gain physical benefits and exploit the formative role of the sport.

The project focuses on poor school retention, high rates of domestic violence, high rates of sexual abuse and social exclusion. The project’s goal is also to prevent violence. By practising sport, children and teenagers learn rules and discipline and come to realise that there are other life options for them than the drug business.

Fundación del Empresariado Chihuahuense (FECHAC) currently runs the programme in 88 schools and aims to expand it to 100 schools in next two years.

Objectives

Introduce basketball, football and handball programmes in seven schools throughout Chihuahua state: 2 schools in Ciudad Juarez, 2 schools in Chihuahua city, 1 school in Camargo, 1 school in Delicias and 1 school in Cuauhtémoc.

The sports component aims to:

  • create the habit of daily exercise and generate a lifestyle change;
  • improve body functioning and balanced mental health;
  • prevent conditions such as obesity and improve body coordination and control;
  • enhance confidence through tournaments and leagues, promote universal values and appropriate social behavior, model positive social relationships and teamwork.

Expected results

Expand the programme from 88 to 100 schools in the next two years.

For the participants

  • increased self-confidence and reduced risk of gender-based violence
  • lower drug abuse rates
  • extracurricular activities
  • safe environment for children

Partner

Math Attack

Location and general information

Closed
Location Saint Lucia
Start date 06/01/2019
End date 07/31/2021
Cost of the project €184,356
Foundation funding €132,405
Project identifier AME - 2018424
Partners Sacred Sports Foundation Inc.
Categories Access to Sport - Personal development

Context

The Math Attack programme is a specific response to poor local education standards and alarming declines in understanding of mathematics among school-age children. Academic pass rates in mathematics have been on the decline for well over a decade. Around 50% of male school students in Saint Lucia fails mathematics and around 20% of children who repeat a grade in school have some identifiable learning disability. Currently, fewer than 15% of school leavers in the region move on to further education. School dropout rates are closely associated with adverse health outcomes. Children who fail in school are more likely to engage in subsequent health-impairing behaviours as adolescents. Failing students are also more likely to drop out of school.

Project content

The Math Attack programme will provide a child-friendly, safe and welcoming environment for after-school academic enrichment and support for at-risk youth between the ages of 11 and 15, using sport as a tool to enhance the development of life skills, foster positive social behaviours and improve academic performance.

Children are born wanting to move. The options for sport and play will be fun and modified where necessary to encourage team building and leadership development.

To motivate the participants, Sacred Sports Foundation ties small rewards to children’s efforts and progress so they can experience the short-term, ongoing pay-off of their sweat.

Children of all ages get excited about reaching personal achievements and contributing to team goals. Group and individual feedback loops are built into all activities.

Objectives

  • To use sport as a tool to enhance the development of life skills, foster positive social behaviours and improve academic performance.
  • To provide a child-friendly, safe and welcoming environment for after-school academic enrichment and support for at-risk youth between the ages of 11 and 15.
  • For 120 participants to attend a well-structured after-school programme three days per week, and receive high-quality assistance in three core programme areas:
    1. mathematics and academic tutoring,
    2. extracurricular sporting activities, and
    3. life skills.

Project activities

  1. Mathematics homework support/tutoring three days a week (60 minutes per day), covering topics including academic enrichment, technology skills development and self-discipline.
  2. Sport support three days per week (60 minutes per day), including defined mathematics skills coaching and improved understanding of nutrition, health and well-being.
  3. Life skills support three days per week (30 minutes per day), including a conflict resolution programme and positive behaviour reinforcement to enhance learning and negotiation skills.

Expected results

It is anticipated that over 85% of the participating students will report that their marks increase by at least one grade level annually as a result of attending the programme. Key stakeholders are expected to see noticeable signs of improvement in participants’ learning attitude – for example, a more positive view of school, better study habits and an increase in the completion of homework.

The programme will lead to:

  • improved academic performance and better grades in mathematics,
  • better physical health and understanding of nutrition,
  • a greater ability to find a peaceful solution to disagreements,
  • improved social and emotional well-being of most of the participants,
  • greater engagement in school of all participants,
  • improved student behaviour, and
  • greater parent/guardian engagement.

Partner