CategoriesAccess to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development
Context
Talibé is the name given to children living on the streets of Senegal. They are on the streets for various reasons: many are orphans, from poor families or marginalised because of a disability. Left to take care of themselves, their main objectives are often simply to find enough to eat and a roof to sleep under. In this desperate situation, the children of Saint-Louis find refuge in violence or drugs, using substances such as glue in plastic bags.
Life is also tough for children living at home with their family. With financial resources scarce, one out of every two children do not attend school but carry out household chores or painstaking work in the fields from a very young age.
Project content
In 2008, Unis Vers le Sport, in cooperation with UNESCO, opened its first school in Mali, which enabled more than 160 children from disadvantaged families to benefit from school education, sports activities, medical care and vocational training. Unis Vers le Sport would like to open a similar school in Saint-Louis, where the French organisation has been running various education and sports-based projects since 2002.
The UVS International education centre will have:
dormitories for boarders
a dining hall and kitchen for the children’s meals
three classrooms
an administrative building
a barn for animals and a fenced plot of land
a toilet block
an indoor sports court (basketball, volleyball, handball)
a football pitch
The sports activities available at the UVS International centre will also be used to promote prevention campaigns relating to local health issues (malaria, typhus, etc.) and to raise public awareness concerning various topics such as children’s rights.
Objectives
The centre has a two-fold objective. In cooperation with the Saint-Louis social services, it will accommodate and take full responsibility for the street children of Saint-Louis by offering them:
board and lodging
a full school curriculum
medical care
vocation training from age 16
daily sports activities
micro-credit when they leave the centre in order to start their own business
access to suitable regular sports activities for children from neighbouring villages that do not have any sports facilities or equipment of their own
the centre will be totally self-financed by agricultural activities (farming and market gardening)
Expected results
Initially, to take in and look after 100 Saint-Louis street children
To offer sports activities to 5,000 pupils of schools within a 20km radius of the UVS centre. A school bus service will enable the children concerned to enjoy a variety of suitable sports activities run by experienced sports coaches.
LocationCook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, India, New Zealand, American Samoa, Samoa
Start date
01/01/2020
End date
04/30/2020
Cost of the project€ 600,000
Foundation funding€ 200,000
Project identifier2019615
PartnersOceania Football Confederation
CategoriesAccess to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development
Context
Football is popular, accessible, and profound in its ability to connect people and places. Seen as an incredibly powerful platform, through which to facilitate the promotion of social change, football and sport for development programmes are recognised as a low-cost, high impact tool to supporting the achievement of global development priorities.
The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) focuses on sport for development as part of its overall strategy to build stronger, healthier communities and address social issues affecting young people in the Pacific region.
The purpose of the Just Play programme is to reduce vulnerabilities to endemic social issues, such as the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCD), gender inequality and social exclusion, by integrating social messages into sessions – for example, the importance of eating fruit and vegetables. The programme promotes the importance of regular physical activity and its impact on issues such as nutrition, disability and social inclusion, to enable positive social behaviour change.
Home to half a million children spread over 17.2 million square kilometres of ocean, children in the Pacific region face several significant challenges as they navigate their way through daily life.
Health and wellness – non-communicable diseases the leading cause of death
With obesity and diabetes on the rise, research indicates that only 18% of children in Fiji, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu attend regular physical education classes, with fewer than 20% of children in these countries playing for 60 minutes or more a day. More than 50% of children choose soft drinks instead of water, which contributes to weight gain. More than 25% of children present as overweight and obese as early as 13 years of age.
Gender equality and social inclusion – prevalence of discrimination and inequality
Children with disabilities experience discrimination, exclusion and social barriers, and girls are marginalised and face inequalities in education, decision-making processes and access to health services.
Child safeguarding – high levels of bullying and violence
Evidence shows that poverty, hunger and lack of access to services remain major challenges for children in the target countries. One in four children live below the poverty line and children are exposed to high levels of violence at home and at school. More than 45% of children aged 13–15 report being bullied; 27% have attempted suicide in the past 12 months; 12% report having no close friends; and 80% of children experience some form of direct violence or abuse.
Protection risk factors are high. More than 40% of children reportedly miss school and 35% of children report that their parents or guardians do not know what their offspring are doing or where they are during their free time.
With low levels of literacy and up to 30% of young people aged 15–24 years presenting as illiterate, employment opportunities are limited, resulting in high unemployment rates among young people in the region.
Emergency preparedness and response – high risk of natural disasters
Between 2009 and 2017, the Pacific region was affected by 44 natural disasters. Vanuatu and Fiji were hit by category 5 tropical cyclones in 2015 and 2016 that affected nearly one million people, including 450,000 children. Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu accounted for 30 of 44 natural disasters that struck the region, with children constituting on average between one third and one half of the people most severely affected.
With a focus on the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs), adopted in 2015, the OFC’s sport for development activities were developed to help support and reinforce national capacities to deliver results for children and children’s rights throughout the Pacific region.
Through the provision of structured sport for development interventions, the OFC seeks to reduce risk factors associated with NCDs, child protection, gender and social inequality. These efforts were extended to humanitarian response with the success of the Just Play emergency programme.
Working with key delivery partners such as the Australian government, Football Federation Australia, the New Zealand government, UEFA Foundation for Children and UNICEF Pacific, the OFC seeks to build confidence in children and teenagers and provide access to quality sports activities, educational platforms, advocacy campaigns and public dialogue through active participation.
Project content
With a ball, a coach and a safe space to play, the Just Play programme delivers football in combination with life skills messages aimed to build stronger, healthier individuals, communities and nations by addressing social issues affecting children and teenagers in the Pacific and beyond.
Through the OFC’s Just Play programme children and adolescents are empowered to advocate for change, supporting the development of positive behaviour and the enhancement of resilience among their peers and community.
Objectives
Recognising that football for development programmes are designed to champion a learning through sport approach, the Just Play programme provides an ideal platform through which to enhance positive behaviour, develop fundamental life skills and promote action-oriented learning.
Whether it is a training session, fun activity, kick-about or competition, football provides a setting within which children and teenagers are forced to make hundreds of important decisions—where the consequences matter. With no two football drills, kick-abouts or matches ever the same, it provides children and young people with a variety of scenarios and contexts to learn from.
Project activities
Through engagement in the OFC’s four social responsibility programming streams: Just Play 6-12 year programme, Just Play 13-18 year programme, Just Play grassroots and the Just Play emergency programme, the programme helps to:
Reach children and teenagers who are most at risk, providing access to information on health and wellness; gender equality; social inclusion; child protection and safeguarding; clean water, sanitation and hygiene; emergency preparedness; and life skills;
Provide knowledge and skills, promoting positive behaviours and informed decision-making among children and teenagers;
Mobilise children and teenagers through advocacy campaigns at local, national and regional levels alongside major sporting events;
Leverage partner support to ensure a synergistic and coherent response among sports for development projects and programmes;
Create role models to promote and encourage positive behaviours and active, responsible civic engagement of children and teenagers;
Engage children and teenagers in internalising the link between football and healthy lifestyle choices;
Empower and engage girls, increasing opportunities and access to football, in addition to providing concrete links to management and leadership pathways within football;
Work with inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations that have direct and frequent contact with children, teenagers and communities, and who can create a supportive and structured environment for running football for development programmes;
Develop new partnerships to expand and enhance the delivery of football for development programmes – creating a blueprint to share and promote best practices.
Just Play in numbers
Just Play is supporting the upskilling of teachers and community volunteers to enable them to deliver programme activities that facilitate capacity building, ownership and accountability in social change through a community based, child-centred approach.
317,004: The number of children and teenagers who have taken part in the Just Play programme across the Pacific region since 2009
7,198: The number of teachers and community volunteers trained to deliver of the Just Play programme in the Pacific region since 2009
17,390: Number of children and teenagers who have taken part in Just Play emergency programme festivals in the wake of a natural disaster in the Pacific region
Results
The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) recognises that children who have a positive experience of sport early on are more likely to practise sport and physical activity throughout their lives.
The OFC also acknowledges that sport helps children and teenagers to develop life skills applicable both on and off the field of play.
Health and wellness
Before participating in Just Play: 52% of children chose to drink water instead of soda
After participating in Just Play programme: 82%
Gender equality
Before participating in Just Play 53% of boys reported that they enjoyed playing football with girls
After participating in Just Play programme : 72%
Social inclusion
Before participating in Just Play : 65% of children reported that they acknowledged and celebrated differenced
After participating in Just Play programme : 85%
Child protection
Before participating in Just Play : 24% of children reported that they felt safe in the wake of a natural disaster
After participating in Just Play programme : 59%
Just Play has a positive impact on children and teenagers through a sport-based curriculum that enables them to develop the life skills necessary to make consistent, long-term healthy lifestyle choices that promote health and wellness, gender equality, social inclusion and child protection, including in post- emergency contexts.
65% of teenagers report they now know how to set goals; 54% know how to make the goals SMART
98% of teenage boys in the Just Play programme see their coach as a positive role model
44% of coaches in the Just Play 13–18 year programme are women
71% of teenagers report they have someone they can talk to when they have a problem or need help
93% of teenagers report they now know what to do in a situation where they or someone they know is being bulled
CategoriesAccess to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development
Context
Cambodia is one of the countries most affected by landmines anywhere in the world. An estimated 4 to 6 million landmines and cluster bombs and other unexploded ordnance were left behind after nearly three decades of war ending in 1998. Children, particularly those in rural areas, are in particular danger because they are most likely to be unaware of the risks of playing in or traversing hazardous areas.
In Cambodia, children account for up to 50% of landmine casualties, according to the Cambodian Red Cross. Children are far more likely to die from landmine injuries than adults, with an estimated 85% of child victims dying before reaching the hospital.
Landmines also cause gut-wrenching injuries: children may lose their sight or hearing; lose fingers, toes and limbs; or suffer injuries to their genitals. They also suffer psychologically from the trauma of a landmine injury. Without adequate medical treatment, children injured by landmines are often pulled out of school. They face limited future prospects for education and employment and are often perceived as a burden to their families.
Clearing mined areas is expensive, time consuming and complicated when climate, displacement and economic necessity drive people into contaminated areas. The most efficient way to tackle the problem is to make sure children are educated about the types of weapons present in their community and how to avoid them. However, there is a lack of effective mine risk education in Cambodia meaning children lack the knowledge needed to stay safe.
Project content
Spirit of Soccer's mission is to use football to educate children living in conflict and post-conflict regions about the dangers of landmines, unexploded ordnance (UXO) and other explosive remnants of war. It educates, trains and employs local football coaches and teachers. They are taught how to deliver its curriculum, which uses easy-to-understand football-related lessons to teach children how to identify and avoid specific threats posed by explosive remnants of war in their communities. The approach is culturally sensitive and adapted to local cultural, religious and social needs. The focus is on a fun, safe environment that is inclusive to all and provides healthy physical activity, hope and happiness.
Through its work, Spirit of Soccer addresses Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace Justice and Strong Institutions, with a specific focus on Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
Objectives
The project aims to deliver mine risk education to approximately 12,000 Cambodian children through football/MRE clinics and MRE tournaments and a further 24,000 Cambodian children through a multimedia campaign involving the distribution of posters and school notebooks. Spirit of Soccer will provide all services and materials, including:
an MRE curriculum to be delivered by (locally trained and recruited) Spirit of Soccer coaches to 12,000 at-risk Cambodian children, with the assistance of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) and the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA);
distribution of 500 footballs featuring mine education messages;
training of 20 teachers – through a coaching/MRE course and workshop based on the Spirit of Soccer’s football/MRE curriculum – who will promote MRE messages in their local communities;
distribution of 10,000 school notebooks featuring world-renowned football stars endorsing safe behaviours for schoolchildren to follow should they encounter mines or explosive remnants of war.
Project activities
Coaches and teachers trained to be mine risk educators
Mine risk education delivered directly to children in at-risk communities through educational football clinics
Regular mine risk education festivals to expand the indirect reach to the wider community
Expected results
The project aims to achieve a 75% or higher favourable response to certain key indicators about mine safety knowledge as tracked by its M&E system to demonstrate the effectiveness of the football programme as a vehicle for mine risk education.
CategoriesChildren with disabilities - Conflict victims - Personal development
Context
In 2016, 6,447 unaccompanied refugee children, mostly from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, applied for asylum in Bulgaria. With the adoption of a new law on foreigners that came into force in 2017, the temporary detention of children, including unaccompanied and separated children, was legalised, contrary to international human rights standards. Children applying for asylum were moved to refugee centres, where they lived in the same space as adults and faced a huge risk of violence and abuse.
In 2017, World at Play was invited by Caritas Bulgaria, part of the Caritas international aid organisation, to work on a programme to support and integrate refugee children and young people in the Harmanli and Sofia areas.
During a preliminary fact-finding project, it quickly became evident that there were tensions between the refugees and local communities. The local population itself faced difficulties related to low incomes and a lack of opportunities and felt excluded and marginalised due to an increased focus on refugees.
World at Play started to build relationships between young locals and young refugees. Initially working with them in separate groups, it then started integrating them into each other’s games and showed how, through the power of sport and play, individuals can engage with one another with respect and care as equals, regardless of gender, ethnicity and background.
Project content
World at Play believes that access to sport, and the freedom to play without fear, prejudice or intimidation, is an integral part of every childhood.
World at Play has been running specially designed sport and play programmes since 2004. Its games – often requiring little or no equipment – rely on specially selected coaches and trainers who have been extensively trained to:
work with children and young people who have experienced trauma and conflict;
work with marginalised children and ostracised communities;
work with children who have suffered abuse and physical or emotional violence
work with disabled children and young people.
World at Play primarily uses common, well-known games and sports such as football, hockey, frisbee, cricket and baseball, but it has a handbook of nearly 150 games that enable children to be active and have fun while also learning about teamwork, cooperation, inclusion, support, gender equality and communication.
Caritas Bulgaria is directly involved in World at Play activities as a local partner of the Harmanli refugee centre and the Voenna Rampa and Ovcha Kupel refugee centres in Sofia. Their staff and volunteers are trained to deliver World at Play programmes.
Objectives
To improve the lives of vulnerable children in society, e.g. socially underprivileged children, Roma communities, disabled children and unaccompanied refugee children
To promote gender equality in communities where females are often treated unfairly
To use games to promote teamwork
To strengthen academic knowledge, particularly language skills, through play
To encourage participation of young refugee victims of trauma, using sport and cricket as a starting point to engage with them, lift them out of depression and find common ground to work from
To use music therapy in rehabilitation centres to improve the self-confidence of disabled children
Project activities
Sport and play sessions for refugees from a diverse range of backgrounds
Inclusive play sessions that emphasise gender equality
Skill development sessions for community leaders within the refugee camp
Donation of equipment to ensure sessions are sustainable
Expected results
Individual engagement and respect will be fostered between the different communities, regardless of gender and heritage.
Physical activities will benefit health and well-being.
Partner organisation staff will develop their sports coaching skills and be empowered to deliver future sessions in order to make the project sustainable.
Individuals who have faced barriers to participation in the past will be welcome at sessions as equals, in line with long-established World at Play principles.
Over 100 male and 35 female participants will attend World at Play sessions.
CategoriesAccess to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development
Context
The Child and Parent Day is an annual event for families with children 5–12 years old with brain injuries, including their parents and siblings. When it comes to regular education and sport, these children often fall behind. On the outside, most of these children look like any other; however, their brain injuries cause delays in learning and social-emotional development. This leads to exclusion, bullying and isolation. Many of these children have no suitable school or education programme. And they simply have no friends. Ultimately, they don’t go to school or sports club at all and many of them just stay at home with their parents. Which has a huge impact on their development and their day-to-day family life.
Project content
The purpose of the Child and Parent Day is to help these children make a connection, to encourage social interaction among children with the same background and help them make friends through sport. In addition, it encourages knowledge sharing and recognition for the parents. They can take part in workshops and lectures about education, rehabilitation, family support, legislation and regulations.
Objectives
Improve self-confidence, self-reliance and social contacts
Project activities
The Child and Parent Day comprises a variety of sports activities, adapted to the limitations of the children. The games are supervised by expert sports coaches. There are some traditional sports such as football, basketball and hockey, but also boxing lessons, climbing walls and a cycle cross track. In addition, there are all kinds of cognitive games and challenges to stimulate their brains.
Expected results
Tailor-made education, rehabilitation and leisure activities for children with brain damage.
CategoriesAccess to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development
Context
There is huge concern about the abandonment of children in Russia, most of whom are children with disabilities. More than half of people with Down’s syndrome in Russia grow up in orphanages and nearly 30% of Russian children with any type of disability live in orphanages.
The village of Belskoye Ustye is 20km from the nearest town and orphanage residents are restricted in their interactions almost exclusively to their peer group and carers. The region including the surrounding villages and the nearby town of Porkhov is economically depressed, suffers from large outward migration and has few opportunities for young people.
During the summer of 2018, the huge positive impact of football on the children was discovered after some training sessions with professional coaches were organised, enabling tthe joy of playing football together. It was then decided to create a football programme that will provide a rare source of recreation to both children from the orphanage and children from the local community, giving them an opportunity to socialise and to learn important skills.
Project content
The football project of the Step Up Orphan Opportunity Centre, funded by the UEFA Foundation for Children, aims to include orphans and disabled children in society, outside the orphanage. The project will help the children from the orphanage to go some way towards overcoming their severe isolation, facilitating their integration with locals and helping them to develop key communication skills. Moreover, the project will seek to involve children growing up in the village of Belskoye Ustye, the surrounding villages and the nearby town of Porkhov.
To achieve that aim, a football field will be built, and a methodology for football workshops for children with disabilities will be created so that volunteer coaches can run the activities.
Objectives
To give children from the orphanage and the rural community access to sport education (guided by professional coaches and trainers).
For children from the orphanage to socialise with children from the surrounding rural areas.
To improve the health and psychological conditions of the children from the region.
For teachers from the orphanage to gain skills as football coaches.
For teachers from the orphanage to improve their ability to support the personal development of the children and to integrate specific skills into the football training sessions.
To develop a specific methodology for football workshops for children with disabilities.
To build a football pitch.
Expected results
Football pitch built.
Football training sessions provided for the teachers at the orphanage.
Football activities provided for the children of the orphanage.
Football events run for the children from the orphanage and the children from the local community.
Sport for Development is a critical component of the Oceania Football Confederation’s approach to helping to build stronger Pacific Island communities.
With obesity and diabetes on the rise, research indicates that only 29% of children in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu attend regular physical education classes,[1] with less than 25% of children in these countries practising 60 minutes or more of sport a day.[2] More than 50% of children choose soft drinks instead of water, which is a major contributor to weight gain. More than 27% of children are overweight and obese as early as age 13.[3]
Children with disabilities experience discrimination, exclusion and barriers to being widely accepted, while all girls are marginalized and face inequalities in education, decision-making processes and access to health services.
Evidence shows that poverty, hunger and lack of access to services remain major challenges for children in the targeted countries. One in four children live below the poverty line[4]. Children in general are exposed to high levels of violence at home and at school, and more than 50% of children aged 13–15 years report being bullied[5], 26% have attempted suicide[6], 12% report having no close friends[7], and 80% of children experience some form of direct violence or abuse[8].
With low levels of literacy and up to 30% of young people aged 15–24 actually illiterate, employment opportunities are limited, resulting in high unemployment rates among young people in the Pacific region.[9]
Between 2009 and 2017, the Pacific region was affected by 44 natural disasters. Vanuatu and Fiji were hit by category 5 tropical cyclones in 2015 and 2016 that affected nearly 1 million people, including 450,000 children. Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu suffered 30 of the 44 natural disasters that struck the region,[10] with children on average constituting between a third and a half of those most severely affected.[11]
Through the provision of structured Sport for Development interventions, UNICEF Pacific seeks to reduce the risks associated with non-communicable diseases, child protection, gender and social inequality. These efforts were extended to humanitarian response with the success of the Just Play emergency programme.
Working with key partners such as the OFC, UNICEF Pacific seeks to build confidence in children and young people and create access to quality sports activities, educational platforms, advocacy campaigns and public dialogue through active participation.
[1] World Health Organization, Global School-Health Based Survey Country Fact Sheets for Cook Islands (2015), Fiji (2016), Samoa (2011), Solomon Islands (2011), Tonga (2017) and Vanuatu (2011).
[2] Secretariat of the Pacific Community and UNICEF Pacific, The State of Pacific Youth: Opportunities and obstacles, Bluebird Printery, Fiji, 2011.
[3] World Health Organization, Global School-Health Based Survey Country Fact Sheets for Cook Islands (2011), Fiji (2010), Samoa (2011), Solomon Islands (2011), Tonga (2010) and Vanuatu (2011).
[5] World Health Organization, Global School-Health Based Survey Country Fact Sheets for Cook Islands (2011), Fiji (2010), Nauru (2011), Niue (2010), Samoa (2011), Solomon Islands (2011), Tonga (2010), Tuvalu (2013) and Vanuatu (2011).
[6] Secretariat of the Pacific Community and UNICEF Pacific, The State of Pacific Youth: Opportunities and obstacles, Bluebird Printery, Fiji, 2011.
[7] World Health Organization, Global School-Health Based Survey Country Fact Sheets for Cook Islands (2011), Fiji (2010), Samoa (2011), Solomon Islands (2011), Tonga (2010) and Vanuatu (2011).
[11] UNICEF, ‘Child-Centred Risk Assessment: Regional Synthesis of UNICEF Assessments in Asia’, UNICEF, Nepal, 2014.
Project Content
Just Play is a community-engagement Sport for Development programme developed by the OFC to improve the lives of children and teenagers aged 6–16 by means of football.
The programme engages children in a series of interactive sessions that include social messages aligned to the four key programming pillars: health and wellness, gender equality, social inclusion and child protection. Through active participation, Just Play helps children to develop healthy lifestyle habits and become confident in their abilities; encourages gender equality; promotes social inclusion; and emphasises that sport is for everyone.
The programme aims to reduce the risks associated with, and vulnerability to, endemic social issues, such as the prevalence of violence against women and children, gender inequality and social exclusion, by integrating social messages into the sessions – for example, the importance of reporting bullying and other types of violence. In doing so, the programme promotes an understanding of the importance of regular participation in physical exercise and its impact on issues such as bullying, violence and social inclusion to enable positive social and behaviour change.
Just Play also facilitates the development of critical life skills applicable both on and off the field of play, including the acceptance of rules, teamwork, respect, decision-making and fair play.
The 16-week school-based programme is delivered in primary schools during class time with the support of teachers, while the 48-week community-based programme is delivered outside school with the support of community stakeholders.
The Just Play emergency programme is now a full-scale emergency response programme that uses football to communicate critical messages about safe water, personal safety and preparedness.
Just Play supports programming activities by working with local stakeholders in areas most likely to be affected by natural disasters.
By focusing on vulnerability, the programme leverages existing content to support coping in the wake of a natural disaster, and specifically the emotional recovery of children within an emergency context.
Objectives
Just Play is run with the support of trained coaches and equipment packs containing footballs, cones, bibs, activity manuals and other resources that enable children to learn healthy lifestyle habits and social skills that focus on:
Health and wellness, by reducing the risk factors associated with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) through healthier lifestyle decisions and choices;
Gender equality, by changing perceptions towards women and girls, and creating pathways to empower women and girls to realize their human rights;
Social inclusion, by changing perceptions towards those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity or ability, and creating equal opportunity for their full inclusion in society;
Child protection, by increasing understanding of child protection issues, and the availability of safe/protective environments, including in sports contexts, through tailored advocacy campaigns, e.g. #ENDViolence and REDcard;
Education, by facilitating the development of important life skills applicable both on and off the field of play, including the acceptance of rules, decision-making, teamwork, overcoming adversity, showing respect, and expressive play;
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), by supporting the development of positive WASH behaviours and practices in schools and communities, and in times of emergencies;
Emergency, by building reliance and supporting the emotional recovery of children and adolescents in the wake of natural disasters and conflict.
Just Play supports the upskilling of teachers and community volunteers to deliver programme activities that facilitate capacity-building, ownership and accountability in social change through a community based, child-centred approach.
284,929: The number of children and adolescents who have taken part in the Just Play programme throughout the Pacific region since 2009;
5,102: The number of teachers and community volunteers trained to help deliver the Just Play programme in the Pacific region since 2009;
17,083: Number of children and teenagers who have taken part in Just Play emergency programme festivals in the wake of a natural disaster in the Pacific region.
Image: OFC - Just Play
Expected Results
Just Play is positively impacting children and teenagers through a sport-based curriculum that helps them to develop the life skills necessary to make consistent, long-term healthy lifestyle choices that promote health and wellness, gender equality, social inclusion and child protection, even in post-emergency contexts.
After the programme:
81% of children choose to drink water instead of soda
72% of boys report they enjoy playing football with girls
85% of children report they acknowledge and celebrate differences
59% of children report they feel safe following a natural disaster
CategoriesAccess to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development
Context
The UEFA Foundation for Children’ support will help develop the sporting dimension of the project, which aims to combat the gender stereotype, that women are inferior to men, in Malawi. As a consequence, girls and young women feel vulnerable and are often the target of sexual and gender-based violence.
Project content
The Centre for Alternatives for Victimised Women and Children (CAVWOC) organises sports activities, such as football and karate, to bring vulnerable girls and boys together in a setting of greater equality.
The goal is for the children to learn mutual respect, develop self-esteem and start a process of resilience. Combining sports training with information on sexual and reproductive health rights will help girls and boys protect themselves.
If the girls play football with boys, the masculinity related to the game will disappear. This will give an enormous boost to their self-esteem and will be one step towards breaking the gender stereotype. Sport will help the girls to work in a team and develop their objective-setting skills. Working with coaches, trainers, and teammates to win games and meet objectives is great practice for success later in life. Sport will also make them better able to accept defeat and emerge stronger from it. Being a team player will make it easier for them to work with others and resolve issues, whether on the field or in their personal lives.
CAVWOC will set up 12 girls’ football teams and organise a football tournament, inviting successful national female players to take part. This experience will boost the girls’ feeling of empowerment.
CAVWOC has run a pilot programme to teach the girls karate, and it has increased their self-esteem and confidence and even the boys are more understanding and treat the girls equally. In addition, the karate training helps them to defend themselves.
In addition to the sports activities, boys and girls will take part in the information campaign about sexual and reproductive rights. We aim to reduce the inequalities and power imbalance between boys and girls. We believe that men and boys are not only part of the problem in gender imbalance, but also part of the solution. This is one way to increase solidarity with girls. Male champions can influence their peers about how boys and men can support girls.
Beneficiaries:
1,000 vulnerable children aged between 16 and 18 living in rural areas
More than 76% are girls
Around 5% are disabled children
5% are orphans
25% live in difficult social contexts
Objectives
The overall objective is to reduce the number of women and children that encounter rights violations in Malawi. The project provides infrastructure and support to enable communities to acknowledge and value the laws that protect and allow all women and children to live healthy lives and sustain themselves financially.
A society in which women and children feel safe and protected from gender-based abuse and are economically strengthened.
Project activities
Educate 30 boys and girls on sexual rights and health (SRH) and a gender-transformative approach (GTA).
Support girls’ football
Raise awareness of teen pregnancies and gender equality
Teach girls karate
Train girls in leadership
Communication with international female football stars
Expected results
15 girls and 15 boys trained in SRH and GTA
8,000 youngsters taught awareness of teen pregnancies and gender equality
12 girls’ football teams set up
30 girls taught karate
30 girls trained in leadership skills
Nationwide campaign on female empowerment with the support of international female football players
CategoriesAccess to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development
Context
As Cambodia continues to recover from the impact of the Khmer Rouge’s destructive reign, corruption and inequality remain prevalent and extreme poverty continues to affect young people, who make up almost 60% of the population. The pressure on young people to find employment is very high and school dropout rates, especially in rural areas reflect this. Children as young as five work to help financially support their families and are often taken out of school to make ends meet. The poverty they experience not only denies them the chance of education, but also strips them of their right to be children and to play.
Across the country, particularly in rural areas, 19% of girls marry before their 18th birthday. Sporting opportunities for girls are very limited, and most are excluded from participating in sport and the social engagement that comes with it. In this way, disadvantaged and marginalised children and young people miss out on interaction with their peers and the vital life skills that are not taught in the classroom but are learned through sport, play and socialisation.
Project content
This programme will work directly with 500 disadvantaged children and 200 young people and adults who live in communities where poverty, social exclusion and lack of opportunity regularly lead to harmful behaviour. It will provide opportunities for children to access their right to play and right to education, promoting healthy life choices, equality and diversity.
Objectives
The Indochina Starfish Foundation (ISF) believes every child has the right to education, healthcare and play. Therefore, the project aims to:
provide children, including girls, with access to sport and play;
improve children’s health and well-being;
provide a safe space for children to explore social issues such as children’s rights and child abuse, gender equality and disability inclusion, HIV, alcohol and drugs, and gambling;
develop children’s confidence, leadership, teamwork, problem-solving and resilience;
empower girls and women and change local perceptions through sport;
promote and encourage young people, especially girls, to remain in school.
Project activities
The pilot outreach project is about empowering coaches in rural areas to provide access to sport and learning to socially disadvantaged children in Cambodia. ISF will start running three coach development courses in 2019.
Two hundred coaches and aspiring coaches from schools, community organisations and NGOs around the country will participate in five intensive days of training focusing on football for social impact. The training, developed in partnership with Coaches Across Continents (CAC), will teach participants to deliver social impact football training using fun games and activities, engaging children in locally relevant social issues such as gender equality, disability and social inclusion, drug and alcohol abuse, gambling, education and health.
Participants will be trained to deliver a bespoke 12-month ISF/CAC social impact curriculum while developing children’s football skills, confidence, leadership, teamwork and decision-making skills in a fun and safe environment.
Expected results
Throughout the course of the pilot project, we expect the 20 ISF-supported coaches to run 480 outreach sessions, reaching approximately 500 socially deprived children, and three coach development courses focusing on social impact through football. In addition to the 700 direct beneficiaries of this project, the objective is to have 3,000 indirect beneficiaries.
PartnersEverton in the Community, Edge Hill University
CategoriesAccess to Sport - Children with disabilities
Context
Suicide is a global public health problem, with approximately 800,000 deaths from suicide each year. In 2017, there were 5,821 registered suicides in the UK, three-quarters of which were men (Office of National Statistics, 2017). Suicide is also the biggest killer of young people under the age of 20. Today, we know that 50% of all adult mental illnesses can be recognised before the age of 14 and 75% by age 18. This highlights the importance of prevention and early intervention.
The project focuses on helping children and young adults who have been identified as having a mental illness – or at risk of developing a mental illness – by means of physical activity, education and sport. Operating in England, the UEFA foundation funding will be used to expend the project in the Netherlands.
Project content
Everton in the Community (EitC) has successfully delivered community-based projects for three decades. Over the previous six years, working in partnership with Edge Hill University (EHU), a range of jointly designed, delivered and robustly evaluated projects have been developed. To share this success in other communities, EitC and EHU will provide a support service for a developing organisation that has similar objectives.
EitC and EHU will guide the organisation through a period of growth, including infrastructure development, so that it becomes sustainable and can deliver impactful community projects focusing on mental health and illness among children and young people. Physical activity and sport will be key components alongside the project evaluation.
This project will help with tackling the stigma associated with mental illness and help raise awareness of suicide.
Objectives
Use the power of sport to motivate, educate and inspire young people
Help the ones facing the toughest challenges, including those that are hard to reach and hard to help
Provide life-changing opportunities, give a new start and opportunity to grow, develop and engage with the community
Project activities
Everton in the Community will visit the organisation to deliver this service and invite staff from the organisation to visit Everton in the Community located in England.
Over a 12-month period, the organisation will be supported in various capacity building and professional development activities and learn about project planning.
This will be delivered by Everton in the Community in partnership with Edge Hill University, which has six years’ experience delivering this model. Director Michael Salla and professor Andy Smith will lead the project from their respective organisations.
Expected results
This project will benefit more than 300 youngsters
Two capacity-building and knowledge-exchange conferences will be held, attracting over 50 delegates
A delivery model will be produced that disseminates best practice in using sport, physical activity and education to address mental health and illness in children and young people
CategoriesAccess to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development
Context
In partnership with Play for Change, the UEFA Foundation for Children supported the renovation of a sports centre located in the Sanità district of Naples, which provides an opportunity for disadvantaged children to access sport and educational activities, promoting inclusion and social engagement.
Rates of organised crime, unemployment and social exclusion are very high in this ethnically diverse district. More than 50% of youngsters drop out of school before the age of 16, ending up joining criminal gangs or groups of bored adolescents roaming the city and getting into trouble.
Project content
Sport is a catalyst for a cultural change and is used to impart the values of discipline, teamwork, fair play and commitment on children and teenagers in the hope that they are motivated to contribute to sustainable community development. The goal is to reduce the school drop-out and failure rates, inspire young people to pursue a career and prevent them from becoming involved with criminal gangs. Families and community members will encourage the positive change.
Objectives
• Reduce the school drop-out rate
• Prevent any form of criminal behaviour
• Promote healthy lifestyles
• Provide children with cultural development and physical training
• Integrate children from different backgrounds and those with any form of disability
• Create a community network for positive change
Project activities
The first few months of the project, from March 2019 to July 2019, were spent renovating the sports centre, assessing the risks and beneficiaries and meeting with local stakeholders.
Since the outset of the project, efforts have been made to establish a network of local stakeholders. As a result, the project is supported by local communities, institutions and sports partners, which will ensure its economic and social sustainability.
The sports centre was inaugurated on 10 July 2019. An open day was held with , athletes, coaches and educators, during which the project was presented to the neighbourhood and sports activities were showcased to the 150 children in attendance.
The activities began in October 2019 and to date 91 children between the ages of have taken part, including:
Thirty-nine girls and 52 boys.
Five children from immigrant families, three Sinhalese, one Romanian and one Nigerian, although all the participants have Italian nationality.
Seven children aged 3 to 5 years, 57 children aged 6 to 10 years and 27 aged 11 to 14 years.
Thirty-six practising gymnastics, 37 karate, seven fencing, seven baby gym and four .
More than 40 children were referred by the local network of social organisations, seven of whom have taken part in the project.
The rest of the participants live in the area and found out about the sports centre by word of mouth or through the public library.
GYMNASTICS: Two mixed-gender sessions are run for children aged 6 to 12. From January 2020, the sessions were divided into two groups. The first group comprises children aged 6 to 8 years, and the second those aged 9 to 12 years. The two groups train at the same time using different spaces in the gym. From January onwards, there was a marked improvement in terms of the behaviour and commitment of the participants.
KARATE: The activities have 37 participants, divided into two mixed groups. When necessary, training and activities are done as there are two instructors per group. At the beginning of 2020, two events for youngsters practising karate were held at the Champion Center sports hall in Scampia, another deprived area of Naples. The participants had the opportunity to train with other instructors and athletes.
FENCING: The course involved only seven children until the break for the Christmas holidays. In January, several children took part in a taster session, but decided not to register.
BABY GYM: The children who applied for the baby gym course have not yet taken part in the activities. Their parents have been contacted several times but, apart from the initial training session, it has not yet been possible to involve them continuously. Four of the children have dropped out entirely.
Expected results
Direct beneficiaries:
Between 100 and 300 children 3 to 14 years old: 10% migrants or refugees, 50% with challenging social backgrounds, 30% with disabilities, and 10% others.
Beneficiaries from extremely difficult backgrounds and families with a variety of issues, such as drug/alcohol abuse or incarceration; youth crime; sexual abuse; teenage pregnancy and teenage parenting; unhealthy nutrition; with limited access to life skills information; no coordinated access to sport.
Beneficiaries with vision and hearing disabilities (blind and deaf) and forms of autism
Indirect beneficiaries:
Four schools, two churches, six third-sector associations, 300 families, four sport centres, three institutional entities, and 500 community members.
Recent developments and future plans (May 2020):
The last regular training session before the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown was held on 13 March. Project activities cannot currently be held.
During the lockdown, training videos are being used to keep in touch with the parents and children The instructors prepared videos, personally or through a targeted internet search, to be shared on the parents' WhatsApp groups and the project's Facebook page so that participants can continue to train safely. Parents were asked to share short videos on the WhatsApp group so that the instructors could correct form. From an educational point of view, it was considered important to maintain contact with the children, albeit indirectly, for two reasons: to preserve the relationships established so far and to reiterate the importance of adhering to the government's safety directives.
A summer sports camp is being planned for July 2020. Subject to government directives, it will be possible to evaluate the activities that have been planned in collaboration with the other organisations present in the territory. An with children with disabilities or autism will be taking place with the participants’ carers or parents.
If the camp cannot go ahead, new courses will be held from September 2020 with new participants and in collaboration with third-party sports organisations.
CategoriesAccess to Sport - Children with disabilities - Personal development
Context
PluSport is the umbrella organisation for disability sport in Switzerland. The UEFA Foundation for Children has been supporting the Goal Plus project, linked to PluSport’s football section, since 2016. The project aims to use football and the passion it creates to enable all disabled children and teenagers, including those who use wheelchairs, to play football. For these young people, playing football creates new opportunities for social connections, leisure activities, friendships, educational and professional integration, and acceptance in society.
In 2017, the foundation helped to fund the expansion of the Play Football project, which aims to increase the number of disabled children’s teams, as well as the From Football to Rafroball project. Rafroball is a sport for both wheelchair-users and able-bodied players.
In 2018, PluSport set itself the goal of developing and broadening disabled football in order to foster integration and bring through the next generation of young players. This work is constantly evolving. In addition to organised tournaments, new opportunities have been created for disabled children and teenagers to participate in football activities.
PluSport operates in accordance with Swiss Olympic’s Charter of Sports Ethics and recognises the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Project content
For the third consecutive year, the foundation’s support will help to strengthen PluSport’s football-related activities, focusing on two new areas in particular.
Football for the blind and visually impaired: PluSport has decided to support and promote football for the blind and visually impaired, a sport that has been very popular at the Summer Paralympic Games for many years. Unfortunately, Switzerland does not enter a team. Our objective is, therefore, to see a Swiss team participate in the Paralympic Games. This programme will enable many blind and visually impaired youngsters to play football in spite of their visual impairments
Girls’ football: until now, disabled football has mainly involved boys. However, thanks to its success and popularity, this sport is attracting greater interest among girls. PluSport is monitoring this trend, and we would like to help promote girls’ football. To achieve this, we need to work more and more with female experts, instructors and supervisors.
Target groups:
disabled and able-bodied children and teenagers throughout the country;
girls, in the context of women’s football; and
blind and visually impaired children and teenagers, in the context of football for the blind and visually impaired.
Objectives
The objectives laid down could be achieved during the course of this year.
Continue to facilitate access to ball games for disabled children and teenagers.
Create new ball sports teams for children and teenagers.
Promote and develop disability sport.
Establish new partnerships as part of the project.
In collaboration with all football-related associations, ensure that football clubs are open to disabled football and promote inclusion.
See a Swiss football team for the blind and visually impaired participate in the Paralympic Games.
Project activities
Integration of children and teenagers, individually or in groups, into PluSport clubs.
Creation and support of new PluSport football clubs throughout Switzerland.
Regular (weekly) training sessions, with supervision and coaching by PluSport.
Organised tournaments (five or six per year). The aim is to add two or three tournaments per year in different parts of Switzerland.
Football-themed afternoon gatherings for disabled and able-bodied children (schools, vocational schools, institutions).
Training sessions for girls are organised in the various regions.
Experts are trained and charged with promoting football for the blind and visually impaired throughout Switzerland and coaching the players.
Organisation of football camps for children and teenagers.
Sourcing of equipment for training sessions and tournaments.
Expected results
More PluSport football teams, especially girls’ teams and teams of blind and visually impaired children.
Disabled football is promoted through organised gatherings and tournaments for disabled and able-bodied children.
Addition of two or three new tournaments.
More girls participating in disabled football.
New football camps organised for disabled children and teenagers.
Expert coaches trained to organise football training sessions for the blind and visually impaired.
Creation of a Swiss football team for the blind and visually impaired.
CategoriesAccess to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Personal development
Context
FC Shakhtar Donetsk was based in the town of Donetsk until 2014. Due to the military conflict in the Eastern Ukraine, the club has relocated to Kyiv. Some of Donetsk’s inhabitants have also been forced to move away. According to government data, more than 1.6 million people escaped the conflict region and eight cities near Donetsk, namely: Krasnohorivka, Marinka, Kurakhove, Avdiivka, Shchastya, Popasna, Toretsk and Volnovakha. Some of the children from this region have sustained injuries as a direct result of the military conflict.
Project content
“Come On, Let’s Play!” is a grassroots project which aims to help migrant children from the war zone in Eastern Ukraine, and disadvantaged and disabled children living close to the frontline. Football is a way to instil values, such as respect, integration, responsibility, fun, physical exercise, psychological support and personal development, in these children. The programme includes regular football training sessions for juniors and disabled children, competitions and a final tournament. The possibility of meeting and playing with players from FC Shakhtar’s first team is an additional motivation for these children.
Objectives
In close co-operation with local partners and an international partner – EFDN, the grassroots football project “Come On, Let’s Play!” aims to improve access to football for children living close to the frontline, refugees and socially disadvantaged children.
It seeks to promote social inclusion, improve children’s quality of life, boost extracurricular learning and activities and provide relief from the pressures of living in a crisis area. The main beneficiaries are children aged between 7 and 12, including disabled children. The project aims to attract 620 participants.
Project activities
The first activity is a “Come On, Let’s Play!” grassroots football project for children aged between 7 and 12, with the aim of improving the social inclusion of children living close to the frontline.
It will be a 12-month programme comprising the following elements.
Free football sessions held three times a week by the main coach and two volunteers.
The main coach and volunteers train 60 children per playground (with the exception of Toretsk – 80 participants) in two different age groups (U10 and U12), with at least 10% of participants being girls.
Four groups of disabled children will be trained in four project locations, involving 40 children.
The disabled children will have an adapted programme and will be provided with the necessary equipment.
During the implementation of the project, FC Shakhtar first team players will visit each project location and play a football game with the children.
The Saturday football session will include football matches between different age groups.
The children will be provided with all the necessary equipment: training kits, balls, flat disks, bibs, a whistle, football nets, first aid kits, pumps, freeze sprays and coordination ladders.
The second activity is the “Come On, Let’s Play!” competition (one day). Twice a year, a local “Come On, Let’s Play!” competition will be held at each playground, in autumn 2019 and spring 2020. These competitions aim to enhance the children’s enjoyment, promoting a healthy lifestyle and allowing them to meet other children in locations close to the frontline. The participants of the “Come On, Let’s Play!” competition are organised into U10 and U12 teams. The expected number of participants is 480, with a minimum of 10% being girls.
The third activity is the “Come On, Let’s play!” final tournament in Volnovakha (two days). The “Come On, Let’s Play!” final tournament aims to unite all participants from the locations close to the frontline and promote social inclusion. It will take place in Volnovakha in April 2020. The final tournament will feature four U10 teams and four U12 teams from the eight different towns located close to the frontline. The total number of participants is 80 children aged between 7 and 12, with at least one girl per team. There will be 30 support staff (coaches and parents). Each town is allowed to put forward just one team of ten participants in one of the two age categories (U10 or U12). The tournament participants will be provided with accommodation, food and refreshments.
Expected results
620 children aged between 7 and 12 are expected to benefit from the “Come On, Let’s Play” programme.
Regular football training sessions will take place three times a week in two age categories (U10 and U12).
Two local tournaments will be held in autumn 2019 and spring 2020 involving 480 participants.
One final tournament will be held in Volnovakha in April 2020 involving one team from each of the eight cities.
PartnersEuropean Football for Development Network (EFDN)
CategoriesChildren with disabilities
Context
Despite a host of different activities delivered at European level in order to combat rising levels of obesity, the proportion of the population who are overweight or obese remains worryingly high. The World Health Organization says that there is a critical need for change in this area, particularly for children between the ages of 5 and 17. The main reason for this is the unhealthy dietary habits of the general European population. Children in Europe lack balance in their diets and consume excessive amounts of saturated fats, trans fats, sugar and salt (caused by rising consumption of highly processed, energy-dense manufactured foods and sugar-sweetened beverages), as well as inadequate – and declining – amounts of vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
Obesity in children and adolescents is a particularly serious issue. Not only are there immediate consequences for a child’s health, well-being and/or social life, but there are also further-reaching implications. There is strong scientific research showing that obese children and adolescents are much more likely to have unhealthy lifestyles and eating disorders in adulthood and later life, which will have significant costs – not only for those people themselves, but also for society as a whole.
Project content
Scoring for Health is a collaborative initiative bringing together professional football clubs and foundations from six countries (Belgium, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland, the UK and Ukraine) that encourages children between the ages of 7 and 13 (along with their parents) to adopt a healthy lifestyle and educates them on the value of eating healthily and being active. One of the key drivers of this project is the recent work done by the World Health Organization (as noted above), which found that obesity in children remained a major public health problem in Europe. Childhood obesity is a multifactorial disease associated with a wide range of serious health problems and social issues, including an increased risk of premature death and disability in adulthood.
There are four overarching factors which contribute to this problem:
Poor eating habits
Declining levels of physical activity in children
Increasingly sedentary lifestyles
A lack of adequate physical facilities or secure places to play
We can see, therefore, that supporting the development of healthy dietary preferences and promoting physical exercise from an early age is essential in order to prevent childhood obesity. Scoring for Health seeks to tackle these issues with a two-and-a-half-year project. Participating children take part in 20-week school-based programmes involving various activities, with a particular focus on eating habits and physical exercise, in order to provide information and encourage a healthy lifestyle. Activities in those 20-week programmes include weekly specialist interactive classes, educational sessions and workshops on topics such as nutrition, cooking and physical activity, and football sessions.
The launch events for the programmes are held at the stadiums or academies of the participating clubs, where – with first-team players in attendance – children enjoy a day of sports and games, as well as taking part in several educational workshops. Key physical indicators and determinants of health (weight, height, BMI, speed, balance, etc.) are also measured, collected and calculated for each participant, giving an instant assessment of each child’s fitness and providing a scientific basis for the future measurement of participants’ progress.
The Scoring for Health website and social media channels provide participants with online resources and tools to support their efforts, as well as allowing them to keep track of their progress and interact with their peers.
At the end of the programme, before receiving their diplomas, all children participate in the Scoring for Health closing ceremony, which again takes place at the stadium or academy of a participating club. The same physical measurements are taken, in order to allow a final comparison and show the children what they have achieved, with players from the clubs on hand to thank them for their hard work and provide advice and encouragement.
The project seeks not only to have a long-lasting impact on participating children – one that extends far beyond the duration of this initiative – but also to have an indirect impact on those children’s families, their teachers and the wider community.
Finally, the Scoring for Health project also aims to encourage other grassroots and professional football organisations to address the issue of childhood obesity.
Objectives
General objectives of the project:
To provide accessible, informal educational activities for all participants, regardless of their socio-demographic characteristics and the current state of their health
To educate children on healthy lifestyle choices by discussing their eating behaviours and habits, deconstructing their social beliefs regarding food, shaping their consumption, and analysing their leisure activities and their modes of transport
To educate children about the nutritional and health issues that they could encounter with an unhealthy lifestyle through workshops and interactive educational sessions, with the aim of reducing the probability of developing unhealthy behaviours
To help strengthen children’s motor skills and social/psychological competencies by offering high-quality play-based training sessions
To equip football coaches (and teachers in general) with the competencies and tools that are required to educate children – and, indeed, society as a whole – on the critical need to adopt active and healthy behaviours throughout life, and to increase their understanding of this global healthcare challenge
To help coaches/teachers to recognise and address the needs of disadvantaged and marginalised members of the community
Specific objectives for primary school teachers and local staff:
To help professional staff and volunteers working for sports organisations (including primary school teachers) to improve the quality of nutritional awareness activities/projects aimed at children and young people
Project activities
Expected results
Scoring for Health programmes will be delivered at 160 schools in eight cities across the six countries. In the course of two school years (2019/20 and 2020/21), all partners will test and deliver the Scoring for Health methodology in their own local area.
Approximately 3,200 boys and girls will participate.
The following resources will be developed:
Scoring for Health trainee manual and practitioner’s guide
Scoring for Health parent and child book
Scoring for Health website (open/online/digital education – open education resource (OER))
Introducing Sports for Peace Inclusion and Reconciliation (INSPIRE)
Location and general information
Terminé
LocationBatticaloa and Ampara districts, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka
Start date
09/15/2018
End date
09/15/2020
Cost of the project€144,795
Foundation funding€117,450
Project identifierASI – 2018002
PartnersHandicap International, Women’s Development Centre (WDC) and Centre for Accessibility, Monitoring and Information on Disability (CAMID
CategoriesChildren with disabilities - Personal development
Context
After 26 years of fighting, Sri Lanka’s civil war between government forces and Tamil separatists ended in 2009. However, no real peace was achieved and the root causes of the conflict remain unresolved. Deep mistrust between and within groups arising from ethnic, regional, religious and linguistic differences and political identity continues to erode the fabric of Sri Lankan society. As a result of extreme poverty, social injustice and a lack of knowledge in the community, people with disabilities face daily stigmatisation and are denied their basic needs and rights. Children and women with disabilities are among the most vulnerable and marginalised groups. Excluded from education and economic opportunities, they have little chance of employment and are trapped in a vicious circle of poverty.
Sri Lanka is currently embarking on a post-conflict reconciliation process. Sport can be a powerful tool for promoting peace, inclusion, tolerance and understanding by bringing people together across boundaries, cultures and religions. Its intrinsic values, such as teamwork, fairness, discipline, respect for opponents and the rules of the game, are understood all over the world and can be harnessed to promote solidarity, social cohesion, reconciliation and peaceful coexistence.
Moreover, sports and leisure activities promote the holistic development of all children, not just those with disabilities, helping to improve concentration, respect for others, environmental awareness and well-being. In Sri Lanka, however, sport is not yet properly developed for children and young people with and without disabilities, very few sports events are organised at local and district levels, and there is a lack of coordination of disabled sports activities
Project content
Humanity and inclusion are the key words of Handicap International (HI) and its partners, the Centre for Accessibility, Monitoring and Information on Disability (CAMID) and the Women’s Development Centre (WDC).
CAMID, based in Batticaloa, will focus on improving the quality of life of disabled people and their families, promoting their active participation and social inclusion.
The WDC will mobilise young girls and families to implement activities in their respective districts, using a rights-based approach to challenge violations of children’s and women’s rights.
The project will take place in the highly ethnically mixed districts of Batticaloa and Ampara, in the Eastern Province, where inequalities and tensions prevail.
Activities and training will focus on teaching inclusive sports and leisure activities. Special care will be given to ensuring an understanding of how to adapt rules, environments and material to facilitate the active participation of all children in the same activities, at the same time, in the same environment.
Additionally, training for coaches and sports clubs will address individual sports and leisure activities such as cricket, football and volleyball, and the use of adaptive equipment, rules and environments, as well as focusing on games for younger children, with various educational messages. Relationship-building will be initiated through sports events involving young people and children from different ethnic, religious, linguistic, caste, social and economic backgrounds.
Objectives
Help local NGOs develop inclusive sports services;
Equip sports and community stakeholders with tools to implement inclusive sports and leisure activities for children and young people with and without disabilities, and demonstrate social inclusion to local authorities;
Train teachers and coaches to run inclusive sports initiatives;
Strengthen collaboration and trust between divided groups through inclusive sports and leisure initiatives promoting social cohesion and reconciliation so that all Sri Lankans can live together in peace.
Expected results
700 boys and girls, including 200 disabled children, participating in this programme
2,000 young people, including 500 disabled youngsters, participating in this programme
40 teachers and coaches trained to provide inclusive sport and promote social cohesion and inclusion through sport
PartnersOltalom Sport Association, John Wesley Primary and Secondary School, Girls’ correctional institution, Home for Unaccompanied Minors, Oltalom Charity Society, Prevention Centre
CategoriesAccess to Sport - Children with disabilities - Conflict victims - Personal development
Context
Oltalom Sport Association (OSA) was founded by a group of individuals and NGOs in Hungary in 2005. Its goal is to use sport as a tool to increase self-esteem and promote a healthy lifestyle among people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Playing football with teams from other social groups enhances the social integration of the target group. OSA provides free, regular football training sessions and equipment for homeless people, refugees, disadvantaged young people and children.
The young participants come from dysfunctional families that lack one or both parents and face constant problems with unemployment, substance use, housing and finance. Many are also abused and neglected. Other problems they face include criminal behaviour brought on by the lack of secure employment, a shortage of employment opportunities and insufficient education. OSA also works with refugees and homeless people, with many participants coming from a refugee or migrant background. Attitudes towards migrants and refugees that have emerged in Hungary in the past few years make their situation in the country difficult. They also have to cope with problems such as post traumatic stress disorder, which requires urgent treatment, a lack of family and friends, loneliness and isolation from mainstream society.
Project content
OSA has developed a programme of regular training sessions at local schools in Budapest to help Roma minorities, migrants and refugees to develop their skills. The weekly sessions are held at six locations (three pitches in Budapest, a girls’ correctional institution, John Wesley Primary School and Fót Home for Unaccompanied Minors). As OSA does not have its own permanent pitch, training sessions are held on public pitches or at residential homes.
As in previous years, OSA will organise Fair Play Football Roadshows at six different locations – three in Hungary and three in neighbouring countries – using a portable pitch that was purchased with the support of the UEFA Foundation for Children.
OSA also runs a scholarship programme for participants in an employment scheme that helps beneficiaries find suitable jobs or start or complete their education.
OSA also provides continuous social support through a network of social workers who help resolve housing, employment, education, health care and administrative issues. Focusing on individual needs, social workers create individual development plans in order to offer a more comprehensive, customised service.
Objectives
to enhance participants’ physical and mental health
to increase participants’ employability
to develop participants’ English language skills
to enhance refugee inclusion
to increase social connections by organising Fair Play Football Roadshows and international tournaments
Project activities
Regular football training sessions in six different locations
Fair Play Football Roadshows
Scholarships for young leaders and street soccer coaches
Workshops:
Health education
Prevention and handling of bullying
Appreciative inquiry
- Girls’ club: a group activity for female participants focusing on sex education, partner violence, various issues linked to gender and relationships, and opportunities to increase social connections.
Continuous social support
Data collection for monitoring activity
Expected results
Fair Play Football Roadshows will be held at three locations in Hungary and three in other countries. In 2019, two coaches from developing countries (India, South America, etc.) will be invited to help train and educate OSA and other Hungarian coaches. Since the target group includes children with health problems such as obesity and diseases caused by lack of knowledge about healthy nutrition, OSA will organise monthly workshops on themes such as personal hygiene, physical changes, basic anatomical knowledge, nutrition, etc.
In summer 2019, OSA will organise a five-day football camp in north-eastern Hungary for 40 children, five staff members and between five and eight volunteers.
OSA will participate in four international events across Europe: the Wroclaw Trophy, the EU Fair Play Street Soccer Championship, the European Street Football Festival and the Homeless World Cup in Cardiff, Wales (although the latter was not mentioned in the proposal).
Through its activities, OSA tries to improve participants’ life skills and problem-solving abilities in order to increase their chances of a successful future.
Access to Sport - 
Children with disabilities - 
Personal development
Conflict victims - 
