Sport is good for you, and that includes girls and women

by Danya Chaikel

When 22-year-old Helena Ngonga fled her home in the Democratic Republic of Congo, she lost virtually everything. The young mother of two eventually reached a refugee camp on the outskirts of the Angolan capital of Luanda and one day recently she was busily organizing a soccer game for children – a seemingly routine event which nevertheless signified far more than a mere 'kick-around' for the participants.

Working as a coach has been a stepping stone for Helena – to a job as a pre-school teacher, a decent wage and newly discovered self-esteem. And in camps where boredom and monotony can break the spirit, sports are helping to teach teamwork and leadership and bolster the health of restless youngsters.

Norway's gold medal speed skater Johan Koss and that country's Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee recognized in 1994 that the Olympic Games should mean more than glitz and television hype and could be harnessed to the needs of children. Today, a small non-governmental organization, Olympic Aid and UNHCR have programs in Angola and 10 other countries to reinforce a basic tenet of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child that every youngster has the right to play and that sporting activities can be just as important as food and shelter for refugee children trying to overcome the trauma of war and displacement.

High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers told a specially convened Olympic Aid forum at this year's Salt Lake City winter games that "Play and teamwork can help heal emotional scars and restore at least some semblance of normalcy in the otherwise alien environment of a refugee camp." Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, shared personal anecdotes from her visits to refugee camps. In Kibondo, Tanzania she met a quiet girl who kept to herself, having recently witnessed the murder of her parents and older brother. "I cannot imagine anything better for this girl than to be with other people, to play and to feel normal again. Olympic Aid's work does this," Jolie told the audience.

Under its Coach2Coach program, Olympic Aid recently recruited a group of volunteer coaches from Canada, the United States, Norway and Holland who are spending six months in refugee camps helping refugees such as Helena Ngonga to organize activities like football, volleyball, basketball, netball, track and field and even karate and gymnastics.

ENCOURAGING WOMEN

While there is little difficulty in encouraging boys to participate, the inclusion of women can sometimes be more delicate and difficult. Canadian coach Michael Hunter, who works in Angola's Mussende camp, said women refugees are often separated from their husbands and must fend for the whole family in such circumstances "their physical and emotional well-being are the first things to be neglected."

There can also be the problem of gender rivalry. When one young girl at Mussende tried to join in a soccer game, she was heckled by the boys. A coach kicked the ball back to the little girl and told the boys to include everyone. The game continued. Though the boys were clearly reluctant, one youngster eventually kicked the ball back. This time, she was not chased away.

Abby Schneider encountered similar problems in Pakelle in northern Uganda. "Outside of school the girls are responsible for household chores, like fetching water and taking care of their siblings," the 21-year-old coach who helps at risk children back home in Saskatchewan, Canada, said. Adolescent girls are also reluctant to join in because they can feel awkward or embarrassed and Schneider first asks them to help out with the games by organizing the younger children, saying that it is "easier for the girls to make the change from caregiver to group leader, than from caregiver to competitor."

Susie Biro, a coach from Toronto, said it is hard for women and girls to leave their work for the "luxury of going out 'to play'" in Benin's Kpomasse camp. Plus bringing refugees from 22 countries together can be tricky. But when girls decided that they wanted their own football tournament they found a way. They circulated word in the camp about the approaching tournament, divided themselves into teams based on age and size rather than nationality and held a spirited competition.

Having female coaches makes a huge difference "As a woman, I have an easier time encouraging the girls to participate; they see me as a role model," says Marian Scully who coaches Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees living around Danané, Côte d'Ivoire, approximately 800 kilometers west of the capital, Abidjan. "In one football game with our coaches everyone was impressed to see females playing. One girl said it was the first time she had ever seen a girl trap and control the ball."

Another Quebecois coach in Danané, Louise Hamelin, says girls are just as eager and creative as the boys, but "they have much less free time." The idea of females doing sports, especially alongside males, is a novelty in many refugee communities – and much of the world. But slowly, people are getting used to it. "There is no doubt about it," says Hamelin. "The men see us as strong and athletic." Bit by bit, the presence of Olympic Aid's coaches is changing the way that refugees see sport and gender.

Source: Refugees Magazine Issue 126: "Women – Seeking A Better Deal" (April 2002). Download the complete issue (pdf, 1.3Mb) here