Rwanda: UNHCR and IOC supporting together a Sport for Protection project for children and youth
Rwanda: UNHCR and IOC supporting together a Sport for Protection project for children and youth
Rwanda, Nyanza - The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have started since the beginning of 2017 a joint project on enhancing the protection of refugee children and youth residing in the six refugee camps in Rwanda through various sport activities. The project aims to ensure their safety and security where they play and interact, avoid negative coping mechanisms, develop their resilience and help them acquiring valuable life skills for their present and future.
May Massoud, UNHCR Associated Child Protection Officer affirms that this project will enhance refugee adolescents and youth protection and capacity to identify different protection risks and empower them to protect themselves and other protect other children and youth in the camps. Furthermore, the team spirit is built and developed through various activities, capacity building sessions and on spot mentoring support. Their relationships and social interaction with their peers, their families and their communities at large will also be empowered as sport is considered to be an important protection mechanism against abuse, exploitation, neglect and violence.
“The sport for protection project is a positive way to ensure peaceful coexistence, enhance positive interactions of refugee adolescents and youth with each other and their host community, empower girls in getting equal access to sport and leisure and engage them in leadership roles. Sport is an essential tool for protection. It will help the community trainers to ensure their physical and psychological wellbeing. On the other hand, sport motivates refugee children especially adolescents and youth to shape their future and enhance their well-being. The competition spirit teach them self-respect, confidence, learning from failure and stress management in addition to peaceful interaction. Learning sport in childhood makes the child more active as an adult. ” May included.
As part of the sport for protection project activities, UNHCR organized a three-week training for 102 sport coaches participating from different camps. They were divided into three groups (two camps per group/per week). The training was organized in collaboration with the Rwanda National Olympic Committee and the participation of an IOC consultant focusing on Child Protection and the role of sport in protection. Additionally, the participants learned Olympic sport values, ethics and methodologies. Each training followed with outdoor sport activities enhanced team spirit, leadership, communication and coordination skills among teams.
Mutabazi Julien has dreamed of becoming an importantfootball player in his country of origin, the Democratic Republic of Congo, but his dreams came to an end in 2007 when he fled violence and found exile in Rwanda, to find himself in Nyabiheke refugee camp. The fifty-year old dad of 6 children joined other 37 young refugees from Nyabiheke and Gihembe refugee camps to participate in the ‘Protection through sport’ training organised by UNHCR and IOC in Nyanza district, southern province of Rwanda, in coordination with the Rwanda National Olympic Committee and Olympafrica
“After losing every single hope on becoming a famous football player, I decided to train young refugees in Nyabiheke camp because I believe that through assisting our children and youth, they can achieve greater things,” he says. “This child protection training encouraged us to learn more on protection risks and to invest in our time playing with children and young refugees in camps where sport can be used to protect our children.”
Violence, persecution, neglect and exploitation and are common risks to all refugees living in both Gihembe and Nyabiheke camps, hosting thousands of Congolese refugees. Girls are among the most vulnerable persons of displacement, but often the most neglected in Nyabiheke camp as says Maombi, 25 years sport trainer.
Maombi says that sports help refugee girls hosted in Nyabiheke refugee camp and other camps to participate in a social healthy environment as they are sometimes deprived from their rights to participate in sport and other activities because of cultural believes or time-consuming tasks at home.
“Some girls are hidden at home and tasked with meeting their families’ basic needs. They are also at a higher risk for physical and sexual assault when securing food, water, or other needs.” she concluded.
“Playing sport helps children and particularly girls forget what they and their families have been going through as well as the hardships of living in the camp. Girls in our camp have found refuge through sports.” another female participant mentioned.
Francine and other female trainers demonstrated their gratitude to the knowledge they have been offered through these training and promise to make better use of it in their camps and communities.
“We have acquired fundamental knowledge on coaching as well as child protection. We are very grateful to UNHCR and IOC for thinking about refugees, especially girls for this so important training of protecting children through sports,” Francine says.
“What we acquired through these trainings mark the new beginning of girl’s protection in particular and children protection in general through sport in our communities. We are aware now about ‘The Refugee generation we want to be or to have as we have been trained to create it and maintain it,” she says.
“I would never attended the high school if I was not involved in sports – it gave me a scholarship and now I have an advanced certificate in Mathematics, Geography and Economics,” Another participant mentioned.
Sport is playing an ever-greater role in the protection process and brings positive values to children’s and youth lives living in refugee camps in Rwanda.
“Sport will not just be considered as a hobby but rather a psycho-social tool contributing to building and strengthening the resilience and the protection of refugee children, adolescents and youth through community-based protection and empowerment of girls and women role and participation in the protection process” May concluded.