Sports for All
'Basketball makes me grow tall… I love playing with my friends and my sister and everyone else.’ says Faeeq.
Sports for All helps young refugees build confidence, have fun, and connect with each other through sport. Volunteers take groups of young refugees aged seven to seventeen to play basketball together every Saturday.
This program has two main goals. The first is to promote social cohesion in Hashemi Shamali, where the Jordanian, Syrian, Iraqi, and other communities do not get many opportunities to interact. This leads to tensions between children and teens of different nationalities. Sports for All aims to break down these barriers, by encouraging the kids that take part to make friends outside of their own communities.
The second goal is to teach leadership skills. In November 2018, a group of teens took part in a series of workshops led by a sports coach. Having been trained, these teens act as leaders in the Sports for All sessions.
‘Basketball teaches you to keep trying, even if you don’t get the ball in the net straight away.’ says Sports for All participant.
The group meets every weekend and travels by bus to basketball courts in nearby schools. In the summer, soccer replaces basketball. As expected, the program is extremely popular!
There are fifty young refugees taking part. This program gives displaced youth in Amman a unique opportunity to relax, enjoy themselves, and to recover from past trauma.
Thank you to Blossom Hill Foundation, whose funding has made this program possible, and allowed CRP to provide sports clothing and equipment for the participants.