Sport for Peace, Life Skills and Social Cohesion helps the young Syrian refugee population feel protected and find a sense of belonging, while helping the local Jordanian population connect with their new neighbours.
Currently, Jordan hosts a large number of refugees from Syria and there is competition for employment, housing, water, and access to essential basic services. The social tensions that affect the adult population also have an impact on children and young people, especially in the northern provinces of Amman, Zarqa, Irbid and Mafraq where our programme is based.
Syrian children also grapple with mental health and well-being obstacles due to trauma, violence, and instability that is further compounded when they are unable to access necessary psychosocial support. Around 1,600 Syrian school-aged children dropped out of school due to bullying during the 2015-2016 academic school year.
Working with the Jordan-based NGO Generations For Peace (GFP), we are starting to change this.
We are achieving this change through a number of ways:
Delivering safe sports-based activities in 108 schools and 76 youth centres nationwide and summer camps, helping young refugees and host communities get to know one another, while learning important life skills like resilience.
Involving older students in leading activities for their younger peers, helping them develop important skills like leadership.
Creating sustainable impact by training and mentoring school teachers and youth centre staff in how to deliver sport safely and in a way that empowers young people and changes behaviours.
The Olympic Refuge Foundation initially invested $909,000 in the first stage of this project which helped over 13,000 young people. This will inform a new programme commencing at the end of 2022 that will be able to change the lives of many more displaced young people and their local communities.
