Written by Nelson Mandela is famously quoted as saying “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand.” This is one of my favorite quotes and is one that has built my own personal passion for using sport to change the world. Tuesday April 6th was the United Nation’s International Day of Sport for Peace and Development. Sometimes we can get caught up in the competition of the game and the fight to be the best, that we forget what power there is in sport.
10 athletes from 4 countries competed under the Olympic flag, as the Refugee Olympic Team (the first of it’s kind) at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Thomas Bach said of the remarkable initiative: This will be a symbol of hope for all refugees in the world, and will make the world better aware of the magnitude of this crisis. It is also a signal to the international community that refugees are our fellow human beings and are an enrichment to society. Many of us in Western countries are/were probably less aware of the international refugee crisis, and were first exposed at the 2016 Olympics, showing the power of using sport as a method of education.
Soccer is often considered the most universal language on earth, because it is played in every corner of the earth, and all you need is a ball and something to serve as a goal. Soccer is the same for boys and girls of any age. Soccer balls are commonly requested for donation items to refugee camps so that children have something to play with as it is a way for “children [to] step away from suffering and experience the magic of play.”
Skateistan is an international NGO with a mission of empowering children and youth through skateboarding and education. What started as teaching children working the streets of Afghanistan a new sport of skateboarding has become an international development initiative to combine skateboarding with educational and leadership outcomes. Founder Oliver Percovich recognized the community he created that broke social norms, especially female participation in sports in Afghanistan. At the time of it’s founding, females were not allowed to participate in sports, but because skateboards were considered a toy, a loophole was found in which females were able to participate. As the community grew, Skateistan began to have the resources to provide education to children, many of which had never been in a classroom before. This program has created a way for children to get off the streets, connect and build relationships, obtain education otherwise inaccessible to them, develop leadership skills, and ultimately dream and play the way kids are supposed to.
So the next time we are frustrated because our team did not win, our favorite player did not perform well, our season not produce a lot of success, think about the ways in which sport has improved the world we live in, and maybe those frustrations will seem less important.
https://www.olympic.org/refugee-olympic-team
https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/refugee-children-simple-joy-soccer-ball/30560