“Sports for development” is the name of the project and the goal is to help underprivileged children. 32-year-old Busch lives and works in Brazil. She’s engaged as a trainer and educator at the Instituto Barrichello in São Paulo, working with youth ages 6 - 17. Societal problems there include child labor, violence on the streets and sexual assault. Through sport, the youth can leave their problems behind, at least for a little while. Busch said it is not a given that girls participate in sports. “Many of them are already drawn into the daily work early and have to help their families. There is no time left for sports and leisure,” she explains.

During her time in Hennef, Busch hopes to learn methods that will enable her to help the youth back home. This includes training games and tactics that help the kids to learn self-confidence, teamwork and a sense of fair play. Roy Hambira is a 38-year-old who works for the Namibia Football Association (NFA). Here, he is responsible for youth development and trainer education. Like Busch, he also tries to help the kids through conveying social competencies - even if the problems are sometimes different. “Many of our youth have an alcohol dependency, some take other drugs. We try to get them away from that,” says Hambira.

Luckily, most of them are enthusiastic about sport so it doesn’t take much convincing to get them involved. Prevention talks belong to the program and they have proven successful. Earlier in the program, they lost a few of the youth to drugs but this is no longer happening today. Olaf Handloegten from GIZ is responsible for the project and ten-day training program in Hennef.

One point is especially important to him, “In this way, sports is an instrument for development.” It’s about teaching youth “life skills” that will help them in managing their lives successfully. One can reach them better through sport than through lectures at school. The program is financed by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). DFB is a partner which brings educators and facilities to the mix. Around 655,000 Syrian refugees have been taken in by Jordan, according to Amnesty International. This presents a huge challenge for teachers, who are faced with the important task of integrating the refugee children.

23-year-old Zina al Sadi from Jordan visits schools regularly to support further education for the teachers, and visits their sports classes. She then gives them tips on using sports games or other methods to bring the children together. Zina al Sadi is also goalie for the Jordan national team, which makes her a positive example for the youth. For Handloegten, it’s about giving the youth a sense of perspective. “What’s important is that the kids find a place in society.” Busch, Hambira and Al Sadi all nod their heads; that’s why they’re here.

Orig. text: Joshua Bung Translation:ckloep