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NEWS & EVENTS

First Day of Training Camp for Darfur United Women’s Team

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The latest from iACT

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The Message They Carry

This blog was originally posted on darfurunited.com and written by Rudy Sanchez, Darfur United Assistant Coach. During our stay, one of my tasks was to conduct a short interview where one of the questions asked the refugees what they missed most about their home in Darfur. Little to my surprise, the answer always consisted of family, friends, culture, and other details that fit into one of those categories. To most of us–including myself–these things are a flight or two away,

A Goal Without a Net

This blog was originally posted on darfurunited.com and written by Mark Hodson. We’ve all come a long way in terms of distance traveled as players and as human beings. I still remember with vivid clarity the time we ran a football tryout, in the unlikely, apocalyptic setting of a refugee camp in Eastern Chad. If the truth be told, I had no idea what the ultimate goal for this team might be. To share the Darfur story was a part of it. To provide the opportunity for a small win

Insights from DU Athletic Trainer

This blog was originally posted on darfurunited.com by Alex Nuttall-Smith. During the training camp here in Ostersund, Sweden, as in many football training camps around the world, one objective is to provide the highest standard of medical care. Each player comes to see me–between on-field, snowy training sessions and team meals–in “the hospital” (as players call my room) for a medical screening physical. This screening includes an in-depth medical history, musculoskeletal ex

Darfur United Joy

This blog was originally posted on darfurunited.com We walk off of the plane and a nice, sharp cold hits us. This is not southern California, and it’s definitely not eastern Chad. Östersund, Sweden might be an odd place for an all-refugee team from Darfur to meet up with its coaching and management team from the warm beaches just outside Los Angeles, but it also the perfect place. We make it through immigration, and the best smile ever is waiting for us. Darfur United (DU) mi

Statement on the World Unity Cup

This statement was originally posted on darfurunited.com. Thank you so much for your support of the participation of the Darfur United Men’s Team in the World Unity Cup, which will be held in London. We just found out that the players were not granted visas to enter the United Kingdom, and so, unfortunately, we have had to withdraw from the tournament. Darfur United still supports the World Unity Cup, and match times and opponents have been posted: http://worldunitycup.org/ W

Trip Report Available!

Click image to view the Trip Report. Last week, iACT team members Gabriel Stauring and Sara-Christine Dallain completed iACT’s 24th trip to eastern Chad and the organization’s first visit to refugee sites in Cameroon. It was a momentous trip for iACT and we’re excited to share the highlights, insights, and learnings with you! Here’s an overview of the trip—but for more details and stories check out the full Trip Report. In camp Goz Amer, eastern Chad the team worked with its

Meet the Coaches of Refugees United Soccer Academy – CAR!

1. Stanislas Stan (his nickname) is 32 years old and lives in a small, one-room home made of mud and brick with his younger 20-year-old brother in refugee site Gado. He’s been in Gado since 2014. The rest of his family lives in the town of Garou-Boulai, 30 minutes away. They fled Bangui before he did. By the time he arrived, the UN Refugee Agency told him and his brother that they had to settle in Gado. Stan is a smart, hardworking man. He has completed three years of Univers

Top 10 Things I’ve Learned (on my 23rd visit to Darfuri refugee camps)

1. Once the hunger in their bellies is subdued, children’s hunger for learning and experiencing life flourishes. 2. “It has been a lost generation—12 years that are lost and will never be recovered, even if the war stopped today.” Oumda Tarbosh 3. I can eat SO MUCH LESS than I eat when back home. (But don’t bet on me doing it when I get back. I love food.) 4. Can’t stop women. I learned this a long time ago, but it keeps getting reinforced. 5. There can be islands of peace, e

Meet the DUSA Camp Mile Coaches

This blog was originally posted on Darfur United by Bridget Grant. A beautiful, celebratory day! The newest Darfur United Soccer Academy (DUSA) coaches for refugee camp Mile have been selected and they are a strong team. Athletic, focused, hilarious, and collectively wise; it was obvious by the end of our day that these four understand the full reach of the Soccer Academy and the ability of this program to positively impact their community. Meet the newest DUSA coaches: Amina

A Magical Space for Kicks and Hope

This blog was originally posted on Darfur United by Gabriel Stauring. Darfur United Soccer Academy – Peace, Kicks, and Hope from i-ACT on Vimeo. After launching a project with and for the refugees in these remote camps in eastern Chad, iACT leaves. The new refugee program leaders take on the responsibility, the challenges, and the joy of making it a success. When creating community programs in collaboration with refugees, it is a priority for iACT to empower them to fully tak

Football is Everything

“Football —to me— is everything. Football is support. Football is health. It means relationships and it means peace.” This morning I listened to these words pour out of Darfur United coach Souliman with such conviction that I had to take pause. This wasn’t the first time coach Souliman’s words and presence have stopped me in my tracks andcaused me to consider the greater implications of my own actions and interactions. He’s a delightful man who is self-assured in the understa

iACT 23: Our Team Returns to eastern Chad

iACT trips to eastern Chad are not only an opportunity for us to advance our work and deepen our relationships with the Darfuri refugees, but it is also a time to connect Darfuri refugees with you. Refugees want to feel connected, and so we do our best to share their voices, stories, hopes, accomplishments and needs with you each day. Please follow along and connect at iACT 23. You can also leave a message for our Darfuri friends as a comment on this blog, and the team in Cha

A Typical Darfuri Training Session…

Editor’s note: This was originally posted on darfurunited.com by Darfur United Coach Ambassador Rachael Rapinoe. Abdelrazik leads the DU boys down the pitch. Photo: Sean Toshima / i-ACT The three dots at the end of this heading are imperative to include in this blog. Reasons to follow. For those of you who have never observed a Darfuri futbol game in the refugee camps or training session out here in Osterstund, Sweden, it is quite a unique and charismatic sight. First of all,

Coaching Darfuri Men

Editor’s note: This was originally posted on darfurunited.com by DU Coach Ambassador Rachael Rapinoe. DU Coach Ambassadors Margo Baker (left) and Rachael Rapinoe (right) offer great football knowledge to the Darfur United coaching staff. I’ve been fortunate enough to coach soccer to many different age groups, competitive levels, males and females and various regions of the world, however I most certainly have never coached Darfuri men. Before embarking on this trip as an assi

Watching Football, Dreaming Peace

Editor’s note: This was originally posted on darfurunited.com by i-ACT Co-Founder and Director Gabriel Stauring. The 2014 Darfur United squad is connecting with Ostersund, Sweden’s supporters. In 2005, I headed out to Darfuri refugee camps on the Chad-Sudan border with a little camera and a very naive heart and mind. I was going to go put a face on the numbers of dead, raped, and displaced that were being reported from what was being called, “hell on earth,” and genocide. Tha

Connecting Brentwood School students with Darfur Refugees

On Wednesday, April 23rd, Brentwood School once again welcomed Team i-ACT for a presentation to help connect Southern California kids with refugees in Darfur. The 30 minute lunchtime showcase included a dozen well written, and well read monologues from the Brentwood School student body. Half were spoken from a Darfuris’ perspective while the other half from the perspective of a Brentwood student. The goal was to connect these bright young minds and vivacious souls, to thos

Bashir and Bashar vs Adam and Hassan

Bashir and Bashar love football (soccer) and are members of the Darfur United Soccer Academy at refugee camp Djabal. Adam is a teacher and ex-refugee that came back from Darfur to meet i-ACT’s Gabriel for a few days. Adam and Hassan, another teacher, took on Bashir and Bashar — teachers vs students. Who wins? Bashir and Bashar vs Adam and Hassan from i-ACT on Vimeo. #Football #CampDjabal #students #teachers #Bashar #Adam #Bashir #soccer

Video: A Converstion with Darfur United’s Iggy

Editor’s note: this post originally appeared on darfurunited.org We met up with Mahamat “Iggy” Enigy for a conversation in N’Djamena, where he has been studying English for four months before returning to his refugee camp. #darfurunited #Football #soccer

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