On World Children’s Day 2020, the UEFA Foundation for Children announced 55 projects that will receive funding to uphold the rights of children worldwide. iACT was selected to support the refugee-led expansion of Little Ripples (LR) and Refugees United Soccer Academy (Academy) in four Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad.
LR and the Academy are one of the few programs in eastern Chad that address gaps in preschool education and sport, providing refugee children ages 3 to 13 with comprehensive social-educational opportunities that will have a life-long impact. These programs offer healing-centered tools and invest in community leadership and peacebuilding. The program launch, training, and implementation will be entirely refugee-led by current iACT refugee staff in eastern Chad. Norman Darmanin Demajo, UEFA Foundation for Children member of the board of trustees shares:
“The Foundation views the pandemic as an opportunity to continue to use the beautiful game of football to assist so many organisations, in Europe and around the world, that focus on the needs of children and help them to keep their hopes and dreams alive. Thanks to the support we and our sponsors provide, children are helped to develop and reach their full potential, with dignity and in full protection of their rights.”
Over the course of a year, iACT refugee staff members will lead program expansion to four refugee camps. Little Ripples early childhood education program will launch in camp Am Nabak. selected by iACT’s refugee colleagues, and will support play-based social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development for children ages 3 to 5. New Academies will be launched in four camps to ensure that children in all 12 refugee camps in eastern Chad have access to social-educational learning while in primary school. iACT will train 120 community members and provide paid employment for 34 of them. Combined, the programs will reach up to 8,180 children. Additionally, iACT will document the refugee-led expansion process, develop long-term local sustainability plans, and share lessons learned with the humanitarian community. UEFA Foundation for Children is providing 50% of the needed funding for the project. iACT is actively seeking partners to provide the remaining amount.
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Based in Los Angeles, iACT is a groundbreaking international action organization with a mission to inspire a more mindful humanitarian system. Our vision is a world where the dignity, humanity, and agency of conflict-affected people are recognized, affirmed, and supported. iACT was established in 2009 in response to the Darfur crisis and since then has grown into a team of experts providing humanitarian action that disrupts the traditional, top-down aid and service model and is grounded in refugee-led solutions from ideation to implementation. iACT facilitates refugee-led education, sports, and human rights programs in camps around the world. For more information visit: www.iact.ngo
Press and Partnership inquiries:
Sara-Christine Dallain | iACT Interim Executive Director
(310) 738-0285
scd@iact.ngo