EAA, Anera refurbish sporting facilities at refugee camps

Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, through its programme Reach Out to Asia (Rota), has celebrated the completion of Rota’s 'Empowering Palestinian Refugee Children and Youth through Sports in Lebanon' project by refurbishing sports facilities and implementing training programmes in three Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. 

The project was launched last year with the aim of restoring sports facilities and initiating a training project for the benefit of Palestinian refugee youth in El-Buss camp, Mieh Mieh Camp, and Nahr el-Bared Camp, which all suffered from severe conditions of poverty, negligence and poor infrastructure. Before the completion of the Rota’s initiative, young people living in these refugee camps had limited access to safe sporting grounds and recreational activities, as the voluntary community-based sports clubs were not sufficiently equipped or supported.A field visit on October 26 and 27 was conducted by Rota’s executive director Essa al-Mannai and Rota goodwill ambassador Ghanim al-Muftah, who paid visits to the three Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and inaugurated the revamped sports fields and facilities.Al-Muftah played a major role in the successful implementation and execution of the refurbishment of playing fields. Also, after a visit to the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr El-Bared in 2015, he led a campaign to secure financing for the project. Thanks to his efforts, the funds were collected - giving hope to thousands of Palestinian children, a press statement noted.Al-Mannai said, “We are committed to providing high quality and relevant primary and secondary education, encouraging relationships among communities, creating safe learning environments and restoring education in crisis affected areas across Asia and around the world. We envision a world, where all young people have access to the education they need in order for them to realise their full potential and shape the development of their communities.”

The initiative, launched in collaboration with the American Near East Refugee Agency (Anera), provides more than 4,000 Palestinian refugee youth with upgraded sporting facilities, equipment and activities, which will subsequently support their personal development, improved awareness and life skills, social integration, and healthy living. Aside from the refurbishment of playfields, the project also provides training courses for 45 sports trainers with an aim to enhance their coaching and life skills, to engage Palestinian youth in sporting tournaments and learning courses. “I am very much aware of the difficulties that thousands of children endure, which I have witnessed in my visit to the Palestinian refugee camps. I, therefore, stress and accentuate the importance and relevance of our project. It is crucial that we help the Palestinian refugee youth improve their lives and actively make a change in their communities,” al-Muftah added.