“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”, a person once said, who knew what he was talking about. Bridging gaps between cultures and languages with ease and fun, hardly another medium can match the potential sports has. That is why Qudra is promoting sport as an extracurricular activity to bring together students from both, host and refugee communities.
Qudra collaborates with a very experienced partner: the regional GIZ sector programme “Sport for Development” (S4D). In November, S4D held an “International Instructors Course” in Amman, Jordan with participants from Spain, Turkey, KRI, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and even the German Football Association (DFB). Apart from the assessment of newly developed manuals on basketball, handball and ultimate Frisbee by the professionals, a considerable amount of time was dedicated to understanding how sport and training could mitigate challenges arising from a specific refugee context all participating countries are facing.
Currently and with the support of RACE-PMU, Qudra prepares a co-operation with CERD (Centre of Educational Research and Development) and S4D in developing sports manuals specific to the Lebanese context and to train a pool of master trainers who will pass on their skills to PE teachers. Qudra is excited about this development and is looking forward to the first Training of Trainers session!
Sore Today, Strong Tomorrow
Participatory sports events bring diverse communities together and give people a chance to interact, understand each other, learn, change and develop. Within the framework of the EU Regional Trust Fund ‘Madad’ and the German Government’s support to young people in different sectors and their aim to promote and implement community events, the Qudra Programme brought together 20 young participants from different areas of North Lebanon to run together at the Beirut-Marathon 2018.
“Today we ran the Marathon here in Beirut, together we made it to the 8km. It was fun. The important thing is that we participated in the training with Qudra. I benefitted, as well as many other young people like me.”
said Ihab Adawiyya, a trainee from the competency-based training programme, who came from Tripoli to participate in the Beirut Marathon.
The participants completed the 8km race together with Qudra staff on Sunday, 11 November 2018. This full day initiative aimed at enhancing the interaction of these youth among each other and with other individuals. Through participating at such a big event people get the chance to connect with other peers and be part a bigger event involving the community at large. The girls and boys have already completed a competency-based-training (CBT) conducted in 2018 within the framework of Qudra Module 2 implemented by GIZ.
Ali Mus’ad al Remem, a participant from the EU Madad Labs II on Youth and Digital Innovation, joined the youth and ran the race for the first time. He said;
“I made it to the end of the 8km race and this is a huge achievement. This is the first time for me to participate in the Beirut Marathon.”
“We were running with excitement, then we got tired but at the end we made it to the final point. We did it. I would love to participate in similar sports events, as well as community events.”
said Rwaida El Laheeb, from Anfeh –North Lebanon, who has been one of the trainees from the CBT at the technical institute in Batroun.
On this marathon day, the youth made new friends; ones that they can complete their promising journey with. A short photo compilation video has been published on our Facebook page showcasing this journey: https://bit.ly/2EfNWay
The refugee crisis impacts not only on refugees but also host communities. Despite the immense challenges this is imposing building up and fostering social cohesion is possible through the implementation of activities in arts, sports, skills improvement, vocational trainings and good governance. Qudra fosters integration and social cohesion as response of the European Union Regional Trust Fund ‘Madad’ and the German Government to the Syrian and Iraqi crises in all over the region.
*Published in Qudra Matters Magazine, Issue 3, December 2018
