SCORES! 6

ISSUE 6 Jan-May 2013

Increasing refugee participation in sports activities – from the Refugee Council and the Football Foundation

More than 1,000 school children take part in the Shoe4Africa Peace run in Iten, Kenya to promote peace: See page 3 – Sport and refugee communities

SPORT FOR HOPE FOOTBALL HAS played a vital role in peacebuilding in various parts of the world – dousing the tension prevalent in countries devastated by violence.

It played and continues to play a crucial role in healing the wounds of rift and acrimony.

In Liberia, where the civil war ended in 2003 leaving thousands of amputees, one of the ways the amputees attempted to rebuild their lives is through football.

The story is the same in Rwanda, where one man has used the power of football to rebuild lives after the devastation caused by years of large-scale ethnic violence particularly the 1994 genocide.

In 2010, Eric Murangwa Eugene, a former goalkeeper of the Rwandan national football team worked together with fellow Rwandans and their non-Rwandan friends and created the Football for Hope, Peace and Unity (FHPU) – a London-based community organisation operating in UK and in Rwanda. Its purpose is to use sport, and football in particular, as a tool to promote unity and reconciliation among

Fostering peace and reconciliation through football

Rwandans in order to prevent the recurrence of the 1994 tragedy as well as to empower young Rwandans and divert their energy and attention away from evils like violence and drugs.

In UK, as part of FHPU, Team Rwanda works as a social football programme for the Rwandan community in London, for both female and male players from the ages of seven and upward.

“Through informal kick-about sessions the programme gives the Rwandan youth and others an opportunity to be part of grassroots football and a very exciting community gettogether programme which increases awareness of community cohesion, peace building, community health and wellbeing, and active citizenship”, says Murangwa Eugene.

The programme plays a key role in educating

participants about the importance of people’s unity by using football and sport’s values as a medium tool.

It strives to bring about trust and confidence by encouraging interaction between Rwandans living in UK especially young people who as a result of 1994 Rwandan Genocide, have been affected morally and psychologically and find it difficult to interact with their peers from the opposite ethnic group and encouraging them to put their differences behind them and build a new and fresh start for the generation to come.

In Rwanda, in collaboration with the Former Rwandan Football Players’ Association, FHPU supports and promotes Dream Team Football Academy which provides a safe after-school environment to 120 children where through a variety of skills development programs they develop a positive attitude, team spirit, new life skills and are trained to become football champions.

FHPU has an ambition to expand its work by launching “Rwanda: One Game One

,continued , page 2

If you would like more information about how SCORES can support your RCO, call Ezechias Ngendahayo on 020 7346 1163 or email ezechias.ngendahayo@refugeecouncil.org.uk

Big turnout is impressed by funders seminar A MEET the funders seminar organised by the Refugee Council’s SCORES project at the Carrs Lane Church Centre in Birmingham on March 28 was very well attended.

The number of participants made the seminar hall (right) look like a box room. Speakers succeeded in capturing and holding the attention of their audience, who confessed to being really impressed.

Welcoming the participants, Fazil Kawani, the Chair and the Executive Director of Integration at the Refugee Council, stressed the importance of making an effective funding application, especially in the present economic climate.

He noted that most funding applications often do not meet the expected standards due to mistakes that could be rectified easily by just taking a second look.

Kawani stressed that those little things we do not think matter, do, indeed, matter a lot.

Hannah Alcock , Grants Manager at the BBC Children In Need, agreed. She said her office had seen many applications rejected often for simple mistakes that could have been

easily rectified “just by taking a second look”.

She described funding applications today as a “real survival of the fittest situation where only the fit are more likely to survive”.

She believes that it is vital to note precisely the funding requirements of each charity and adhere strictly to that.

As an example, she emphasised that most charities, including the BBC Children in Need, have a policy that says that funding cannot be applied for retrospectively.

Giving tips on the reasons why a funding application is more

likely to fail, Tariq Khan of the Lottery Heritage Fund noted that it is a commonsense situation that smaller and newer organisations should focus on asking for smaller amounts instead of bigger amounts.

“The reason behind this is because funders would need evidence of stability, longevity and achievements in an organisation before a major fund is granted and these are qualities that are lacking in smaller organisations simply because they have not been in existence long enough to satisfy these requirements.”

Sophie Tobin, the Regional Manager of Sported, developed the

Fostering peace and reconciliation through football

WHAT THEY SAID

,,from front page People” a sport and culture development programme and also establishing One People Sport and Peace Centre in Rwanda.

“Football is extremely popular in the Rwanda society and it can become the corner stone of an everlasting peace building and reconciliation process by developing among young people positive attitudes and commitment to social values such as tolerance and mutual respect, teamwork and discipline, rule of and respect for law, respect for others and sense of collective responsibility, equality and fairness, justice and truth seeking; all of which are necessary for bringing people back together and live in harmony” added Murangwa Eugene. For more information on FHPU activities and how to get involved, visit their website at www.fhpuenterprise.org/football/

line of argument earlier stressed by Alcock and Khan. She emphasised the need to read funding requirements before making a funding application. This is crucial because charities like Sported were not likely to give attention to a funding application that has not got sport activities as major part of the project.

‘We are specifically a sports charity and, just like every other charity we have a mission, a goal to fulfil. It is vital that applications stress how they intend to achieve the aim of our charity with the help we are giving them.

“This is also the case with other charities. Always look out for their goal and what they want their money to be used for and make sure you satisfy or will satisfy them before making that application otherwise it might end up as an exercise in futility,” said Tobin.

Whether it is for minor or major funding, it is crucial to know the mission of the funders and to match them with your own mission and see if they tally. If they do, then follow instructions as instructed and you will be fine, participants were told.

FHPU Team Rwanda in London (above) and Dream Team Football Academy in Rwanda (below)

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.

It speaks to youth in a language they understand.

Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.

It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers Nelson Mandela

From SCORES to the Supporting RCOs project THE SCORES project ended on 31 May 2013.

As this is last issue of the SCORES! Newsletter, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all our readers, partners and volunteers. We also want to express our gratitude to the Football Foundation and other donors for the financial support they provided to the SCORES project.

Following the Refugee Council’s outstanding commitment to supporting Refugee Community Organisations (RCOs) we will continue to provide advice, information, training and other capacity building support to RCOs through our new ‘Supporting RCOs project’.

Funded by the London Councils, the Supporting RCOs project is a new two-year project of free training and other activities which aims to support London’s RCOs and to strengthen their

For more information about the ­Supporting RCOs project and to access any of its services, please contact Ezechias Ngendahayo: 020 7346 1163 ezechias.ngendahayo@refugeecouncil.org.uk or follow www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/supportingrcos

capacity to deliver services effectively to their clients. The project will help RCOs by: 99 Providing one-to-one advice and support sessions to RCOs and help them to fundraise for their programme activities and services.

99 Offering a free, London-wide training programme on various aspects of capacity

building, particularly with a focus on income generation, collaboration and partnership development for London-based refugee and migrant organisations.

99 Providing information to RCOs and other frontline organisations working with refugees on issues relevant to their work, their organisational development, and the quality of services they provide to their clients.

99 Providing training to RCOs on how to develop an ‘Equalities-based’ approach to service delivery.

99 Working with generic sub-regional service providers and advising them on how to engage with RCOs and on how to improve the quality of their services to clients of refugee background.

CHRISTOPHER HERWIG/UNMIL

September, 2008, Monrovia, Liberia: Peace Day celebrations included a match between Liberia’s top amputee football players

Sport and refugee communities THE IMP ORTAN C E of sport cannot be overemphasised. Apart from its health benefits, sport also has mental benefits and plays a crucial role in building self-esteem and counteracting stress and depression.

Sport gives a sense of fulfilment and, particularly for those from a refugee background, can offer a quicker recovery from the trauma of leaving home and loved ones.

An increasing number of studies have pointed to the social benefits of sport, especially in reducing crime and anti-social behaviours and in building social cohesion.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees acknowledges the power and importance of sport and the role it can play in healing the trauma and scars left by

refugee experiences. It can also play a crucial role in providing a sense of purpose and direction for young people recovering from the refugee experience, the effect of racism or the impact of violent conflicts.

According to a UNICEF report: “In times of conflict, post conflict and emergencies, sport can provide children with a sense of hope and normalcy. It can help traumatised children integrate the experience of pain, fear, and loss”.

In Liberia, where the civil war ended in 2003 leaving thousands of amputees, one of the ways the amputees attempted to rebuild their lives is through football.

In March 2008, in order to pro­ mote peace, over 1,000 school children took part in the Shoe4Africa Peace run in Iten, Kenya.

A key community benefit associated with sport is its ability to build links and trust between different groups in the community.

To the extent that sport builds social and cultural bridges and reaches across the community in both practical and symbolic ways, it is an exemplary site in which to combat racism. So the benefits of sport have particular relevance for refugee communities, whether in UK or elsewhere.

Given that refugees are forced to leave home and have often suffered torture and trauma, the process of settling in a new country can be far more difficult and distressing for them. Initiatives that promote physical and mental wellbeing and positive community integration are particularly important for refugees.

© KAMBER/UNICEF

January 2007: boys play amid ruins in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia

METRO TITLES GIVE VOICE TO REFUGEES ACROSS EUROPE Metro newspaper titles across Europe – including the London edition – carried special four-page inserts recently to give a platform to migrants to tell their stories.

The pull-out carried articles and pictures about the lives of migrants, portraying them in a more positive light than is, sadly, usually the case.

The organizers of the project, called Media4us, believe migrants are too often misrepresented. Sara Wickert, project co-coordinator, says the insert “provides an opportunity for migrants to get their stories told and for the public to read articles that wouldn’t normally appear in the mainstream press”.

To ensure that they were able to get their views across, migrants in a number of European Union countries were given training in journalism and photography.

The project, run by the Migrants Resource Centre (MRC) and funded by the EU, is the result of coordinated action by advertising agencies across Europe.

It is also a rare example of a link-up between Metro UK, published by Associated Newspapers, and Metro titles in five other countries, which are published by the Swedish-based Metro International.

FINDING FUNDING

Five top tips for successful funding applications

1

Many funding providers tell us that they have no option but to turn good projects down simply because they do not meet the eligibility criteria of that particular funding programme.

Determine eligibility at the earliest stage by reading carefully the programme guidelines.

their policy aims so you need to be clear how your project will help them to achieve their goals.

Very often funding providers will be available at regional events to talk to potential applicants and this presents a real opportunity for you to identify their interest in your type of project.

2

3

Get to know the funding provider. Ultimately they will be looking to spend money on those projects that help deliver

Your project is likely to be multi-faceted but only some aspects will appeal to that particular funder. As with a job

application where you would tailor your application to that particular employer, you need to do the same for a grant application and concentrate on those elements of interest to that funder – whether they be employment, job retention, innovation or energy efficiency.

4

Include specific outputs and outcomes. The outputs of a project (e.g. attendance of staff at a training course, 20 days of mentoring, new learning materials) bring

City Bridge Trust – Accessible London

about outcomes (such as improved confidence as well as efficiency in getting the job done quickly).

5

Ask someone – preferably with experience of funding but little prior knowledge of your project – to act as a critical friend and check your application before submission.

They will spot any assumptions you have made about knowledge and can check for accuracy where someone who has been working intensely on the project may struggle.

Grants to Help Disadvantaged Young People Participate in Sports (UK)

THIS PROGRAMME is designed to support work that will help to remove barriers and enable disabled people to participate fully in society in London.

The City Bridge Trust believes that artistic and sporting activities play an important part in opening up opportunities for disabled people.

The Trust also recognises that accessible transport and improving access to community buildings are essential in helping disabled Londoners make the most of what the capital has to offer.

The trust wants to fund projects which will achieve one or more of the following: 99 Third sector organisations make

their buildings and services more accessible 99 Buildings within the third sector are better designed, constructed and equipped to meet the needs of disabled people and others with limited mobility have access to transport services 99 Community transport schemes can demonstrate they are more sustainable and financially independent 99 Disabled people access new opportunities or report improved well-being as a result of participation in the arts.

99 For more information visit www.citybridgetrust.org.uk/CBT/ Grants/WorkingWithLondoners /01AccessibleLondon.htm

LONDON COMMUNITY Foundation primarily supports small community groups and charities in London and offers funds on behalf of different donors.

The funding criteria are specific to each grant programme and you may apply to each and every programme for

which your group is eligible. Applicants are strongly advised to read guidance notes carefully to ensure they are eligible to apply to each grant programme.

For more information on available funds in your area, please follow this link: 99 www.londoncf.org.uk/grants/ available-grants/overview.aspx

London Community Foundation

DISADVANTAGED YOUNG people under the age of 18 who do not have the financial means to participate in sport can apply for financial support from the Dickie Bird Foundation.

The foundation aims to help disadvantaged young people to participate to the best of their ability in the sport of their choice irrespective of their social circumstances, culture or ethnicity.

The Foundation grants can help with the cost of clothing and equipment and make a small contribution towards travel expenses within the UK. The Foundation will only accept applications from individuals, not organisations.

Applications can be submitted at any time and will be considered at Trustees meeting in February, May, August, October and December.

99 www.thedickiebirdfoundation.co.uk/

Banking for charities BANKING FOR Charities is a short guide, produced in collaboration with the British Bankers’ Association, aimed at those who manage the financial affairs of a charity or voluntary organisation. The guide provides information and practical advice on key aspects of charity banking, from selecting and opening a suitable bank account to understanding fees and charges.

99 http://tinyurl.com/9w26yk7

Refugee Council is a registered charity Charity number: 1014576 Company number: 2727514