THF Opens New Taekwondo School for Refugees in Niger

the Diffa region as of June 2018.

The THF’s Diffa project intends to help refugees and IDPs of the region by addressing psychosocial issues caused by the traumatic events they have been through, offering them a fun yet effective and holistic sport and martial art.

Taekwondo training helps children and youth by fostering physical and mental wellbeing along with social interaction, while also giving the students a framework of personal discipline and ethics in an environment where they can feel safe. By doing so it is the project leaders’ intention to help all participants find a way to metabolize and transcend their precarious situation, helping them regain part of their childhood and finding hope for a better future.

In Diffa, nearly 60 percent of refugees and displaced persons are aged 17 or under. In displaced situations, formal education is often very limited and sometimes unavailable.

Through Taekwondo, the THF aims to address this issue by providing children and youth with important universal values such as team work, fair play, integrity, discipline, and respect. The THF’s education program further focuses on world peace, sustainability and good global citizenship.

In a continuation of its mission to share the benefits of Taekwondo and its philosophy to empower refugees and displaced persons, the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) celebrated the launch of its project in the Diffa region of Niger, where operations officially started in early September 2018.

The project is the fruit of a collaboration between the foundation and the Niger National Olympic Committee (COSN), with the generous support of COSN President Issaka Ide, along with the involvement of local Taekwondo Olympian Issoufou Alfaga, silver medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. He is also the 2017 World Taekwondo champion, and UNICEF ambassador for Niger.

Diffa, located in the extreme south-east of Niger, and its neighboring region of Northern Nigeria, have been severely affected by conflict and terrorist attacks in recent years, leading to a high number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and Nigerian refugees.

According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there were more than 118,000 Nigerian refugees and 104,000 IDPs in

In addition, approximately 53 percent of children and youth living in Diffa are girls, who face additional barriers to access basic learning opportunities. Taekwondo can provide them with an important educational base and an increased self-confidence allowing them to discover their full potential.

A series of demonstrations is set to be organized in various schools at the start of the academic year in October to encourage children and youth to participate in the program and promoting Taekwondo to girls.

According to local THF coach Amadou Oumarou, “Children are very interested in the sport, especially those under the age of 15.”

The Diffa project is the foundation’s third project in Africa, with academies already running in Rwanda and Djibouti.

It demonstrates the THF’s commitment to continue to provide life-changing opportunities to severely vulnerable populations in multiple regions of the African continent.

The initiative is aligned with World Taekwondo’s, the THF’s and the Niger National Olympic Committee’s common agenda to further support the learning opportunities of children and youth in vulnerable situations, and to encourage their understanding of world peace, the values of Olympism and good global citizenship.

THF Moves Onward, Upward in Eswatini

The Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) participated with the Eswatini Taekwondo Federation (ETF) in the running of a Taekwondo competition in Eswatini on July 1-3, 2022.

What made the competition unique was the participation of a large population of THF refugee children and athletes from the Malindza Refugee Center.

As the second tournament of its kind organized by the ETF, it also welcomed athletes from nations around the African region, including South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and Angola.

A letter from THF Chairman Chungwon Choue to Minister of Sports, Youth and Culture Madze Harris Bulunga affirmed the THF’s commitment to the empowerment of refugees. Choue also expressed his hope that the THF and the sports ministry of Eswatini can cooperate in empowering refugees and bringing hope to displaced persons through Taekwondo in his country.

As further assurance of the body’s commitment, THF representative and board member Richard Barnor was in attendance.

Barnor was a guest of Bulunga and several of his cabinet members, and took the opportunity of briefing them on the THF’s global mission.

ETF Secretary Sizwe “Mshengu” Mabuza spoke at length about his federation’s activities, training refugee children in camps with special programs. Barnor appealed to Bulunga for his government’s support, both financial and otherwise, for the federation’s activities with refugee children.

The minister assured Barnor that, in light of what the THF is already doing in his country with young refugees, he would certainly give it serious consideration going forward.

WT President Attends Inaugural Board Meeting of Olympic Refuge Foundation

World Taekwondo (WT) President Chungwon Choue attended on Dec. 8, 2017 the inaugural board meeting of the newly created Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF) – an initiative of the IOC to support creating accessible and sustainable sports facilities within disadvantaged communities and initiate sport-related programs directed at children, young people and vulnerable populations around the world.

The meeting took place at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland and was chaired by IOC President Thomas Bach, chair of the Foundation Board, with U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, serving as vice chair. President Choue joined fellow Board members, Zaiqing Yu, IOC vice president, H.E. Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al-Thani, president of the Qatar Olympic Committee, and Yiech Pur Biel, athlete member of the Refugee Olympic Team Rio 2016, at the meeting.

During the meeting, the Board determined the objectives of the foundation and scope of the activities during the meeting. The importance and location of the first pilot project was also discussed. The foundation will also support the creation or rehabilitation of accessible sports facilitates in disadvantaged communities and riskfree play spaces without harassment or abuse.

IOC Honorary President Jacques Rogge was also appointed as honorary member of the foundation.

Speaking after the meeting, WT President Chungwon Choue said: “It is a great honor to have been appointed as a member of Olympic Refuge Foundation and I am delighted to have an opportunity to contribute to this foundation on the perspective of International Federation. I firmly believe that all of us in the Olympic Movement have a social responsibility to use sport to contribute to a better and more harmonious society.

“I would therefore like to commend President Bach and the IOC for establishing this fantastic initiative in close coordination with the UNHCR. Social development through sport has always been something very close to my heart and I pledge I will do everything I can to contribute to the success of the foundation.”

“I am also very happy that the IOC accepted my proposal on creation of Youth Olympic Refugee Team for Buenos 2018 Youth Olympic Games which will be discussed at the next IOC Session in PyeongChang.”

President Choue said he would bring first-hand experience to the role having served as the founding president of the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) since 2016. The THF’s mission and values are very closely aligned with the ORF as it aims to bring the physical and mental benefits of Taekwondo to vulnerable people.