Build Community through Sport for Girls in Jordan

It was a busy spring at RC! After a break for Ramadan, RC transitioned from basketball to frisbee season. For five weeks, over 200 girls attended regular practice where they learned basic techniques while touching on important topics such as collaboration and how to control their reactions on and off the field.

"It’s a very interesting game to play because the players need to have intuition and body speed. It is a game that lets people ease their worries," one participant told RC staff. 

In between practices, our coaches completed multiple trainings on topics such as frisbee drills, trauma-informed sport, mental health, and basic first aid. One coach, Heba, expressed how helpful she found this spring’s coach clinics.

"When you learn new information, it becomes easy for you to use it because you start using it wisely and with confidence. The mental health counseling sessions help me work with the girls better because I better understand how the things children – particularly refugees – face, have an impact on their behavior. As coaches, it is our responsibility to use the methods we have learned to help our girls change these behaviors.” 

As a continuation of a spring mental health initiative supported by the French Development Agency and German Development Cooperation, RC brought together over 175 girls from RC and local organizations for a full day of activities! The girls were divided into teams and rotated through soccer games and activities focused on living a healthy lifestyle. Topics included nutrition, the impact of sport on people's physical and mental well-being, and how to reconnect with the body through yoga and breathing.

"There were so many fun and useful stations. My favorite one was yoga, because we learned how to breathe, relax and meditate," a participant said as she described the day.

As regular programming pauses for final school exams, our coach team is hard at work preparing  for an exciting summer! Thanks in part to the support of the GlobalGiving community, we will reach over 500 girls this summer through our daily sport camps, team leagues, and community partnerships.

With schools still closed in Jordan, RC girls could not be more excited to be back in basketball season and reconnect after winter break! For the past several weeks, participants in Amman and Zarqa have been learning to dribble the ball and practicing other basic techniques, while touching on important topics like teamwork and how to manage their reactions - on and off the court. 

Before the start of the season, a former player from the Jordanian Basketball National Team came to run on-court training for the RC coaches. The clinic gave the coaches the opportunity to build on training and experiences from the previous year, learn new drills, and develop a plan for the coming months.

As we continue to see the negative impacts from the pandemic, especially for youth, we are incredibly grateful to be able to continue to provide an outlet for our participants. Our coaches regularly hear how important RC is to the girls and families we work with, especially at a time with so much uncertainty. One of our coaches recently received a message from the mother of a participant who was recently relocated with her family:

"Our sincere thanks and appreciation for all your tremendous efforts, your continued support, and for providing this safe environment for our children to stay active, play sport and have fun. All of this had a great impact on our daughter Aram - she became less stressed and helped reduce all the pressure she used to go through, be it on the streets or in school. We will always remember with love and gratitude the hands that offered all that is good to our children; you have been the best support to us in the darkest times.”

Positive feedback from participants and their families motivates us to do more and develop ways to expand our current curriculum and reach more girls in Jordan. As we prepare to spread to new communities, we’re also connecting with partners in our existing locations.

After a long pandemic break, we returned to working with our partners at 7Hills Skate Park in downtown Amman. For the next few months, RC girls will have the chance to learn a new sport as they take their try at skateboarding! 

For the next year, four members of the RC team will take part in the first Global Goals World Cup EIR coach training program in Jordan. They are part of a group of 100 women working side-by-side to fight for the UN Global Goals and close the "play gap" between girls and boys. Coaches recently completed their first training sessions where they learned techniques for speaking up in a group, planning team practices, and building environments where women can feel accepted and not judged - one of the tenets of RC culture.

Thank you for your continued support as we work to create safe and inclusive spaces for the girls and women in our program!