Re-integration of returnees through sport

11 October marked the International Day of the Girl Child, a day to celebrate the advancements made globally in the favour of girls and to raise awareness on the particular and singular challenges girls face in every society. Within the world of sport and development, the lack of inclusion of girls has been a well observed phenomenon and feeds on multiple mechanisms, including deep cultural and societal norms that must be challenged and combatted.

PLAY International (PLAY) is a French Non-Governmental Organization working internationally on sport for development, with a firm conviction that sport can be a tool and solution to societal challenges. This article, as part of 2-part series on PLAY’s work with displaced and refugee populations, aims to shed light on the challenges and solutions sports may bring to this particularly vulnerable group in the country of Burundi.

Understanding the context

Each region, country, department, municipality is different. At PLAY, the successful delivery of every project rest on the understanding of the local context in which we operate. This is particularly important when working with sensitive topics and target groups such as displaced populations.

Burundi is a small, landlocked East-African country that is currently one of the five poorest countries in the world. It is the second most densely populated country in Africa, with nearly 65% of its population living below the poverty line, ranking 180 out of 186 countries on the Human Development Index.

Since its independence in 1962, the country has gone through constant cycles of conflict and poverty. Successive waves of violence and political instability have led to hundreds of thousands of Burundians fleeing to neighbouring countries, including Tanzania and Rwanda. With the gradual return of peace and stability, Burundi is witnessing a mass movement of returnees with an estimated 1,500 new arrivals each week in UNHCR convoys in the provinces of Ruyigi, Muyinga, Makamba, Cankuzo, Rutana and Kirundo.

Hardships and collective challenges

Their return to their provinces of origin and their lack of integration and inclusion poses serious threats to the stability and balance within these communities. The lack of basic services adds to the already scarce resources available, creating fertile soil for increased tensions and erosion of the already weak social cohesion.

Within the 8 provinces identified by PLAY and its partner organisations – CARE International, the International Rescue Committee, and World Vision – the management of migratory flows has also led to increased land conflicts and difficulties in obtaining civil status documents, slowing down access to basic services.

On top of this these challenges, girls and women are particularly vulnerable and often end up paying the price. Indeed, it is well documented that displaced women and girls, are at heightened risk of exclusion due to their low involvement within their communities. Thus, due to the eroded social fabric, lack of preventative services and patriarchal cultural norms, girls and women are often subjected to gender-based violence (GBV), abuse, denial of resources and education.

All these issues have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis, disproportionately affecting displaced women and girls. So, how can sports be a part of the solution?

The importance of integrating stakeholders

Building on past successes with refugee and returnee populations in Congo in 2011 and working with climate refugees in Bujumbura in 2014, PLAY is working with displaced and returnee populations in Burundi by using sport to reduce social tensions and strengthen overall community cohesion and resilience of the Burundian host and displaced populations. To reach such general objectives, the solution requires a holistic approach. Working as part of a consortium, each actor provides expertise in their respective fields. PLAY’s sport-focused actions aim to target both formal and informal sectors by partnering with civil society organizations, community-based organisations, and primary schools. By creating this ecosystem of actors, the most vulnerable of displaced children and girls may be best supported.

Co-creating pedagogical content of sports games

At the heart of the project is the co-creation and adaptation of sports games to the local context. This is done during 3-day workshops combining the expertise of community-based organizations, NGO’s, teachers, facilitators, and researchers. Our core belief is that to have a real and lasting impact on displaced populations, solutions must come from local experts on the topic.

Following this first step, PLAY trains education professionals on the methodology and the specific games developed, which are then implemented with a mix of children, including displaced and host populations. Emerging from the first co-creation workshops are games that aim to increase cooperation between girls and boys and, more importantly, between Burundians returning and host populations. Children play together through sports games, with rules incentivizing a collective victory through cooperation and teamwork. In addition to creating group cohesion between genders and host/returnee populations, these games accentuate the role of girls within sports, placing them as valuable and essential team members, indirectly improving their self-confidence.

Furthermore, using the innovative methodology of Playdagogy, in which a phase of debate and guided discussion around a particular theme is led by the teacher/facilitator, PLAY is currently co-constructing sports games that aim to work towards the deconstruction of stereotypes that host populations may have about displaced populations (and vice versa). Due to the multi-cultural population blends in certain provinces, a last sport game is currently being developed which aims to illustrate the strength and richness in diversity of the 4 main spoken languages: Kirundi, French, English and Swahili.

A holistic solution

The project aims to improve the social cohesion within the communities and changing the mindset of boys regarding displaced girls is central in reducing the suffering. Therefore, PLAY aims to tackle the problem at its roots by working with children aged 9 to 12, a crucial point in life when negative and harmful stereotypes are formed and internalized.

Playing together in guided sports games has proven to be an efficient first step in bridging the gaps within these communities and challenging their perceptions. In parallel to these games, PLAY mitigates the observed gender gap due to the lack of participation of girls in the games by conducting advocacy work with parents. Tackling the problem from multiple angles has been essential in creating a real impact.

Finally, to increase participation of displaced girls within sports games, PLAY Burundi has included sports ambassadors such as Ornella Haryavimana, Burundian boxing champion and Olympian. Her inspirational story, in which she fought against all odds to reach her goals, can reverberate through a child and have a long-lasting impact.

Sports carries with it universal values. It is a language spoken by everyone and has proven to be a powerful solution to improving the social cohesion in the communities we work in. As Nelson Mandela once said, "Sport has the power to change the world" and "the power to heal wounds". PLAY will continue to embed this belief in its actions.

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The article was written by Johan Fredsted (operations project officer at PLAY International) in collaboration with Antoine de Kaverne (programme manager at PLAY in Burundi). Johan and Antoine have both been fascinated by the impact of sport on the physical, and psychological health of all type of individuals and are strong advocates for its place within the field of development.

^{sportanddev published this content as part of our partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. For more information on using sport in work with refugees please visit the UNHCR website.}