Empowerment Through Sports- Football For All

Target Group:  Children and Youth at Risk, Street connected  Children

Number of participants: 1000 every  year

Objective of the Project:

The empowerment through sports is a national campaign for the rights of children at risk. Through football its aim is to provide a platform for children at risk to be heard, to challenge negative stereotypes of street children and to promote the rights of street connected children. Shelter Nepal uses the power of sport to protect, respect and support street-connected children and children at risk around Nepal. There are victims of sex trafficking, street abuse, drug abuse, victims of child labor, orphans who all came together to let their voices be heard. The United Nations sees sport as an important and powerful tool with the potential to progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, Shelter Ashraya Nepal supports the SDGs and uses sport to bring the children together in a safe space so that they can be seen and their voices can be heard.

Programs:

• Annual leagues for underprivileged children

Every year Shelter organizes various football leagues that provides opportunity to the underprivileged, street connected children. Such opportunities help boost their self esteem and their voices and their games play a huge role to change the negative perception of the society on such children. The project has been hugely successful in producing football stars for Nepal. 

• Football Training

We are currently running football training for children and youth (girls and boys) from all communities. Usually the underprivileged children are given scholarship. There are many parents who pay for an additional child along with their own from a poor family so that we together share the responsibility and no child is left behind because of lack of money.  This act of kindness has created strong bonds in the field. We are even raising funds to build a proper football academy, which will be a safe space for all children and youths.

• Development of football in grassroots

We organize local tournaments in rural regions so that we can develop football at the basic grassroots level. We identify areas and support youth and children club with football equipment, coaching and other necessary resources.  

 

Impact of the Project:

• One of our yearly projects, The National Children Football Festival had brought together more than 500 children including boys and girls from all over Nepal who are living under the shelter of organizations that work for the upliftment and protection of children at risk. The event addressed the following issues:
1. Challenging negative perceptions
2. Right to identity
3. Right to protection from violence
4. Right to Education
5. Eradication of child labor
6. Right to play
• The positive outcome was that the government assisted all the children who requested support to make their citizenships, 18 children even got an opportunity to participate in the youth leadership and football camp in Malaysia.
• Media highly raised their issues and shared their strong stories due to which people have started understanding the potentials and talents of these kids.
• For the first time majority of organizations have brought in girls team for participation.
• Lots of children trained in our academy or assisted by our organization have got opportunities of engaging as football players and making their income through it.
• Development of Sports as education and not just entertainment.
• No child has been left behind from playing due to lack of money
• Successful rehabilitation in organization of street connected children- from petty crimes to becoming football stars –stories have inspired many people