World Refugee Day Launches Campaign for Sports in Camps

Stefan Lovgren and Ted Chamberlain

June 20, 2006

Despite the notable absence of United Nations goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie—usually a fixture at the annual World Refugee Day event at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C.—this morning's celebration was highlighted by appeals from former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Olympic gold medalist Joey Cheek, The Kite Runner author Khaled Hosseini, and other luminaries.

(Watch video of Colin Powell's speech.)

The centerpiece of the presentation was the launch of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' ninemillion.org project, a global campaign dedicated to giving the world's estimated nine million refugee children a chance to learn and play.

The love of play may be universal, but for children living in refugee camps around the world, play is often out of bounds.

One basic problem: There are usually no balls to play with.

Working with corporate sponsors and Right to Play—an athlete-driven international humanitarian organization that uses sports and play as a tool for the development of children and youth in the most disadvantaged areas of the world—ninemillion.org plans to donate 40,000 soccer balls to kids living as refugees around the world.

The balls, donated by Nike—a corporate sponsor along with Microsoft, Merck pharmaceuticals, the NBA, and others—were specially designed for durability in harsh refugee-camp conditions.

But shipments of soccer balls are only the beginning.

Calling sports "far, far more than just fun," Hannah Jones, Nike vice president for corporate responsibility, extolled the power of play to help rebuild lives and announced the Nike Foundation's pledge to match the first million U.S. dollars donated to ninemillion.org.

The Power of a Ball

Brazilian soccer superstar Ronaldo, who is a goodwill ambassador for the UN Development Program, is one of the backers of the new campaign.

Jones said he "knows firsthand the power of a ball to change a child's life."

Currently playing with the Brazilian national team in the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo says he found in soccer an escape from his poverty-stricken childhood.

Playing sports "teaches discipline, builds character, and fosters competitiveness," he said in a statement.

No one needs to convince U.S. speed skater Joey Cheek of the importance of play—and of helping children in disadvantaged regions.

Cheek surprised Winter Olympics spectators this year by donating the bonuses he received from the United States Olympic Committee for his three medal wins to Right to Play. His donation totaled U.S. $25,000, which has ballooned to some $400,000, thanks to matching gifts.

Speaking about speed skating at this morning's event, Cheek said, "I reached a point where I realized that this is kind of a silly thing to do."

"How much money had been spent on me so I could be good at skating fast in circles?"

The day before one of his Olympic races, Cheek was handed a stack of letters of encouragement from U.S. children. He was struck by "how lucky they are."

The reason they had the time and inclination to wish him well, he says, was because they have relatively stable family lives and are fortunate enough to live in a prosperous, free country.

"But a child born in one of these camps, or who moved to one of these camps—their only focus is survival," Cheek said. "But in these camps children need more than food and water."

"They need education, they need play," he said, echoing the ninemillion.org motto, "Help them play, let them learn."

Currently ninemillion.org partner Right to Play has 40 active projects in 23 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. It organizes soccer games and other sports events to bring communities together for immunization drives against measles, tuberculosis, and other preventable diseases.

Two months ago Cheek visited several of the organization's projects in impoverished areas in Zambia, Africa, and was touched by what he saw. (See Zambia maps and facts.)

"I am very fortunate," he said in an interview with National Geographic News. "I have been successful in my life and my sport because I have worked hard but also because I had all of the resources necessary for achievement."

"I believe that all kids deserve the opportunity to be their best, and that is what we, citizens of the developed world, should try and give to those born without the same opportunity."

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