FCBARCELONA.CAT

20.06.2008 09:08

Foundation working for refugees

www.fcbarcelona.cat

On occasion of the World Refugees Day, the Foundation is promoting details of the three programmes it is setting up in collaboration with UNHCR and which will promote education, health and leisure among young people forming part of this collective.

The central theme behind World Refugees 2008 is ‘protection’. Protection to promote the liberty of refugees from violent persecution. This and other fundamental rights were what led the Foundation to sign an alliance with UNHCR/ACNUR in January 2008 to work, in principle, in three countries: Ecuador, Rwanda and Nepal. Action in these regions is based around a consolidated philosophy: the model applied to XICS centres, i.e. integral support for children.

In recent months the situation of refugees has been analysed in each zone, to determine what needs to be done. These are the most important details of each project:

Programme in Ecuador for Colombian refugees

Most Colombians refugees in Ecuador are not in camps but live in different frontier zones. That is why the main activities of this project will be taking place in schools in these areas. This programme will work with 2000 children and young people and will involve the following actions:

- Information campaigns to raise awareness of refugees and their right to education and the possibilities for them accessing the Ecuadorian education system.

- Improvements in school facilities through the incorporation of new sanitation, leisure areas and extracurricular activities.

- Promotion of the integration of refugees in the local population through sport.


Programme in Rwanda for refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo

Here, we are working with two refugee camps in Rwanda and the beneficiaries will be 17,000 boys and girls from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The proposed activities are:

- Awareness campaigns dealing with the positive impact of sporting activities.

- The rehabilitation of sports areas in poor condition in the refugee camps and the construction of an education and leisure centre and a library on each camp.

- Teaching of different types of educational activities, such as computer and creative workshops.


Programme in Nepal for refugees from Bhutan

There have been refugees from Bhutan on Nepali territory since 1992. This has made the situation even worse for this collective, as many young Bhutanese children have never known any other life than that of a refugee.

This programme will work with seven camps in the area and will be concentrating on the following areas:

- Educational support through sport and the remodelling of the sports fields.

- Holding of workshops and awareness sessions on violence, gender roles and Aids.

- The promotion of sports activities to benefit the integration of refugees in the local community.