Soccer for reconciliation and development
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>View discussions about this entry Country: Burundi
Organization: Burundian Association for Sport and Culture
Sport - Soccer
Year the initative began (yyyy) - 2007
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? - Tackle issues of street children (orphans of HIVor war) through soccer to enhance love and reconciliation after 15 years of ethnic conflict, training for their self-development and integration in the national community through initiating income generating activities
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? - While others are initiating rehabilitation street children (Orphans or vulnerables) by programs which put them in a home or orphanage, without integrating them, we use soccer as a tool to integrate them in the community. Through soccer they meet other street children who are in the same conditions, they play and meet other children with different conditions who have parents, with different ways of life, different ethnic groups, from different surroundings. They talk together, they take party together and they exchange ideas, views and appreciations. Through soccer they also meet children of different countries from abroad (they have played in Rwanda, South Africa and Danemark).
About development, a lot of children are beyond ages of scholarisation. We organize for them a professional training which will help them in their future. Generally and according finances, we give them tools in order to permit them to get a good start in life. We encourage them to work in association. By that we contribute to development of the community. What are the existing barriers, the biggest problem, your innovation is hoping to address/change? - The biggest problem is the increasing number of street children in our cities, rural areas due to the war and diseases like HIV/AIDS. Those children are left in the street without basic needs like food, clothing, shelter and up on the streets to beg for support. They do not benefit from any support neither from the society or the government. The biggest barrier is the problem of poverty
Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? - Through sports, meetings, sports, trainings, tournaments and matches visitation and by facing poverty and diseases especially HIV/AIDS, malaria and credit after professional training
How do you plan to grow your innovation? - We have a strong base and education programs. We aim at a greater advocacy for rehabilitation of street children. These are groups of people who vulnerable to violence, drugs, isolation due to their social status. The project will empower them, by giving micro credit to begin a business, and to permit them to take a leading role in management of their issues for their own advancement and the security for the community as well.
Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. - Soccer as initiative as a way of addressing the basic needs provision (food, shelter clothing), professional training, empowerment tool for their rights, to help to become self supported and no longer on the streets begging.
What impact has your innovation had to date/or what is your intended impact? Exactly who are the beneficiaries? - The beneficiaries are children and the entire community. When children are lost in the streets and nobody cares, they end up by being irresponsible and they engage in criminal activities. If we do not take care of them our generation will reach extent. A lot number of former street children learnt trades and now lived for their own expenses. Sensitive reduction of violence in young people.
Please list any other measures reflective of the impact of your innovation? - International matches held in Rwanda, South Africa and Danemark.
Competitions organised at the national level President of the Republic started to be interested to our soccer. What are the main barriers to creating or achieving your impact? - We need a greater focus on advocacy to increase our impact, but poverty, inadequate resources or lack of accessing grants are the main barriers.
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? - We collect available from members of our organization to sustain the group, and from well wishers. We hope to begin some income generating activities to finance our project.
If known, provide information on your finances and organization. - Please list: Annual budget, annual revenue generated, size of part-time, full-time and volunteer staff. Our staff is 5 full timers and 10 active volunteers and 2 part timers. The budget of our organization is from members contributions
What is the potential demand for your innovation? - The demand for the innovation is high. We want to support 600 street children by giving them, professional training, medication, meetings, sports , seminars, in short to permit their social integration
What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? - We can not insure our financial sustainability. We do not have donors who are interested on our activities. The cash coming in since we start is not here. We lack information, resources and linkage accesses for the partners to help
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. - We began our project during the ethnic war period when there were a lot tensions in towns, cities and rural areas. There were a lot of inter-ethnic massacres and a lot of orphans were thrown in the streets.
We create an organization ABSC (Burundian Association for Sport and Culture) in 1995, which has been registered by Ministry Order n° 530/262 on April 26th 2002. The aims of our organization was to sustain, to frame those vulnerable children , those orphans of war and some time after we include orphans from HIV/AIDS. Those children were from all ethnics groups. They lived together, they spoke to one another without any problem. We began that activity in one quarter, but we spread it in all quarters of the mayor town of Bujumbura. It was the beginning of dialogues, talks between different tribes of Burundi through street football. Now soccer is played by all ethnic groups without violence, but as a symbol of reconciliation Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material. - When young, I suffered because I was an orphan and I did not have any rights. When I see that street children rights are blamed. Those children dropped because of war caused by adults, I suffer very much . That is why I founded that organization, to permit vulnerable children to grow up and to dream for a better future.
Contact Information:
Jean-Marie BIZIMANA
President Burundian Association for Sport and Culture (NGO) Discussions about this entry |
Hello,
It is very excited to see an entry from Burundi! It would be great if you could expand your entry and add more detail to your responses. Particularly in regards to your delivery model, your impact and the barriers.
Also, could you explain how the health issues are integrated into your program? Do you have workshops? What kind of health related training is there?
Lastly, it would be great for you to check out the Grassroots soccer entry. You can contact Thomas Clark tclark@grassrootsoccer.org or Zak at zak@grassrootsoccer.org
The link the their entry is below
http://www.changemakers.net/node/2232
Also, check out this other entry from Burundi! Perhaps the two of you could work together:http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/2477
contact: amahorogreatlakes@yahoo.co.uk
Good luck!
Dana Frasz
Changemakers
Dear Sir,
Yes, it is a good idea and we have capacity to write for an international grant.
You told about Monaco Foundation and Italians Foundation, you can pass us their website or contact them on our behalf.
Regards
Jean-Marie BIZIMANA
Salut Jean Marie
I was just in Bujumbura for the first time and enjoyed incredible hospitality with the National Pralympic Committee of Burundi and the National Olympic Committee. I would suggest that you look into programmes from the Foundation of Monaco and Italian foundations which are particpating in a programme supporting projects in conflict ridden areas. If your group is at the stage where you have materials and teh capacity to write international grants send me a message and I can pass on the weblinks.
All the best from Berlin
Heather Cameron
-Free University Berlin