Oakland Refugee Community Soccer Camp

Every year, Soccer Without Borders partners with the San Francisco—Oakland chapter of the International Rescue Committee, Refugee Transitions and the Oakland Unified School District Transitional Families Unit to create a week-long soccer day camp for 90 refugee youth in Oakland. Using the field at Oakland International High School, Soccer Without Borders' staff work with students of Nepali, Karen, Meskhetian Turk, Liberian, Congolese and Somali descent. Reflecting the theme of "Celebrate Ourselves, Celebrate Each Other," the camp focuses on community-building, teamwork, and positive communication. In past years, more than 25 languages were spoken by people involved in the camp. 

Campers and Coach, 2007

Camp Objectives

The summer is traditionally a difficult time for newly-arrived refugee youth, as there is little for them to do. They find themselves in a new place and without the social, cultural, and linguistic infrastructure provided by school. In response to this, the soccer camp's primary objective was to create a structured and fun recreational environment for the youth to engage with themselves and one another. Recognizing the diversity of the refugee populations in Oakland, California, this camp also seeks to support students in transcending perceived racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic and geographic divides amongst one another. Soccer uses its universal language to provide a perfect platform upon which to build this international community.

The volunteer staff at camp in 2008In addition to teaching the game of soccer and providing ample opportunity for free play, past camps have included guest coaches and teachers of dance, yoga, and nutrition. Often, this camp has served as some of the participants first organized educational experience in the U.S. Though only a week long, it manages to build a small community where students of different national, religious, ethnic and regional backgrounds forge friendships across perceived divides in the spirit of teamwork and play.