#Uganda

Stories from
the Field

With year-round activities happening across our hubs in Nicaragua, Uganda, and the United States, there is no shortage of inspiring stories to share. Stay up to date with all of the latest news around Soccer Without Borders through our blog, newsletters, and social media.

Soccer without Borders

Jan 24, 2017

Remember the Time… Soccer Without Borders, Uganda’s 6th Annual Youth Festival

Soccer Without Borders (SWB) Uganda celebrated our 6th annual youth festival!In Kampala, Soccer Without Borders works with youth refugees to support their integration into their local community. During the year, our participants attend programming to learn English, life-skills and play afternoon soccer. The Youth Festival takes place over the holiday season when public schools are still out, so a combination our kids from our school programming, former participants who now a

Shoot Europe Launches Charitable Program With SWB Uganda

Soccer without Borders

Dec 8, 2016

Shoot Europe Launches Charitable Program With SWB Uganda

Soccer Without Borders Uganda was proud to be selected as the 2016 charitable project for Shoot Europe, through a mutual partnership with Global Giving UK. Below is an excerpt from their announcement and reflection on the project. Read the full piece here. From the Shoot Europe web release: "2016 has been an exciting year for us. We spent the first half of the year travelling all over Europe producing shoots, and then we went on an unexpected journey a little further afield…

Soccer as a Refuge: Building Community in Kampala

Soccer without Borders

Jun 20, 2016

Soccer as a Refuge: Building Community in Kampala

For World Refugee Day 2016, we interviewed Olivier Matanda, Director of Soccer Without Borders Uganda. Olivier has been with the program from the start, and is a refugee from the South Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that borders Rwanda. Uganda is home to more than 512,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers, with more than 200,000 living in Kampala alone. After serving as a coach and leader, Olivier became Director of SWB Uganda in 2013 after the progr

Motivations and Outcomes of Long-Term International Sport-for-Development Volunteering

Soccer without Borders

Feb 22, 2016

Motivations and Outcomes of Long-Term International Sport-for-Development Volunteering

Soccer Without Borders was recently featured in a research study surrounding the impact and sustainability of volunteer tourism. The authors of the study, Natalie Smith, Adam Cohen, and Andrew Pickett, spent five weeks with SWB in Granada, Nicaragua observing organizations and the structure of our international Team Leader program, interviewing past Team Leaders from Nicaragua and Uganda as well. According to the paper, volunteer tourism, or "engaging in volunteer work while

SWB Uganda & the Football for Hope Adidas Exchange Programme

Soccer without Borders

Dec 4, 2015

SWB Uganda & the Football for Hope Adidas Exchange Programme

It was a tremendous pleasure for me to participate in the streetfootballworld Football for Hope Adidas Exchange Programme in Nairobi, Kenya from 2 to 6 November 2015. The event was focused on monitoring and evaluation, and during the conference, I presented about Soccer Without Borders Uganda. The other participants were surprised by the successful positive change that SWB has on the community, and the immediate social inclusion that refugee children experience when playing s

Soccer without Borders

Oct 27, 2015

Expanding our Girls Empowerment Program

For the past eight years, Soccer Without Borders Uganda has become increasingly engaged in the conversation around improving access to education for refugee youth. Over that time, SWB has been serving the growing refugee community in Kampala, Uganda by initially offering soccer (football) programming and life skills classes, and expanding to offer English classes to refugee youth who are excluded from opportunities for formal education. A primary focus for SWB is on engaging

Human-Centered Design: Expanding the Girls Empowerment Program at SWB Uganda

Soccer without Borders

Oct 9, 2015

Human-Centered Design: Expanding the Girls Empowerment Program at SWB Uganda

Olivier Matanda (Program Director) and Margarita Chukhina (Team Leader) of Soccer Without Borders Uganda attended a 5 day “bootcamp” from September 7-11, 2015, representing SWB as a finalist in the OpenIDEO Refugee Education Challenge. It brought together representatives from seven different organizations throughout the world. The challenge is through the Amplify Program with Ideo.org and DFID. The Amplify bootcamp was an importand and fun experience. We (Olivier and Margarit

Soccer without Borders

Jan 24, 2015

2015 Kampala Youth Festival

From January 12-16, Soccer Without Borders Uganda hosted the 4th Annual Kampala Youth Festival. The theme of this year’s festival was “Empowerment through Equality (Education).” Each day, more than 300 youth joined together to participate in discussions, games, and soccer play all centered around the theme. The excitement to play and learn was nearly tangible, especially as every day included a dance party at the beginning and end of all activities! The largest Youth Festiv

Soccer without Borders

Jun 18, 2014

World Refugee Day

Today, June 20, 2014 is World Refugee Day. World Refugee Day was established by the United Nations to honor the men, women, and children who have been forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, violence and conflict. Did you know? According to the UN, as of mid-2013 there were 11.1 million refugees globally, which includes 600,000 additional refugees in the first half of 2013. There are currently about 262,000 refugees living in the U.S. today. More than 70% of S

Stories from the Field

Stories from
the Field