CARE - a non profit organization whose mission is to mission is "to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world. Drawing strength from our global diversity, resources and experience, we promote innovative solutions and are advocates for global responsibility" - has partnered up with Nike to help promote women's sports in Rwanda.
The idea is to encourage sport in play in a country largely impacted by poverty. Women of Rwanda can become empowered and build necessary communication skils through sport. Other partners in this effort include Women Win, and CARE ambassador Sheila Johnson, the President of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)- and the FIRST ever African-American female to own a professional sports team.
I found a video on YouTube made by Rwanda women, some of whom are disabled, and who coach other Rwandan women in various sports. Though this video is not directly related to the program sponsored by CARE and Nike, you'll find it just as inspiring to watch these women building strong coalitions through sport and play.
As some of you may already know, the Homeless World Cup is right around the corner (December 1-7th in Melbourne, Austrailia). This will be the first time HWC features an all women's tournement.
Several weeks ago, I posted about the Women's World cup and featured a video on Cherie Sayon. Watch clip below - in case you missed it.
Women Win "empowers girls and women worldwide through sport." One of the most interesting ideas coming from Women Win's mission is that they believe sports can be a useful way for women to enhance their social networks. We all *get* that sports can help women stay healthy and provide self-esteem, but we normally don't consider women using sport as a means to build their social networks. This is important, however. Networking, particularly at the grassroots level, helps build strong coalitions and provides a means through which important ideas can be developed.
Kudos to Women Win and the Homeless World Cup for proving that we can work together through sport to build a better and brighter future for under-represented communities.
When I first posted about the Homeless World Cup (check out Trina's post too), I couldn't help but wonder how many homeless women were involved in this life-changing event. Since women make up a large portion of global poverty, I was concerned about the Homeless World Cup providing the same opportunities to female homeless athletes as they do for male homeless athletes.
Not knowing enough about the project when I first reported on it, I waited it out to see if there would be any more developing stories about the Homeless World Cup this year.
Lo and behold! I came across an update via Kevin Carroll’s blog about the Homeless World Cup being held in Melbourne, Australia on December 1st through the 7th. We're only a few months away from this annual event, which features hundreds of homeless athletes competing for a great cause. However, this year is even more special since it's the first time a Women's Homeless World Cup tournament will take place.
Eight nations and 80 women from Cameroon, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Kyrgzstan, Uganda, Zambia, Liberia and Paraguay will compete.
Not only will these women have an opportunity to participate in a large-scale athletic event, but they will also have the opportunity to change their lives.
Previous competitions, which included only 10% female participation, helped Cherie Sayon, who played for Liberia at the Copenhagen 2007 Homeless World Cup, win a four-year athlete scholarship to a US college. Check out homegirl's skills below (accompanied by Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl")!
This year, women will also enjoy a workshop program including football coaching, leadership development and an opportunity for teams to showcase their project idea to win a 5,000 Euro ($7,062) award from Women Win.
Now I can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the Homeless World Cup has expanded its vision to include women in combating global poverty.
