Yoga and Sport with Refugees: Helping Refugee Coaches Support Their Communities

April 6, 2023 

In celebration of today’s International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP), we are honored to introduce our inaugural Sport Together Fund delivered by Beyond Sport beneficiaries. With an initial focus on promoting “Leadership Together,” the seven recipients are providing sports-based leadership training opportunities for refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable communities that promote well-being and inclusivity.
 

Yoga and Sport with Refugees (YSR) was created in 2017 to support people living in the infamous Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesvos, Greece. At its largest, the camp housed around 20,000 despite having been constructed to hold only 3,000 people. YSR began as a response to the huge need for healthy safe spaces, a sense of community and outlets to build positive mental and physical health. Its teams are intentionally diverse – comprised of volunteers from the international, Greek and refugee community alike – so that they can learn from each other and become "#StrongerTogether". 

The organization believes that sport can break down ethnic and religious barriers, creating a safe space for continuous learning and development between cultures where the overall community benefits. 

Initially starting with a few sport and yoga programs, it broadened its activities to include running, Muay Thai, dance, circus lessons, ariel yoga, climbing, women’s classes and more in 2020. The programs became a space where thousands could leave the confines of detention in the camp and join community classes and outings. Serving refugees and asylum-seekers from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine and several African countries, it has since expanded operations to Athens, Ioannina and Paris.

“Yoga and Sport with Refugees is open to everyone who wants to do sport and find a sense of belonging. We welcome people from all nationalities, ethnicities, religions and cultures,” said Founder and Managing Director, Estelle Jean. At YSR, diverse people find common ground through yoga, sport and personal relationships. Our community and programs integrate and blend the best that each participant has to offer with the talents of other individuals.” 

For and by the refugee community 

Across its locations, YSR offers more than 15 different sports activities a day to around 400 people. Its unique community-led model means that the majority of its programming is led by coaches with refugee backgrounds. However, at the organization’s highest levels of management, only four in 11 currently have a refugee background. Through in-depth assessments and surveys, YSR identified the principal barriers to their inclusion are time, training and financial compensation. In addition, long-term involvement is an issue because of financial considerations, people moving and others feeling that they are not sufficiently equipped to coach. A priority focus for YSR in 2023 is to therefore improve its support for coaches and coordinators, offering more capacity building and financial support to create more stability. This will reinforce YSR’s mission to change individual lives and create better opportunities through sports, enriching the lives of refugees and uniting people of all backgrounds. 

“For me, it’s important to work as a coordinator with Habibi and Sport [YSR collaborative site in Ioannina, Greece] because I can see my progress and I can organize my plans as well as I want. I love to spend my time with this community, empower them and share our skills so we can create a beautiful background for our project,” said Fereshte from Afghanistan, YSR’s first Refugee Coordinator in Ioannina. 

YSR is using its Sport Together Fund (STF) grant to implement a new leadership training program for its volunteer and paid refugee coaches. It will help cover training materials, course fees, translation and will allow the organization to provide a small stipend to its coaches. 

49 coaches and coordinators will be taking part in the leadership activities supported by the STF grant, 28 of whom have a refugee background. They encompass a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds, representing almost every country in their communities and 24 are women. The organization’s goal for 2024 is to have a refugee coordinator in every location and to have people with refugee backgrounds involved at executive and board levels.

Beyond Sport launched the Sport Together Fund in 2022 to provide grants and capacity-building support to non-profit organizations, sports clubs and collectives who are assisting communities facing conflict, displacement, human rights violations and climate change disasters through sport. The Fund also supports the transit and host communities where people are rebuilding their lives. 

Learn more about all our Sport Together Fund Grantee Partners HERE.