Giving young Syrian refugees the chance to play

A new sports ground run by CARE at Azraq refugee camp in Jordan is now in full swing, offering young Syrian refugees the chance to play with friends in a safe space where they can be children again. Generous donations from CARE supporters helped provide sports equipment to get the sports ground – which was built in cooperation with the UN refugee agency UNHCR, with funding from the IOC (International Olympic Committee) – up and running.

As well as providing a safe surface and equipment to play football, volleyball, basketball and tennis, there are separate changing facilities for girls and women, and a fully equipped women’s gym with treadmill, cross trainers, rowing machine, spinning bikes and entertainment unit. The aim is to encourage women and girls to make full use of the facility, and as well as the football competition, women’s volleyball and basketball teams have been set up. CARE is also collaborating with Handicap International to provide people with disabilities with opportunities to enjoy recreational sport.

To all CARE supporters, thank you for helping to give Syrian boys and girls the chance of a childhood and for helping to save a generation that could so easily have been lost.

About Azraq camp

Azraq refugee camp opened in Jordan in April 2014. It is already home to over 20,000 Syrian refugees, over 50% of whom are children, and has the capacity to house up to 130,000 refugees. The camp is over nine square miles and is split into seven separate villages, each with their own facilities. The sports ground is in village 6 in the south-east of the camp. As well as running a programme of activities on the sports ground, CARE runs community centres offering activities and support to Syrian refugees, including children and young people.