SAHA: Building Peace Through Sport
Lebanese youth playing football as part of SAHA's leadership and life skills project
Photo: War Child
SAHA uses football and other sports to bring people - children - of all backgrounds come together
Photo: War Child
The Power of Sport
In Lebanon, every one in four people is a refugee. The country’s population includes an estimated 1.5 million displaced people from Syria and some 200,000 Palestinian refugees - more than half them children. The economic effects of this influx have been significant - affecting youth from both refugee and host communities.
The SAHA (Sports and Humanitarian Assistance) project was designed to develop the leadership skills of young people in Lebanon - and bring different communities closer together. Football and sports played a key role - we trained youth leaders to organise sports and life skills training for thousands of children across Lebanon.
All of this was designed to promote increased community cohesion and bring about improved opportunities for children and youth.
Harnessing the power of football to bring children and youth from Lebanon's different communities together
SAHA is developing vital life skills among Lebanese youth
So what did War Child achieve?
A Proof of Concept report uncovered evidence that the project was successful in developing vital life skills among participating children and youth. Children recorded greatest improvements in problem solving and managing emotions. In total 303 youth leaders were trained - who in turn coached 5,276 children across Lebanon.
Watch the Proof of Concept video below to see what we achieved.
More about SAHA
The SAHA (Sports and Humanitarian Assistance) saw War Child work in partnership with Right to Play and the KNVB to develop the leadership skills of a new generation of youth in Lebanon.
