Soccer Without Borders was recently featured by SB Nation as one of three organizations using soccer as a vehicle for social change. The article highlights Soccer Without Borders, along with reVision FC and New American Pathways, as organizations using soccer to empower youth, particularly young refugees, and giving them the tools and confidence to know that there is a path to building a future in the United States.
SB Nation puts emphasis on the story of SWB's humble beginnings as a small day camp in Oakland in 2006, after SWB Founder, Ben Gucciardi decided to write his master's thesis on sports for social change. The reception that this first camp received in Oakland made it clear that communities were longing for this service. The framework was already being laid for the thousands of participants that SWB serves today.
SB Nation also shines a spotlight on the transformative experiences of Warshan Hussin, a former SWB Maryland participant and current staff member. Warshan, originally from Iraq, spent four years in Syria before arriving in Baltimore through a refugee resettlement program in 2007. Not long after arriving, Warshan entered the 7th grade where it became clear that life in English was not quite the same. SB Nation describes the isolation and culture shock that is normal for children to experience when arriving in a new country, especially when learning a new language.
After having graduated high school with honors, Warshan is now finishing his degree, coaching an SWB team, and working as an SWB Finance Associate. He has gone on to support SWB and share his experience in numerous ways, including traveling to FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland to speak at FIFA's 2018 Equality and Inclusion Conference. When asked, he explains being grateful to be able to use his experiences along with his soccer skills to mentor kids facing many of the challenges he faced: "Just putting that smile on these kids' faces. It's basically telling them that four or five years ago, I was just where you guys are right now. It's going to be OK. I made it. A lot of people made it. You're going to learn English. it's going to get better. It's going to get a lot better."
Read the full SB Nation article here>>
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