The first refugee youth team is preparing to compete at the Youth Olympic Games, to be held in Dakar, Senegal, from 31 October to 13 November.
The six athletes, drawn from several African countries, are currently in training camps in western Kenya. The team will compete in athletics, judo and taekwondo — a participation described as historic by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The initiative aims to highlight the potential of young refugees when given access to opportunities, as well as the role of sport in transforming the lives of people forced to flee their homes.
The athletes are supported by the Olympic Refuge Foundation and the National Olympic Committees of Kenya and Uganda, the countries where they currently reside.
For UNHCR's Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Abdouraouf Gnon-Konde, the participation represents a vital source of inspiration for millions of refugee and displaced children.
The mission is led by UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Yiech Pur Biel, who was part of the first Refugee Olympic Team at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016.
Biel fled war in South Sudan in 2005 and spent much of his life at the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. Since then, he has represented refugees in international sporting competitions, including the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
"It is an extraordinary opportunity for them to participate not just as refugees, but as active competitors, capable of thriving, succeeding and impacting the lives of others," Biel said during the team's preparation camp in western Kenya.
First Youth Olympic Games on African Soil
The Dakar Youth Olympic Games are expected to bring together around 2,000 athletes across multiple disciplines, making it the first edition of the competition to be held on the African continent.
UNHCR regards the event as an opportunity to reinforce hope and a sense of belonging among young refugees, while the Olympic Refuge Foundation supports athletes through training and competition grants and partnerships with National Olympic Committees.
The scale of the challenge is underscored by UNHCR's latest figures. By the end of 2025, more than 117 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide, of whom approximately 39 million were in sub-Saharan Africa.
Around one third of that total comprises refugees and asylum seekers, half of whom are children.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=543999
