Finding freedom through sport and play

Every child has the right to play, learn and build new dreams 

“Without this playground, we would be only moving bodies with no spirit just breathing and eating, but now we have dreams to fight for.” – Dana,^* 13. 

Dana had a happy, comfortable life in Iraq until her father passed away. She felt lonely, abandoned and begun to recede into herself. It all escalated when her city in Iraq was bombed and she was forced to flee the country, along with her mother and two siblings. 

On the journey to Türkiye the family got stuck in Syria. The borders closed and they had run out of money. They had no choice but to find refuge in a nearby displacement camp. 

Adapting to a new reality

“Living in a tent was tough at the beginning. I did not want to go outside much,”  says Dana, “I stayed at home for a long time and had no idea what life looked like in the camp.”

Dana’s mum, Duha^* recalls the impact all this had on her daughter. “She had nightmares, she remembered the bombings, the walking for days, and the hunger … She stayed inside the tent all the time and did not want to go far from it. She even refused to go to school.”

Dana (in red) during a resilience-building activity at Save the Children’s Child Friendly Space
run by a local partner in a displacement camp in Northeast Syria.

Duha did not know how to help her daughter, so she turned to a staff member at Save the Children’s Child Friendly Space in the camp. “I explained Dana’s situation, and they came with me to talk to her. They convinced her to visit the playground and spend some time there,”  says Duha. 

The road to recovery

In the Child Friendly Space, made possible by supporters like you, Dana began to express herself through activities like drawing, knitting, and moulding clay. “I joined the psychological support activities,”  Dana explains, “I love the session that teaches us how to be resilient and how to support our friends. All these make me feel happy.” 

Dana and other children engage in recreational activities including soccer at the camp’s Child Friendly Space
run by Save the Children. 

It was while participating in these activities that Dana noticed a group of boys playing soccer. She was excited to try it for herself but met with resistance. There was a belief among camp residents that soccer is only for boys and that it would be shameful for girls to play. 

However, with the help of her mother and Save the Children staff, they convinced other families to support the idea. And so Dana proudly established the camp’s first soccer team for girls. 

The taste of freedom

Thanks to your support, Save the Children provides children like Dana with education and child protection services. This includes youth resilience programs in which children learn skills to manage stress, solve problems, build positive relationships, protect themselves from abuse, build self-confidence and think positively about the future. We also maintain Child Friendly Spaces which allow children to engage in recreational activities such as knitting, sewing, drama, singing, drawing, and sports.

Dana plays soccer with the girl’s team she helped to establish. 

“A little space like this means so much to us, the parents,”  says Duha. “It’s a safe place that we can leave our children at. They meet friends, play games, forget about their worries and the bad memories of the past, learn new things, and build dreams.”

Before arriving at the camp Dana had never had the chance to attend school. The safe space and resilience programs have helped her transition into school, where she is now a fifth-grade student. And of course, it has fostered her love of soccer.

“I want to be a soccer player when I grow up and participate in big matches,”  says Dana. “This playground makes me feel that the coming days will be better.”

^*Name changed to protect identity.

Photos: Roni Ahmed / Save the Children.