For the last 12 centuries, the Olympics have been the paramount example of human triumph. Athletes work tirelessly, together and independently, overcoming all sorts of adversity to demonstrate incredible strength. They train, they sweat, they are challenged, and they persevere.
But it doesn't take a gold medal to recognize the merit of a true hero; teachers, coaches and children in Right To Play programs all over the world are ambassadors and champions of this same resilient Olympic spirit each and every day.
They overcome poverty, prejudice, disease, conflict and natural disaster, demonstrating the same tenacity, determination and commitment to realizing their own potential as our Olympic heroes.
we're bringing you the stories of some of our right to play winners.
Summaiyah is a happy, radiant 12 year old who lives in Umerkot, Pakistan.
Summaiyah participates in a Right To Play program at her school and leads many of the program's games and activities. But Summaiyah hasn't always been so confident.
A battle with polio left Summaiyah's right leg paralyzed and some of the games were difficult for her to play, making her reluctant to participate and engage with the program.
"Initially when Summaiyah started school, she was not interested in the games and she thought she could not participate because of her disability," says Mussarat, her Right To Play coach. It took a toll on her confidence.
But after weeks of watching the other children play and with ongoing encouragement and affirmation from Mussarat, Summaiyah finally had the courage to join in. Now, playing our games, she is both learning and teaching confidence and acceptance.
"I sometimes wish that schools remained open on Sundays, too," says Summaiyah. "I really like the games, they are something that I look
forward to every day."
Right To Play has helped Summaiyah grow and become confident, and now, as a leader, she's helping other children grow in the same way.
"There is a marked difference since when she came to school on the first day," affirms Sakeena, a Right To Play coach and supervisor. "Summaiyah's timidity and lack of confidence seem to be history now."
Teacher Jean-Pierre uses the power of play to teach English and science.
Before he participated in the Right To Play teacher training at Karugira Primary School in Kigali, Rwanda, Jean-Pierre had trouble keeping his students engaged and attentive during his lessons.
"The children were too scared to ask questions and they would get in trouble if they didn't answer my lessons correctly," says Jean-Pierre. "Many children dropped out. It was very difficult for them to learn, but this was normal. This was how I was taught to be a teacher."
Since then, Jean-Pierre has learned to excite and teach his students using our play-based methodology, which has been designed to integrate sustainable, long-term, training-based curriculum to use in the classroom.
"I like teaching this way," says Jean-Pierre. "My students like me, too. They listen when I talk about their futures. They understand they need an education and they feel hopeful.
All of them have dreams."
Now, Jean-Pierre's classroom is a stimulating, inspiring and encouraging space and he demonstrates the qualities of a real hero, dedicated to his students' success. As a result, they are retaining their science and English lessons and scoring higher marks on their national exams.
"When you play with children...it shows them you respect them and how they need to respect each other," says Jean-Pierre.
17-year-old Gulmeena is an athlete ranking at the interprovincial level in Peshawar, Pakistan.
She loves sport, competition, and pushing herself and her teammates to do their best each and every practice session and match. But this wasn't always the case; just a few years ago Gulmeena wasn’t able to attend school regularly, and she wasn’t allowed to play sports after school.
Cultural values in Peshawar do not place significant value in women’s participation in sport, and this combined with her parent’s fear of social unrest led them to keep Gulmeena home after school, and often kept her from attending school at all.
But Gulmeena wanted to go to school, and she really wanted to play sports. Her Right To Play coach, Sanaa, took action. "We sat together and decided we will convince her parents," says Sanaa – and that's just what they did. Working together with her parents, Gulmeena and Sanaa convinced them how important participation in sport and school were to Gulmeena, and they came to agree.
Now, Gulmeena is back in school and back in sport
Gulmeena and Sanaa both recognize and enjoy the importance of girls being allowed to play games and sport and they have worked together to make sure that Gulmeena could enjoy these benefits.
Teamwork and cooperation are championed not only during the Right To Play activities, but in the daily lives of the participants. Both of them are heroes, to each other and their communities.
Four years ago, 19-year-old Right To Play coach Ousamma fled his home in Syria during the ongoing Syrian civil war.
He hoped that he and his family's struggle would be over and that they would easily settle into a new home.
But after arriving in Lebanon, Ousamma realized his biggest challenge wasn’t simply about where he lived, but rather adapting to a "new country with a different culture and traditions and having to make new friends and build relationships."
In Lebanon, he encountered a Right To Play program in his village and he decided to try it out - the opportunity to play sport and games seemed like an incredible chance to shelve his emotional burden.
And more than just enjoyable, Ousamma found that Right To Play games were "a fun way through play and sports to decrease tension between Syrians and Lebanese" he says.
Now, as a coach and a hero to the children in his program, Ousamma enjoys getting to "help in building the bridges" between the Syrian refugees, like himself and the Lebanese children in his community.
Omot, who lives and grew up in Dadaab refugee camps in northern Kenya, knows firsthand how hard it is to grow up in this environment.
"My school years were not easy," says Omot. “My separation and disconnect from my family affected my self-esteem. I lost confidence in myself and preferred being alone since I felt that no one could understand my situation”. Struggling to find a sense of belonging in the camp as a child, Omot recognized that there must be other children having similar experiences.
When Right To Play came to the camp in 2012, Omot saw an opportunity to do something to support other children through these challenges. He signed up as a Right To Play coach.
He liked the idea of playing and teaching young people – he thought he would be able to give them a sense of confidence that he hadn't been able to find when he was growing up in the camp.
Omot quickly came to love Right To Play programming and has been coaching ever since.
Omot says, "I realized the games prepared in Right To Play's Team Up resource were not just meant for children, but also for me."
He now feels confident and secure, which he attributes to his training and role as coach in the program.
"I feel like I belong to a large family here, one that listens patiently to me and gives me the opportunity to learn from them, too" says Omot.
Four years into Right To Play's presence in the Dadaab refugee camps, 10,000 young people are involved in our program, and Omot is one of their heroes, spreading the feeling of family that he has come to love to other children who need it and helping them find confidence.
Young people all over the world, particularly girls, face sexual abuse and violence that threaten or deny their agency.
But unfortunately, so many girls don't understand their rights, and therefore have trouble realizing them. Talking about sex requires safe, comfortable spaces, and these aren’t easy to come by.
Girls and young people need help, and heroes like Ainembabazi are stepping up from their midst to help spread crucial knowledge about their bodies, their rights, sexually transmitted diseases and healthy sexual behavior.
Right To Play helped her learn, Ainembabazi says, how "to protect myself when it comes to my health, education and my rights as a child and as a girl." And as a leader in her program in Kampala, Uganda, she is sharing what she's learned.
Ainembabazi thinks that Right To Play programming is effective and empowering because it makes learning about taboo and awkward subjects like sex light-hearted and fun.
