Right To Play and UNICEF support Ivorian Refugees in

Liberia

October 26, 2011

Right To Play has signed a six-month partnership agreement with UNICEF to implement a project with Ivorian refugees and host community children and youth in Maryland County in the remote south-east of the country. The “Psychosocial Support, Child Protection and Development, and Youth HIV and AIDS Prevention” Project will run from August 2011 to February 2012, reaching 6,000 children and youth.

The project marks the first partnership in Liberia between Right To Play and UNICEF, and was designed to respond to the ongoing refugee crisis in the North and South East of the country. Currently, there are over 160,000 Ivorians seeking refuge in Liberia, and nearly two-thirds of these are children and young people.

While other agencies are in place to provide much needed food, shelter, and health care, evidence shows that there is also an urgent need to provide safe and educational recreation opportunities for children and young people, to ensure their ongoing and holistic development.

Together UNICEF and Right To Play will combine their experience and expertise to reach refugee children and youth in Maryland County, by using the transformative power of sport and play. Right To Play has been implementing programmes in the area for four years and has a strong base of local trained and dedicated volunteer coaches and teachers.

‘This decentralized approach, central to all our programming, fosters sustainability and local ownership and ensures that we address and meet the individual and complex needs of children and youth displaced by war. We are delighted to be partnering with UNICEF, using sport and play based activities to inspire, educate and promote the holistic development of children and youth seeking refuge in Liberia.’ Stacey Cram – Advocacy and Campaigns Manager, Right To Play.