Through inclusion comes integration, through separation comes segregation

Seeing on our inaugural Jordan project back in April, that delivering cricket in a total non-cricket and largely Arabic speaking nation can work – one of the main aims for this project is to see the sustainability of running the projects out in Jordan for the longer term. One of the key successes in our last project was working with Right to Play Jordan, and this week we are part of their team working alongside their coaches on a series of ‘Play Day’ events lined up in schools around Amman. This provides the perfect opportunity to see how the Right to Play school-teachers and coaches deliver in schools, and for us to learn and share ideas on our delivery methods – and coach a few children whilst we are at it.

Our first play day is in Marj Al Hamam in the east of the capital. The Right to Play, work in this school looks at learning through playing fun games taking children out of the dusty chalky classroom and onto the playground. In a country where the state education schools, much like the one we are at today, have traditional ‘academic’ subjects as part of the core curriculum and where physical education is not usually on the list – the opportunity to play and learn is important.

Discussing how the session went afterwards the teachers flagged that they are looking for new ways to play simple games with the children to help them teach, and the girls found cricket fun because it was all new to them, so all were on an equal level of playing. From a coaches’ perspective it was fantastic to provide the girls with the opportunity to learn how to catch and throw the ball; then to watch the sense of achievement when they could do it with their friends cheering and applauding. Just to have the opportunity, especially as girls, to run around outside and have the opportunity to play sport, in the space where the boys usually play football, was recognised as important by the teachers and they wanted to learn more about cricket to continue the playing.

Back in the Right to Play offices afterwards we meet the team based in Jordan, to discuss the day and future program activities. As part of the discussion is the nature of the work we do and how quite literally we are a charity that operates ‘without boundaries’, happy to break them down as long as it keeps the core ethic of delivering social and health development through sport. Our work in Jordan has a focus on Refugees, a key as part of this is looking at integration, and we want to work towards a common goal where all children no matter what their background has the opportunity to learn through play – which we saw so clearly with the girls in Marj Al Hamam has so much value. Where often the focus of organisations going into Jordan to work, want to work specifically with Syrian refugees, inadvertently marginalising kids from other backgrounds from participating in their activities, it makes sense that for CWB as an organisation who values itself on working with all that we provide opportunity to all – as through inclusion comes integration, through separation comes segregation, and its great to find an organisation like Right to Play who has a similar ethos in the delivery of their work to that of ours to work with.