The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 15 May had the pleasure of informing Right To Play that it will provide Right To Play Jordan with NOK 2 million (about USD 400 000) in funding for 2008. This is the first time Norway sponsors Right To Play's program in Jordan, but it is well in line with the country's long time cooperation with Right To Play and its commitment to enable children in many countries all over the world to learn through playing.
"The funding from Norway is extremely important for us", says Right To Play's Project Manager for Jordan, Lamis Fikri Shishani. "It will give us the opportunity to expand our program to wider parts of Jordanian society, including disadvantaged Jordanians and Palestinian and Iraqi refugees."
Youth and children involved in Right To Play Jordan's program were correctly clad in white and blue as Chelsea F.C. held a coaching clinic in Amman.
The money will be spent on a wide range of measures, such as holding play days and providing schools and community centres with equipment and some minor infrastructure improvements, and the Coach to Coach Program which educates new Right To Play coaches, and teaches them how to implement activities in schools and communities. The funding will allow Right To Play to both expand their program to new schools and community centres and to scale up already existing activities to include more children in each school.
"We wish to provide children with an environment which is suitable for playing and give them a chance to learn", Shishani explains.
Coaches and players from Chelsea F.C. taught the kids how warming up can be made fun.
A suitable environment for playing was certainly provided on Wednesday 28 May, when players and coaches from world leading English football club Chelsea F.C. visited Amman and Right To Play. The spirit was high as 160 Ammani youth and children participated in a full day coaching clinic, learning skills from the pros that some day might lead one of the youngsters to enter the international football scene themselves.
The coaches energetically guided the kids through different skills drills.
"It was a great event," says Shishani after completing the day she spent as an organizer and translator on the football pitch. "We've got really nice feedback and all are very happy, including the players from Chelsea who were busy making autographs and being photographed between the training sessions. At the end of their two-days stay they didn't want to leave," she concludes happily.
The girls showing some excellent passing skills.
Right To Play uses specially-designed sport and play programs to improve health, build life skills, and foster peace for children and communities affected by war, poverty, disease. Working in both the humanitarian and development contexts, Right To Play has projects in more than 20 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
The Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee (LOOC) conceived Olympic Aid in 1992 in preparation for the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway. The lead Athlete Ambassador was Norwegian four-time Olympic Gold Medalist Johann Olav Koss. In early 2003, Olympic Aid evolved into Right To Play in order to meet the growing demands of program implementation and fundraising. Mr. Koss heads the organization, which now has its international office in Toronto, Canada.
Being dressed in Chelsea's colours and showing impressive skills, it was not always easy to make out who really were the guests from England and who were the local talents.
Read more about Chelsea F.C.s visit to Jordan in the following articles on their website:
"Chelsea in Jordan: Kick-off"
"Chelsea in Jordan: Karl is keen"
"Chelsea in Jordan: Football focus"
Coaches and kids commending eachother on a good effort after finishing the training session.