DRC / ALL-GIRLS FOOTBALL TEAM

In the largest refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo, an all-girls football team has given Burundian refugees a glimmer of hope despite severe under-funding. UNHCR

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:28
• Production Date: 5 March 2018
• Asset Language: French; Kiswahili
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES - UNHCR
• Subject Topical: GIRLS; REFUGEES; SPORTS
• Geographic Subject: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
• MAMS Id: 2104113
• Parent Id: 2104113
• Alternate Title: unifeed180305d

Description

STORY: DRC / ALL-GIRLS FOOTBALL TEAM
TRT: 02:28
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTION: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: SWAHILI / FRENCH / NATS

DATELINE: 20 - 22 NOVEMBER 2017, LUSENDA REFUGEE CAMP, FIZI TERRITORY, SOUTH KIVU PROVINCE, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Shotlist

1. Various shots, team captain Emerance playing football with her team-mates in a makesfhist football field in Lusenda refugee camp
2. SOUNDBITE (SWAHILI) Emerance Nshimirimana, Burundian Refugee, Team Captain:
“It’s an amazing feeling when we score a goal and the entire team celebrates together.”
3. Various shots of team captain Emerance and her team playing football mates in a makesfhist football field in Lusenda refugee camp
4. SOUNDBITE (SWAHILI) Spéciose Nibigira, Burundian Refugee:
“We forget we’re refugees when we’re playing, we could be anywhere in the world.”
5. Various shots, refugees walking in Lusenda refugee camp
6. Various shots, refugee girls playing football in a makeshift football field in Lusenda camp
7. Wide shot, Emerance playing football in a makeshift football field in Lusenda
8. SOUNDBITE (SWAHILI) Emerance Nshimirimana, Burundian Refugee, Team Captain:
“We’re the best football team in this camp. Everyone has their own style of playing and their own nicknames. This is Suarez. This is Pepe. This is Arda.”
9. Various shots, refugee girls training in a makeshift football field in Lusenda refugee camp
10. Various shots, Eric Itangishaka, The Morning Star’s coach, standing amid a crowd of refugees during a game
11. SOUNDBITE (French) Eric Itangishaka, Burundian Refugee, Volunteer Coach:
“There aren’t any means to play football here. I’d like to see the girls be encouraged to play and to have the equipment they need to play sports.”
12. Various shots, Eric Itangishaka talking to the team during a game
13. SOUNDBITE (SWAHILI) Emerance Nshimirimana, Burundian Refugee, Team Captain:
“We just need to keep training hard and being winners.”
14. Various shots, the Morning Stars during a football game in Lusenda refugee camp
15. SOUNDBITE (SWAHILI) Emerance Nshimirimana, Burundian Refugee, Team Captain:
“We hear refugees are playing in the Olympics. That’s our dream.”

Storyline

This all-girls refugee football team the Morning Stars has an Olympic dream.

They fled Burundi in 2015 and moved to neighboring DR Congo where they discovered their love of the game.

SOUNDBITE (SWAHILI) Emerance Nshimirimana, Burundian Refugee, Team Captain:
“It’s an amazing feeling when we score a goal and the entire team celebrates together.”

SOUNDBITE (SWAHILI) Spéciose Nibigira, Burundian Refugee:
“We forget we’re refugees when we’re playing, we could be anywhere in the world.”

The Morning Stars live in DR Congo’s largest refugee camp with a population of about 30,000.

Despite not having a proper football field, football boots or even a ball of their own, these girls are at the top of their game.

SOUNDBITE (SWAHILI) Emerance Nshimirimana, Burundian Refugee, Team Captain:
“We’re the best football team in this camp. Everyone has their own style of playing and their own nicknames. This is Suarez. This is Pepe. This is Arda.”

Eric is a Burundian refugee and their volunteer coach.

SOUNDBITE (French) Eric Itangishaka, Burundian Refugee, Volunteer Coach:
“There aren’t any means to play football here. I’d like to see the girls be encouraged to play and to have the equipment they need to play sports.”

Severe underfunding means refugee youth depend on sports volunteers like Eric.

But the Morning Stars say that despite the many challenges, they are not letting anything get in the way of their sports dreams.

SOUNDBITE (SWAHILI) Emerance Nshimirimana, Burundian Refugee, Team Captain:
“We just need to keep training hard and being winners. We hear refugees are playing in the Olympics. That’s our dream.”

UNHCR supports refugees in Lusenda and elsewhere by providing basic sports equipment, ensuring that there are playing fields in the camps and by organizing matches. Too little funds are available to support these activities, important as they are for young people, and so
sports volunteers have been key to allow them to continue their training.