Sound Off 3: Sulieman Reflects on the Journey

by | Jun 2, 2012

Sulieman, a natural leader on and off the field, reflects on the true meaning behind Darfur United and the impact of the previous eight weeks of training. The team is more than 16 people playing football (soccer), it is a family that has united camps, tribes, and...
We Are Up, Up and Away—Someone Pinch Us Please

We Are Up, Up and Away—Someone Pinch Us Please

by | Jun 1, 2012

Somehow, the driver that took us to a ten minute meeting left and did not come back for forty-five. It was now less than two hours before departure for us and a team of refugees, all of them carrying temporary travel documents on their very first international flight....
Long Day Journal

Long Day Journal

by | May 30, 2012

Exhausting. Up at 3:30am and out at the camp by 5. The players were all already up and getting ready for the trip to N’Djamena, for sure the farthest any of them have been from home. Two players, Mohamed and Mohamed, had to leave earlier than the others because...
From Tent to Five-Star

From Tent to Five-Star

by | May 28, 2012

Sixteen young men, all refugees from Darfur now living in camps close to the Chad-Sudan border, will be traveling with us to Iraqi Kurdistan to compete in an international soccer tournament, the Viva World Cup. There’s nobody around to pinch me. Those sixteen...
Ismail

Ismail

by | May 27, 2012

My very first trip to the refugee camps in eastern Chad was in January 2008. There was one particular woman I knew I had to meet. Her name is Fatna and she lives in Camp Farchana. I had first met her through Stacey and Cany, two i-ACT team members who had previously...
Running Around in Squares

Running Around in Squares

by | May 27, 2012

Playing sports and exercising can provide a powerful feeling of freedom and strength. How many of you have not felt that special rush, after miles of running or during an intense competitive game of ball? Today I went for a run here at the UNHCR compound. I ran around...