Etijah is promoting youth empowerment to solidify the new generations, they are an asset that should be preserved and developed. This is the main idea behind projects such as “Sports for All” project. Blending between something simple like sports and its influence on the youth’s mindset, physical abilities, and psychological statues. The project has reached many key achievements through early monitoring, which has contributed to showing the extent of the facilitators’ influence on the success of the project’s vision, through Strengthening the effectiveness of youth programs, which in turn contributed to strengthening psychosocial wellbeing among vulnerable youth, and increasing the importance of teamwork, and eventually it became possible to reach more than 170 beneficiaries, whose lives were improved and their various abilities developed by the Sports for All project.
Key achievements and Impact
- Broad Reach: Over 170 young people have directly participated across the seven sites.
- Inclusivity and Engagement: The project has seen strong participation by girls in shelters and community centers
- Skill Development: Participants demonstrate clear improvements in teamwork and understanding of rules, reflecting both sports skills and social learning.
- Positive Behavioral Changes: Facilitators observe positive shifts in participants’ behavior and attitude, indicating increased confidence and discipline.
- Capacity Building: Facilitators themselves have grown professionally, acquiring new skills to support high-risk children effectively.
Etijah organized a six-day Training of Trainers (ToT) in Cairo to set the stage for an exceptional, child-centered delivery. During these intensive workshops, thirty local sports facilitators learned creative and youth-appropriate techniques from Caritas France experts. The ToT concluded with a sporting festival, where facilitators applied their knowledge to a range of sports and activities, offering valuable insights into how to organize, coordinate, and interact with kids in a dynamic way. In May 2025, the program began its first animation cycle, introducing frisbee to seven active youth groups.. Each cycle has ten weekly sessions, which are carefully documented on activity sheets to preserve the track of the youth skill development, and the eleventh session is a friendly competition.
The second cycle will include volleyball as the main sport activity, which will keep things on track and keep the children motivated. Facilitators switch groups once a month to encourage the sharing of best practices. Monthly meetings give everyone a chance to monitor and evaluate the results, share new ideas, and work through problems before moving onto the next phase. The project transforms every session into a space of empowerment and rights-based engagement, and it has reached a milestone through the exceptional strong participation from girls, whose attendance in both mixed and girls-only highlights that barriers to female engagement and participation can be overcome through intentional and inclusive programs such as the “Sports for All” program, and the girls’ participation in the seven community groups represents a tangible victory for SDG 3 (Good Health), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).
Through a carefully organized curriculum that overlooks children of all abilities, promoting mutual respect that will serve them beyond the playing field. Behind the scenes, Etijah plays a crucial role in leveraging “Sports for All” strategic partnerships and ongoing capacity-building to ensure its long-term impact. Working with international partners such as Caritas France and local community-based organizations such as Samusocial International, Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), and Khatwa Lel-Mostaqbal, they are essential to the project, as they make sure that even the most isolated communities are reached. This international and local partnership model is a manifestation of SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) in action. Two annual sports festivals will also bring together participants, their families, and members of the community to celebrate together. These events will strengthen social ties and show that the true measure of success is change across the whole community.
Etijah implements this project in collaboration with Secours Catholique Caritas France.