Spring Break
Getting schooled in soccer by Liberian refugees
Luci Storelli-Castro
Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Opinion
Dear Mates,
Pursuant with Rotary's "Service Above Self" motto and my ambassadorial duty of helping spread global goodwill and understanding, I have signed up to volunteer at three different venues this semester: a Liberian refugee camp, an orphanage, and a school.
So, in the months to come, expect anecdotes coming from these various volunteer stints. Hopefully, they will be as entertaining as what took place on Monday in Buduburam, the Liberian refugee camp.
After a stuffy 3-hour long trotro ride in 90-degree heat and nearly 100 percent humidity, I arrived at Buduburam early in the morning.
Trotros, if you recall, are rundown minibuses used as public transportation vehicles. A typical trotro packs more than 20 people into tightly knit rows, a nightmare for anyone claustrophobic or keen on personal spaces.
27 miles west of Accra, Buduburam is home to more than 35,000 Liberian refugees.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) opened the camp in 1990 after civil war broke out in Liberia between 1989 and 1996. Another wave of violence culminated in a second civil war from 1999 - 2003.
Although the political climate in Liberia is in far more stable conditions, most refugees at Buduburam have been reluctant to return to their home country. Many still fear persecution, whereas the rest are uneasy about leaving their belongings to start from anew in a country left devastated by chronic war between tribal factions.
As I stepped onto the campgrounds, one of my colleagues from the Center of Youth Empowerment (CYE), a grassroots non-profit organization, came to greet me.
From the various Non-governmental institutions (NGOs) active in Buduburam, CYE is unique in that it is one of the few founded by Liberian refugees. This indigenous factor weighed heavily in my decision to join the organization.
As we made our way through the camp, Bartuah, my Liberian counterpart, informed me that CYE was playing a soccer match in the evening against another NGO.
Pursuant with Rotary's "Service Above Self" motto and my ambassadorial duty of helping spread global goodwill and understanding, I have signed up to volunteer at three different venues this semester: a Liberian refugee camp, an orphanage, and a school.
So, in the months to come, expect anecdotes coming from these various volunteer stints. Hopefully, they will be as entertaining as what took place on Monday in Buduburam, the Liberian refugee camp.
After a stuffy 3-hour long trotro ride in 90-degree heat and nearly 100 percent humidity, I arrived at Buduburam early in the morning.
Trotros, if you recall, are rundown minibuses used as public transportation vehicles. A typical trotro packs more than 20 people into tightly knit rows, a nightmare for anyone claustrophobic or keen on personal spaces.
27 miles west of Accra, Buduburam is home to more than 35,000 Liberian refugees.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) opened the camp in 1990 after civil war broke out in Liberia between 1989 and 1996. Another wave of violence culminated in a second civil war from 1999 - 2003.
Although the political climate in Liberia is in far more stable conditions, most refugees at Buduburam have been reluctant to return to their home country. Many still fear persecution, whereas the rest are uneasy about leaving their belongings to start from anew in a country left devastated by chronic war between tribal factions.
As I stepped onto the campgrounds, one of my colleagues from the Center of Youth Empowerment (CYE), a grassroots non-profit organization, came to greet me.
From the various Non-governmental institutions (NGOs) active in Buduburam, CYE is unique in that it is one of the few founded by Liberian refugees. This indigenous factor weighed heavily in my decision to join the organization.
As we made our way through the camp, Bartuah, my Liberian counterpart, informed me that CYE was playing a soccer match in the evening against another NGO.
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