Who we are
A whole-of-society Global South network passionate about leveraging athletics for social- emotional well-being and quality education for and with refugee youth.
What we do
We work across the humanitarian education sector continuum, from primary to higher education, with a focus on learning through play and physical, emotional and academic literacy. Our work is community-centered. Our vision is to uplift entire refugee communities through sports and academic pathways that allow learners to acquire employable skills that benefit their livelihoods and those of their communities. Our programs are scientifically grounded, implemented and monitored by refugee-led organisations in the field, and evaluated by local academic experts. We speak multiple languages and local dialects so that everyone feels included and has an authentic story to share about athletics+education.
How we do it
AHEEN analyses local refugee contexts, selects diploma programs that are optimally geared to local and digital employment and delivers these digitally into refugee contexts with the support of refugee-managed learning hubs. For youth to access higher education we start at primary and secondary level using a gender transformative approach. We work directly with refugee camp schools to organise teams and implement kids athletics programs. Over time, youth advance to secondary school and our U20 program where in partnership with World Athletics we provide education scholarships, nutrition support. Through our collaboration with Athletics Kenya, African Athletics Development Center, World Athletics, Olympic Refuge Foundation, World Baseball Softball Confederation and Olympic Solidarity, athletes compete in local, regional, national and international competitions while continuing their education. They obtain additional weekly on-line tutoring support through AHEEN. Successful graduates then have the opportunity to continue to higher education by transferring to University of Nairobi and their diploma in sports science, without interrupting their athletic training.
Our team
We have partnered with World Athletics, Athletics Kenya and the African Athletics Development Center for training coaches at World Athletics Levels 1 & 2 and Kids Athletics, and with World Baseball Softball Confederation for recruiting qualified coaches and train refugee assistant coaches. Our academic team designs the learning environments for humanitarian contexts. They monitor educational and athletic progress, collaborate with humanitarian education sector working groups and ensure that all programming conforms to humanitarian principles, protection and child safeguarding standards. Our research projects are locally grounded, follow ethics and research approval guidelines in Kenya, so that the knowledge we produce benefits the very communities in which we work. Our whole-of-society South-South network’s sustainability approach is responsive to local, regional and national needs in line with the Global Compact on Refugees, the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF), and the Kenyan 2021 Refugee Act with its Roadmap and Marshall Plan. Our team is responsive to changes in Kenya’s education system, bridging our Athletics+Education model with the Competency-based Curriculum introduced in 2017, by training refugee and government teachers in Kids Athletics to advance children’s and youth’s physical and social- emotional literacy.
Our timeline
Program structure
Program deliverables
Our partners for athletics and education
- UNHCR
- World Athletics
- Athletics Kenya
- African Athletics Development Center
- World Baseball Softball Confederation
- International Olympic Committee/Olympic Refuge Foundation
- National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK)
- INEE (Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies)
- Shoe4Africa All4Running School Kapsabet
- Koitaleel Samoel University College (Constituent College of University of Nairobi who are AHEEN’s legal host)
- All AHEEN members, in particular WERK and YES