|  | Feature | No.59 May 2010 |

The Uses of Sport for Children in Armed Conflict
Dean M. Ravizza

Introduction
Through the strong glare of the summer sun I spotted a young boy dribbling the soccer ball hurriedly down the far side of the field. He fakes to the inside then makes a quick move back outside and leaves the defender nearly standing still. He turns to the inside and makes a move for the goal. He swings his left leg back and strikes the ball to the high corner of the goal past the unsuspecting goalkeeper just as match time expires. In a brief moment, he is surrounded by his teammates who congratulate him for scoring the winning goal. He smiles as he collects the ball and shakes hands with his opponents before exiting the playing field.
This scene is played out on fields, parking lots, alleyways, and open spaces throughout the world on any given day. Children and youth often don their uniforms to participate in competitive matches surrounded by scores of spectators cheering them on. Or, they fill spare time in their day by engaging in friendly, informal play in school yards, recreational spaces, streets, and open fields. However, this specific case is the story of children and youth embodied in the twenty three-year conflict in northern Uganda. In this story, I described former child soldiers who recently escaped the clutches of a rebel group who abducted them and forced them to commit acts of violence against family members and villagers, and now participate in a program with sport as part of the reintegration process. This article summarizes key findings and my personal experience over the course of the last five years of conducting fieldwork and research on the topic of sport and children in armed conflict amidst the war in northern Uganda.
Background
Sport plays a significant role in many societies including those in the wake of armed conflict. From informal play and physical activity to organized competition, sport is a significant factor in child and youth development. Sport is recognized by governments, UN agencies, non-governmental agencies (NGOs), and development organizations as an effective tool and strong unifying factor in the process of conflict transformation and peace-building (UN 2003). In addition, it is utilized as a peaceful means to reintegrate former child soldiers (SCUK 2003; Wessells 2006a). For the purpose of this research, we adhered to a broad sense of sport as defined by the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Sport for Development and Peace (2003) including “recreation; organized, casual or competitive sport; and indigenous sports or games” (p.2).
Specific to northern Uganda, sport continues to be utilized in reintegration programs for former abductees1 (Allen & Schomerus 2005, Wessells 2006a), as a social mobilization method to engender development2, and as a means to promote prosocial values among children and youth3. Given the recent withdrawal of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) from Uganda and security improvements for the civilian population of the northern region, an increased focus on peace and stability programming has emerged. Such programs advocate the use of sports to address issues of instability and violence, promote reconciliation, and aid the reintegration process of former combatants by building social networks and educating participants4. Programmatic emphasis is placed on educating children and youth to listen to each other, show tolerance, make compromises, take on responsibilities together, and realize their interdependence through the building of positive social networks (UN 2003).
The premise for this research project crystallized as I conducted post-doctoral work in Uganda while collaborating with a UNICEF sport for development partnership with the international NGO Right To Play in 2004-2005. Initially, I completed my fieldwork in regions across the country unaffected by the conflict. It was not until eight months into my fieldwork that programs emerged for children and youth in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in a northern region of the country piqued my interest in sport and war-affected children. Towards the end of this period of time, I was invited to an interim care center (ICC) in northern Uganda where former child soldiers were brought after escaping from the rebel group. It is here where recently demobilized children live while their families are located, receive psychosocial support, and begin their transition back to civilian life (Wessells 2006a). Over the course of several weeks with the assistance of the staff, I implemented a daily, one hour sport program for both girls and boys. Boys played soccer on an open field just outside of the center while girls participated in netball nearby. Seeing the children participate with enthusiasm and respect for one another illuminated questions surrounding sport as a premise for the reintegration of former child soldiers. A return visit in early 2006 cemented the notion of the research project only expanding, at the request of local government officials, beyond the uses of sport in the reintegration process of former child soldiers to that of all children and youth affected by the armed conflict.
The research team utilized a three-phase design to collect quantitative and qualitative data to determine children and youth’s engagement in sport; correlations between participation in sport and values associated with physical, social, and economic development; and factors of sport engagement that facilitate the reintegration process of former child soldiers. Despite its uses, answers to simple yet important questions remain unanswered. Who has access to sport programs? Do these programs foster development and peace objectives? What role does sport play in the reintegration of children and youth formerly associated with an armed group? Therefore, further analysis of the uses of sport for children and youth in armed conflict settings is necessary due to the limited amount of current research.
To follow proper international protocol for researching children and youth in armed conflict (see Paris Principles, UNICEF 2007) and clear cultural and language hurdles, a team of local Ugandans was recruited to complete the data collection process. The team formed with one research manager, five research assistants – two based in the Kitgum district and three in the Gulu district – each of whom worked successfully in a similar capacity on previous research projects. Each member of the research team assisted with the creation of the data collection methods and were trained on the instruments prior to their implementation in the field.
Methodology of the Research Study
In Phase I of the research project completed in 2006 and 2007, the researcher chose an observational approach for data collection purposes. Data were collected by way of field observations, semi-structured interviews with multiple key community informants, and focus group interviews with former abductees from one interim care center. This allowed the researcher to understand the phenomenon being investigated, learn about local attitudes towards sport, and work towards clear research objectives. In Phase II during June and July 2008, the research team implemented a pilot study of children and youth (n=109) ages 12-22 from two conflict-affected districts. The pilot study preceded the implementation of the mid-scale survey among children and youth (n=411) ages 12-22 (51.3% males, 48.7% females) in twenty-two sub-counties in the Gulu and Kitgum districts of northern Uganda in June/July 2009. For this survey, former abductees made up nearly thirty percent of the respondents.
Findings
Our research indicated that large numbers of children participated in sport such as football (soccer), netball, basketball, volleyball, athletics, and traditional games. Boys preferred to participate in football (soccer) while girls cited netball as their sport of choice (see Figure 1.1). While children indicated they mainly participated in sport at school, children joined with other children in informal play within their villages and communities. However, many children indicated they lacked the opportunity to participate in sport for one of several reasons. Children stated they had family obligations and chores to attend to leaving them with no time to participate. Formalized sport programs run by community-based and non-governmental organizations were mostly located within town municipalities leaving the children in more rural populations with no access to equipment or activities (see Figure 1.2). Other children could not afford school fees thus rendering them to find a means to generate an income within their communities leaving them without the chance to engage in sport while at school. One boy stated, “I love playing football but I am denied the chance to play now since I stopped going to school.” We found it crucial to address the lack of educational opportunities for some children and youth and the importance of providing them with an education. Children who attend school can derive the many benefits afforded to them through regular attendance. Because of the strong correlation between sport participation and school attendance, among these benefits is the opportunity to engage in sport.
Figure 1.1 Participation by sport

Figure 1.2 Reasons for non-participation
Sport for Development
This research project surfaced on the heels of the formation of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Sport for Development and Peace (UN 2003) and the subsequent proclamation deeming 2005 the Year of Sport and Physical Education for all children. This brought an international focus on the power of sport and its potential to address important development objectives including those set forth in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals- a global declaration focused on reducing extreme poverty, child mortality rates, and disease epidemics; the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women; the improvement of maternal health; and, the development of environmental sustainability (UN 2003, n.d.). These objectives included the uses of sport for physical, social, and economic development, peace and conflict resolution, and the inclusion of socially marginalized groups. Sport was also noted as a means to teach respect for one’s body and as a response to many challenges faced by children including tobacco and drug abuse and the threat of sexually-transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS (UN 2003). As a result of the attention brought to the field of sport, a plethora of international programs emerged with the goals of meeting one or several of the development objectives.
Experiences of children in conflict settings are quite varied, thus making community-based programming more complex. Conflicts often see children as primary victims, and in some cases, as perpetrators. Children and youth are particularly affected by the collapse of education and economic opportunities, most likely to be recruited into fighting forces, and are highly vulnerable to health risks behaviors (Machel 2001). These threats can have adverse effects on the physical, social, and emotional development of children (Kostelny 2006).
Children who participated in sport programs at schools and those offered by non-governmental and community-based organizations indicated the programs educated them about important development issues such as malaria and HIV/AIDS prevention, children’s rights, hygiene, and peace and conflict resolution. Conversely, children disagreed that the sport program educated them about the dangers of early sexual activity and the dangers of drug abuse. When probing further, we found children were unable to fully articulate how their program educated them on the previously-stated development issues. However, they indicated that the sport program provided them with an outlet for preventing their participation in health-risk behaviors. Said one female, “Sporting programs help me in the way that during sporting hours in the evening, I don’t find access of going to boys and men hence helping me from acquiring HIV/AIDS.” This lead the research team to question whether the programs actually educated children on development issues or if children derived conclusions on their own. Further examination is necessary to establish a conclusion.
In times of conflict, the economic livelihoods of people are drastically altered. Children are particularly vulnerable since conflict may disrupt school attendance and their opportunity to earn a living wage and damage their health and physical well-being (Wessells 2006b). Wessells (2006b) argued that efforts to reintegrate former child soldiers are often based on a careful attention to issues of livelihoods including that of job and life skills. Noting the potential for sport to promote these skills, the research team solicited the thoughts of children on the role of sport in their economic development. Children felt they could learn important values such as teamwork and cooperation as well as develop important leadership skills by participating in sport. Children also agreed that playing sport allowed them to accept others different from them – all values that manifest themselves in the workplace. However, children thought less of sport as means of gaining employment. They noted that few opportunities existed for them to be employed in a sport sector.
Social Change
Sport has the potential to promote social cohesion and include socially marginalized groups such as females, individuals with disabilities, and former child soldiers. Participation in sport validates in a very public way that they are human and possess the capacity to meaningfully participate within peer groups. By utilizing sport as a means for social development, young people from antagonistic population groups meet and communicate in a neutral space or on common ground - to the end of inciting a process of peace, stability, and social cohesion on a public stage (McEvoy-Levy 2006). Sport serves as an effective means for empowering females and strengthening other’s thoughts of their capabilities (Kluka 2008). We found large numbers of girls participating in both formal and informal sport opportunities at schools and in their communities. Some schools elect both male and female sport prefects to assist teachers with the mobilization of participants and the organization of daily sport components. While we previously mentioned the participation rates of females, we found more formal programs lacked female leadership. Both male and female respondents failed to recognize female leadership in sport programs, thus derailing future leadership opportunities for girls. These actions prevent females from garnering the benefits derived from leading others and conceptualizing leadership opportunities outside of sport (Hums & Pastore 2008).
Children in conflict areas are surrounded by the threat of violence. Scores of children emerge with physical disabilities including severed limbs, ears, and lips rendering them with varying levels of mobility, hearing, and speech and exposing them to community stigma. Sport can provide individuals with disabilities a forum for positive social interaction and a showcase for their skills. Our research indicated that participation of individuals with disabilities rested solely upon the nature of the disability. Children were accepting of others with disabilities, but lacked the knowledge to modify sport activities to fit the individual needs of the disabled. Said one boy, “I agree that people with disabilities should participate in sport, but those with no legs and arms cannot manage to run and kick or catch the ball.” Therefore, empowering local program facilitators with modification techniques for the disabled will allow them the capacity to create programs that facilitate the inclusion of children with disabilities.

Photo credit: D.M. Ravizza
Photo: Young girls at play in the Gulu District of northern Uganda
Peace and Reintegration of Former Child Soldiers
The term ‘child soldier’ conjures up a misleading image of a young, black African male toting an automatic weapon across their shoulder. Yet, large numbers of girls and young women are forcibly recruited into armed groups (McKay and Mazurana 2004). Child soldiers are forced to live under harsh conditions with insufficient food and are subjected to beatings and humiliating treatment. They experience high levels of exposure to violent acts and are likely to participate in the injuring or killing of family members and strangers. Girl soldiers are particularly at risk of rape and abuse as well as being involved in combat and other tasks (Betancourt 2008).
Former combatants incur periods of testing or “provoking” by other members of their communities who view them as unconditional threats to peace (Singer 2005; Wessells 2006a, 2006b). How they navigate this transition from active participants to contributing members of society impacts the peace and stability within their communities (Sommers 2005). The re-introduction of former child combatants back into the community is a difficult process and is sometimes unsuccessful. Our findings indicated that former child soldiers were accepted by their families and other children immediately or after a brief period of time following their abductions. But, many faced a longer period before being accepted by members of their community. Former child soldiers reported that participation in sport with other children was a main factor in their acceptance.
Former child soldiers found sport to be a means to reconnect them to the lives they experienced prior to their abduction by re-establishing a positive identity (Erikson 1968) and engaging them in socially-acceptable patterns of behavior. However, sport is a potential forum for participants to unleash violent behaviors (Coakley 2008) that circumvent peace-related objectives (Wessells 2006a). Child soldiers who were abducted for a period greater than one year were more likely to engage in violent responses to disputes (e.g. arguing and fighting) while playing sport than children abducted periods less than one year who were more likely to engage in peaceful responses (e.g. talking, seeking outside assistance, and referring to existing rules) to similar disputes. Further investigations are necessary to understand the children’s exposure to violence while associated with the armed group and the length of time between their reintegration and the time in which they participated in the research to draw further conclusions. Whether sport promotes their reintegration depends upon its implementation. For sport to contribute to healthy social development and reintegration, programs must capitalize on the inherent qualities of sport such as fair play, teamwork, and fostering a supportive environment and utilize disputes as teachable moments for resolving conflict and building trust.
Conclusion
These findings represented a mere microcosm of the uses of sport for children in the armed conflict setting of northern Uganda. Identifying and reinforcing factors of positive youth development through participation in sport is essential. Then, a complex of dispositions and skills needed for children and youth to take charge of their own contextual actions can be put in place (Larson 2000). An emphasis on building personal agency and protective factors through their active engagement in sport programs can divert thoughts of anti-social and health-risk behaviors.
This important issue of the ICSSPE journal highlights fieldwork and research that may be of global interest and utility to members of the sport science world as well as related fields. Through this format of information sharing, we are able to truly globalize our work by making meaningful connections with scholars and practitioners around the world who share similar interests. We have many important issues that demand our attention and have little time to waste. Globally, children are exploited as laborers, prostitutes, and soldiers. They face many health risks as a result of war and natural disaster. Sport is not a panacea for these or related issues that violate the rights of children. However, sport can play an integral role in holistic development and peace building strategies. It is crucial for us to contribute research data and our technical expertise to build local capacity and develop sustainable sport programs that may address these critical issues for children of war.
Endnotes
1,2,3 The researcher derived this information from interviews with multiple key informants from the Gulu and Kitgum Districts in northern Uganda were conducted by the researcher during the summer of 2007. Participants included social workers and field officers from four Interim Care Centers for former abductees, community development officers, and field officers from local and international NGOs working in the conflict-affected region.
4 The main goal of the USAID-funded Stability, Peace, and Reconciliation in Northern Uganda (SPRING) program is to mitigate the causes and consequences of the conflict in northern Uganda by implementing activities in three core component areas: peace and reconciliation, economic security and social inclusion, and access to justice. SPRING notes sport as a viable implementation tool in reaching its programmatic objectives for the region. See www.springuganda.com for further information.

References
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Contact
Dr. Dean M. Ravizza
Salisbury University
Salisbury, Maryland, USA
Email: dmravizza@salisbury.edu

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