Refugee Academy in Malaysia builds futures through GAA
In a local school in the Ampang region of Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysia Gaelic Athletic Association (MGAA) learned how sport can strengthen communities regardless of ethnic and cultural differences.
When the Association’s volunteers went to a local school to coach in the school’s Refugee Soccer Academy, the merit of sport as a safe space for children to express themselves became evident. Seeing this enjoyment inspired MGAA members to look at sharing in the indigenous Irish sport – Gaelic football – in a similar programme.
Finding their feet
While on paper they may look similar, Gaelic football posed a unique learning curve to the soccer enthusiasts. The green pitch and round footballs are where similarities end. Gaelic football takes to the air with hand passes, bounces and carries woven into the fabric of our ancient sport. It favours agility and quick wit and these added dimensions posed new challenges.
In 2018, the Irish volunteers began to introduce the children to Gaelic Football to broaden the their understanding of play. The MGAA and Orang Éire, a local GAA club, started quarterly open Gaelic football sessions, offering a low-pressure introduction to the sport and allowing kids to showcase their skills while improving their emotional, mental, physical wellbeing. From these sessions, the volunteers saw a love of Gaelic football blossoming in the hearts of players ten thousand miles from the sport’s HQ, Croke Park in Dublin.
We have seen kids from war-torn countries, places without any support networks, really thrive in this environment. It has given them opportunities and experiences they would never normally have.
Gaining traction
Slowly but surely, this introduction became a Refugee Academy Programme in itself, that has only gone from strength to strength since. The initiative now offers open sessions that welcome newcomers with opportunities for players to progress to the senior level.
Among the thundering feet on the turf, MGAA volunteers caught sparks of talent in the participants. Ten of these children graduated the programme and have progressed to adult teams, and some have even earned a spot at the Asian Gaelic Games and the South Asian Gaelic Games competitions.
Proving to be more than just a sport, the Refugee Academy programme has sown the seeds of integration, friendship, and personal growth for the players. There is an inherent magic to the sense of community ensuring participants feel supported both on and off the field.
With children coming from backgrounds with little support in the areas of work or education, the support off the field has come in different forms. The MGAA enrich the lives of these children by paying their school fees, buying laptops and school supplies, and offering mentorship to help them enter workforce after school.
For children coming from devastation, off-field support like this is allowing them something they have always deserved to have: the opportunity to be kids.
We are extremely proud of the work and commitment put in from our members to build this program. Not only has the Refugee Academy program given these kids an outlet through Gaelic Games, it has given them amazing opportunities to pursue career and educational ambitions.
To date, the programme has delivered 10 Gaelic Football open sessions and welcomed over 300 children into their Refugee Academy. Each of these children have had the opportunity to make connections that will create personal and professional opportunities long after the blow of the final whistle.
Passing it on
Orang Éire and MGAA would love to see other GAA clubs follow in their footsteps.
“Start small,” they advise. “Have a set budget for the programme, and have an end goal for the development of the players.”
When they began their Refugee Academy programme, the MGAA dreamt of bringing programme participants to international tournaments. They have seen this manifest with children from the programme competing in the most recent Asian Gaelic Games and South Asia Gaelic Games.
