Gender Equality Jordan Project #45393

Build Community through Sport for Girls in Jordan

by Reclaim Childhood, Inc.

Project Report | Dec 4, 2025
Wrapping up 2025 at RC!

By Anna Barrett | Executive Director

We’re headed into the last week of the soccer season, and with it, the end of 2025 programming! Over 490 girls joined us for the 14 weeks, with Rahaf from Amman telling us: “I’m really loving the football season. There’s so much respect between the girls and the coaches, and the trainings are truly fun and enjoyable. I truly feel safer here than anywhere else.”

Off the field, a highlight was expanding our teen leadership program, Qudrati. Qudrati means "my ability," which is the focus of the teen leadership program - helping RC participants ages 14 and up explore and expand on their own abilities. Throughout the yearlong cohort, girls meet on the weekends to discuss topics important to their lives and their communities. Participants also visit with local social entrepreneurs and complete service projects. The goal: To build strong young leaders, both on and off the playing field.

A participant from last year, Anisa, told us: “Qudrati is a powerful program that helped me build a better version of myself and taught me how to interact with others…These experiences made me a more social person and taught me information and life skills that I can use in my everyday life. Qudrati gave us a safe space to express ourselves and explore different ways to grow. It helped us discover our inner personalities, those parts of ourselves that many young girls struggle to express or assert. This program truly helps us uncover and develop our identities in a positive and empowering way.”

While the program has run in our original Amman and Zarqa sites for eight years, we have only recently been able to expand to newer locations. This year, our final hub joined the program, with over 60 girls participating across the four site cohorts. Beyond the discussions, girls have also visited a local art museum, taken a menstrual hygiene workshop, and learned self-defense through jiu-jitsu. We can’t wait to see their continued growth in the new year!

As we wrap up 2025, a huge thank you to all of you who help create these safe spaces, on and off the field, in Jordan. We’re grateful for your support!

Permalink

Aug 6, 2025
Summer Fun in Jordan!

By Kelsey Mueller | Intern

RC's pilot leagues project!

Our summer kicked off with our brand new leagues pilot project! Two teams of the oldest participants were formed from each hub site. Practice runs at individual hub sites on Sundays, with all eight teams coming together in Zarqa on Thursdays to compete in 7v7 matches. In addition to accumulating points for wins, they can also earn points for demonstrating good teamwork, showing comradery with the other teams, and celebrating their victories with one another. This encourages teambuilding, builds a sense of community across all of RC’s hub sites, and engages with older RC participants throughout the summer.

At the same time, our tried and true summer camps took place for four weeks of fun-filled play and practice with the younger girls. There were so many smiles as girls tried new things, built sport skills and played some of their favorite games, specifically the RC favorite; a frisbee knockout game pictured below. Summer camp transitioned into two weeks of game days as girls played soccer and frisbee matches to use the skills they have been developing in a fun and competitive environment. Summer activities are vital for young girls as the summer can be isolating without school to keep them active and have time with friends.

RC is always looking to expand and reach new girls and communities! These past two weeks, RC beat the heat and ran two outreach camps designed to increase access to RC’s activities outside of our hub sites. They took place in Madaba, a city an hour south of Amman, and in Sahab, a city on the southeast outskirts of Amman. Approximately 150 girls, ages 6-17, were introduced to RC’s main sports through drills and fun games, made new friends, and built connections with the coaches. It is always exciting to see new participants excited about RC programming and build on the model RC has been using for 17 years.

As we close out the 2024-25 program year at the end of this month, we’re already looking ahead to an exciting new year. Thank you for your support!

RC's fan favorite frisbee knockout game.

Permalink

Jun 2, 2025
Celebrating Spring Collaborations

By Anna Barrett | Executive Director

Trying out tennis in Amman 2!

Yesterday was the final day of frisbee season, and as the end of the school year approaches, the wrap up of our after school program for the 2024-25 year! We reached over 600 girls across 29 weeks and almost 700 hours of programming.

The after school program focuses on engaging girls throughout the year to build healthy habits, increase their skills on and off the field, form relationships with peers and mentors, and find community and belonging. While soccer, basketball, and frisbee are RC’s main sports, we also weave in additional enrichment opportunities for girls throughout the year. Read on for three of our most recent collaborations!

Building Confidence through Self-Defense

In April, 12 girls had two powerful sessions with EmpowerVan, an organization that teaches seminars based on the principles of empowerment and self-defense. Girls explored the "Five Fingers of Self-Defense" — think, voice, run, fight, and tell — while practicing real-life skills. These interactive sessions were all about building confidence, staying safe, and learning how to respond to everyday situations.

Trying out a New Sport

Also in April, Wesley O'Brien from Hit and Hope Tennis in Ireland brought 18 years of coaching experience to run special tennis training sessions across all four of our hub sites! He introduced the children to the core concept of “move and hit” in tennis and guided them through the four main shots. The girls had a great time on the court and enjoyed every moment trying out a new sport.

Exploring Emotions through Theater

In May, Professor Vivian Appler from the University of Georgia joined us to lead theater workshops with our coaches and Amman sites. The sessions introduced participants to the basics of theatre, encouraging everyone to be creative and expressive. Activities like the “Hypnotizing Game,” which helped participants reflect on being a leader or follower, and the “Human Machine,” where they embodied emotions through group movement, brought the experience to life.

Next up - we’ll be back on the field in no time for summer camps and the launch of our new soccer league! Thank you for your support for all of Reclaim Childhood’s programs, especially as we navigate the new realities of the funding landscape.

Coaches learning about theater games.

Permalink

1 2 3 4 5 6 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.