Welcome Centre sets up girls volleyball program for Afghanistan refugees

The Surrey Schools Welcome Centre has started a new girls volleyball program for refugees from Afghanistan, offering teenage girls the opportunity to play sports while building friendships and developing leadership skills on and off the volleyball court.

The district’s Welcome Centre is giving teenage girls from Afghanistan the opportunity to learn about leadership and teamwork through sports, with the creation of a new extracurricular volleyball program.

Since mid-May, 25 students from Frank Hurt Secondary – many of them refugees from Afghanistan – have been part of a new initiative by the Welcome Centre to bring sports to newcomers of Canada. Every Tuesday, the girls get together after school to play volleyball, with guidance from two coaches from Volleyball BC to teach them how to bump, set and spike as a team.

“From the first day I joined, my manager and I talked about starting a program for Afghan girls because of the restrictions they’ve had,” said settlement worker Hasina Qaumiy. “We came up with a volleyball program and thought it was a good chance for Afghan girls who have a lot of restrictions based on religion and culture.

“They’re not allowed to enjoy the same things as others might, and we thought it would be a really nice opportunity for them to have fun and enjoy something together.”

In her home province of Kandahār, Qaumiy said many schools in Afghanistan don’t offer extracurricular sports for girls, with limited options during school hours. The program offers these students a chance to engage in team sports beyond P.E. class and develop camaraderie in a girls-only setting.

“For them, it provides a sense of belonging from doing what they love to do,” said Quamiy. “The way they play together in the program, they feel safe and comfortable enjoying and learning and networking, and it gives them a feeling of confidence in themselves.”

The program also includes newcomers from India and the Philippines, with room to grow. While the team is brand new, Quamiy said the Welcome Centre is already looking at other ways to expand its sports offerings for girls beyond volleyball.

“We are thinking of trying other programs and enlarge the group, this is just the start for us,” she said. “The girls are really happy and they really do enjoy gathering in this program.”