The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) held a successful second Baseball5 project at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. This project highlights the ongoing efforts to promote community integration and physical activity through sports.
The event was staged to celebrate World Refugee Day. What better way to celebrate the day than by actively fostering community spirit, physical activity, and integration among refugees and the local community through a friendly Baseball5 tournament?
The Baseball5 initiative involves mixed-gender teams of refugees, volunteers, and local community members who gather to play the game we love.
Just this past July 13, the latest Baseball 5 public viewing event took place within the camp. In total, 53 children participated from Sudanese, Congolese, Ethiopian, and Somali communities. Along with the children who took part in the camp, five volunteer facilitators joined them. The main goal of the camp was to provide a fun, educational, and enjoyable experience.
The Kakuma Refugee Camp is located in northwestern Kenya. Established in 1992, it currently hosts around 290,000 refugees. Events like these become essential in providing the camp residents with opportunities for physical activity, education, and community building.
WBCS’s efforts at Kakuma are part of a broader effort and commitment to supporting refugee athletes and providing them with platforms and tools to showcase their talent properly. Some of the core assets Baseball5 looks to attribute to are inclusion, accessibility, confidence, innovation, and, most importantly, teamwork.
In 2016, the Rio Olympics marked the first refugee team participation in Olympic history. Ten athletes represented that team, including five from Kakuma. Building on Baseball5’s legacy, plans hit the ground running for a Baseball5 Refugee Team to compete at the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026, where the sport will make its Olympic debut.
Photo Credit: WBSC.org
