„This is just the beginning for us“

Miss Loroupe, you are Spokesperson and chef de mission of the Refugee Olympic Team. Which personal hopes do you connect with this IOC initiative?

I hope that this is a beginning of a paradigm shift in how we perceive refugees. The athletes, that have competed in Rio, have been brave and have shown the world that refugees are people. I hope young people around the world will know that refugees are people like everyone else. I hope refugees in camps across the world know that they have potential to become champions on and off the sports
 
What can sports actually achieve, given that global crises and wars are making millions of people refugees?

My belief is sport has the power to transform lives and communities. I have had the privilege of seeing the transformative power of sport in different parts of the world and I am committed to use sport to change lives of the most vulnerable. We have a lot of challenges facing the world and most of the time these challenges impact the most vulnerable members of society like girls and women. The refugee crises is our fault, it is a global problem impacting over 65 million people. We have to do something to help refugees realise their potential. We all have a role to play in making this world a more peaceful place. I am proud of the work we are doing with the IOC and the UNHCR.

Did you have influence on choosing the athletes and what were the criteria on which the selection was made? Anyway, six of ten persons selected, are track and field athletes.

Five of the athletes selected are from the Tegla Loroupe Training Centre for Refugee Athletes. The five qualified based on several trials races that were conducted together with our National Olympic. We are very proud of our athletes that got selected. However we have 25 athletes who are left in Nairobi - Ngong, who have been a part of this programme for the last nine months. Our commitment is to seeing these young people realise their potential on and off the track.  The talent is there but opportunity is the challenge and limited. We want to ensure that refugees who have talent have the opportunity to  compete and become champions on and off the field. We submitted our recommendations to the IOC and they made the final selection. We are proud that our athletes were selected.
 
Do you think, the refugee-team should exist beyond the Olympic Games in Rio?

This is what we are working on. This is just the beginning for us, we want to ensure that every refugee has a right to participate in regular sports activities. Our priority will be on ensuring that this programme is sustainable and that we can impact more young people around the word. We call upon governments and corporates to help us reach more young people around the world.
 
With your "Peace and Education School" in your homeland Kenya you offer children and young people protection against violence, war, and especially girls protection against abuse and forced marriage, for many years now. Do you recognize a change in consciousness in the still partriarchically structured society of Kenia regarding women's rights? And what role could sports play here?

Change does not happen over night. My belief is that we have to give people opportunities to become the best they can be. I am passionate about girls and women and they are often the most at risk and marginalised group. We believe in providing girls and boys safe spaces to gain an education. We promote peace, education and gender equity in parts of Kenya that are hard to reach. Patriarchy is a system that exists in communities we work in and it keeps young girls from accessing opportunities. We want to change this and are changing perceptions of the role of women in the community. We are doing it slowly, but we are aware that change takes time. We need more support to be able to continue making the impact we want to make in communities.

(Quelle: DOSB)