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November 4, 2022
Entries for Beyond Sport’s sixth annual Courageous Use of Sport Award presented by WWE are now being accepted through November 10. In celebration, we’ve been catching up with last year’s winners to give us an update on their community work and provide words of wisdom to those applying for the 2022 award. This week, we spoke to Gerald Mballe in Italy.
At the age of 17, Gerald fled civil unrest in his native Cameroon, ultimately gaining refuge in Italy. There he discovered Special Olympics, a global organization that uses sport as a platform for social inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities. Through Special Olympics and sport, Gerald was able to overcome the many challenges and adversities that come with being a refugee in a new country.
He found acceptance and a sense of purpose when he joined a Special Olympics Italy Unified football club and even competed at the 2019 World Games in Abu Dhabi for the national team. In 2020, Gerald became Special Olympics’ first-ever Advisor for the Unified with Refugees program that helps provide pathways to community and acceptance for refugees.
He shared that his work with the organization is going well and that they recently held a meeting with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Rome to strengthen their partnership and expand their reach. The 2022 Special Olympics Unified Cup was held this summer in Detroit, Michigan, USA bringing together athletes from all walks of life to learn more about inclusion, competition and how to unify the world through sport
Although Gerald was unable to join in person, he supported participants with a video of encouragement. “The Special Olympics Unified Cup was magnificent as always,” he said. “It was another opportunity to demonstrate how sports can bring people together as one big family. More than 300 football teams and 20 nations were involved!”
Speaking on the current state of the refugee crisis (a record 100 million people have been forced to flee conflict and violence worldwide), Gerald highlighted the critical need for mental health support. “With my hat on as the Advisor of the Special Olympics Unified with Refugees program, but also as a refugee myself, I think the need for proper and sustained mental health support for people on the move is critical, especially those actually fleeing from conflict or war zones around the globe.”
“There is a high prevalence of trauma but a shortage of appropriate services, therefore any additional services will only be of help to their resilience. The need for more sports initiatives is mandatory to foster good inclusion and integration of refugees of all abilities.”
Over the last year, Gerald has been providing health services and family forums to refugees. He is also working to put together a Unified with Refugees youth advisory committee and advance the program’s activities. “I’ve been working on the implementation of Unified with Refugees sports activities between athletes with and without intellectual disabilities. We’ve had one successful event already, which took place in Alcobendas in Madrid, Spain”. Alongside this, he is also pursuing a bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations.
Upon winning the 2021 Courageous Use of Sport Award, Gerald had a chance to speak with WWE superstars, Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo. “I was overwhelmed with joy; it was a great satisfaction seeing what I stand for and advocate for being recognized with such an Award. The grant has been part of the success in realizing some of our events and has also been of great motivation and inspiration to keep dreaming that one day we would live in a better world that gives everybody an opportunity.”
He advises anyone thinking of applying to this year’s award to believe in themselves and sport as a tool to create a healthy society both physically and mentally for all.
Entries for the 2022 Courageous Use of Sport Award presented by WWE close on November 10. Click here to learn more and apply.
Gerald is also an Expert Advisor on Beyond Sport’s Sport Together Fund.
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