IVORY COAST

DON’T FORGET THEM ASSOCIATION

Don’t Forget Them Association use sport - especially football to reintegrate homeless or formerly homeless adults, street children, youth, people displaced by war, prisoners, and other groups of people in difficult situations. Football is used to help them off the streets, and also to improve lives of prisoners who might otherwise lose their focus and motivation.

ORGANISATION DETAILS

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PARTICIPANTS

Young people, homeless or formerly homeless people, people displaced by war, in economic difficulty, and prisoners and ex-prisoners.

LOCATIONS

Abidjan, Koumassi, Port-bouet, Marcory and Treichville, Abobo, and Yopougon.

Country statistics

162 out of 189 in Human Development Index rankings (UNDP, 2019)

Average annual salary per person $2,280 (World Bank, 2021)

46% of people live below the poverty line (WFP)

Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) is on the North Atlantic coast of Western Africa. It borders Ghana and Liberia and has a population of 28 million (CIA World Factbook, 2021). Rich in natural resources, the country was one of the wealthiest states in Western Africa before being plagued by years of conflict.

The country was engaged in civil war from 2002-2007. As of November 2021, more than 300,000 people are displaced as a result of conflict and violence. (Internal Displacement, 2021)

The majority of the population live in the south of the country, with the highest concentration of people living in coastal cities. Housing is insecure for the majority of the population, with 60% living in slums. (World Bank, 2018).

The country has also been affected by climate change, leading to an increase in flooding and landslides, which poses a risk of homelessness as homes are damaged.

Some properties are illegally located on flood plains, posing a serious danger of displacement and death for those living there (Al Jazeera, 2020).