Brooka's Story: Planting Seeds of Love & Hope through Sports
by Brooka Jones
M., 8 years old, celebrates after scoring a goal. Like most of Harshem IDP Camp, M.’s family were displaced from Mosul after ISIS took control of the city in 2014.
When I went to Harshem camp for the first time, I didn’t know what to expect. As we drove past the kids’ homes with roofs made from tarps, I saw many of them playing bare foot in the street. They ran up to our car to greet us. I don’t know many of these kids’ stories, but driving through the camp, I saw firsthand what their day-to-day lives look like.
Their joy is contagious, and their smiling faces stole my heart right away. Who knew that 2 months later these little faces would become so familiar to me?
There was a little girl who hugged me and wouldn’t let go, a rowdy boy who mustered up all his will power to sit still and pay attention, and a 12-year-old girl who wore a hijab and no shoes who kept up with all the boys when we played football in the hot sun. It’s for these kids that my team and I put on this program several days a week.
Brooka putting the girls through some drills as part of the sports coaching program.
Working with the Whole Heart Team in Harshem camp has been such a gift. Being part of a diverse team with unique skill sets allow us to serve the kids in Harshem in a wide variety of ways. Each person’s heart for the ministry is clearly seen in how they love the kids, and our team’s ability to work together creates a fun space for the kids to feel safe and loved.
M., works on football drills while his teammates look on.
During the sessions, the kids learn practical things about hygiene and taking care of themselves. Through the drama therapy program, they learn to name their fears and the lies they believe and to overcome them by seeing their true worth.
The most impactful part of our program is giving the kids a space to be kids and build relationships. It provides them with space to take a step away from their daily routines, to come play games with their friends and learn a valuable lesson led by our team.
Teacher Miriam goes through the group agreements that help maintain a safe space for everyone, both inside and outside the tent.
I came to Erbil for a 2-month internship, and I had the privilege to start a sports program with the kids in the camp. Playing sports with the kids allowed me to connect with them in a way I didn’t think was possible. I couldn’t have a conversation with them, and they didn’t understand a word I was saying, but through laughter and play I got to know at least a little bit about each kid in our sessions. Through the sports program, the kids practiced footwork drills and more to improve their skills, but the biggest focus was teaching them teamwork and sportsmanship. They learned to pass and be good teammates and to give high fives and encouraging words to each other as they played.
The sports coaching program was a hit with boys and girls alike.
It brings them so much joy and that brought me so much joy. The boys and even the girls love playing football together and it doesn’t matter that it is hot and our space is small. They want to be there so badly.
I saw how excited the kids were to join our sessions when I saw them squished up against the entrance, their smiling faces looking at us to let them into the tent.
A typical scene outside the tent everytime the team is present to run programs.
One of these small faces that stuck with me the most was a little 6-year-old boy who had the biggest smile and big brown eyes. One day while I was coaching outside, I noticed him crouched down outside of the fence. He was quietly sitting there peeking through the wire fence watching us play football. I remembered him from my very first session at the beginning of the week, but he had come to the fence every following day. While some kids try to sneak in or climb the fence to get in when it is not their turn, this boy quietly waited out in the hot sun every day until it was his day to come.
Through Brooka’s sports coaching, the children have been learning the values of sportsmanship and teamwork.
I watched him as he poked one of his little fingers through the fence. It was so hard for me that I couldn’t let him in. But I went over to him, crouched beside him, and held his little pointer finger in mine.
He and the other kids showed me how much they wanted to be a part of what we were doing. I prayed for my little friend, and every Thursday I was overjoyed that I could let him in and watch him kick the ball and have a blast with his friends inside the fence.
Our most recent dramatherapy program ended with each child being crowned and celebrated as a prince/princess!
Through our program, we tell the kids that they are precious, that they are princes and princesses with bright futures. Although we can’t spread the gospel directly, I trust that God will use the love we showed the kids to bring them to Him. I believe that through smiles, waves, high-fives, hugs, and by saying with our eyes and showing through our actions how much we love these kids, we were demonstrating how precious they are to God.
While I was only able to stay in Erbil, Iraq, and work with the kids in Harshem camp for 2 months, they have impacted me more than I can say. I will continue to pray for the little ones that I met and their families.
Many of the children in Harshem IDP Camp face uncertain futures as the Iraqi government phases out funding for IDPs throughout Iraq.
I don’t know what lies ahead for these families as they face the uncertainty of the camp shutting down. However, I know God will use the work that Whole Heart has done in the lives of these kids and their families. I believe that the seeds we have planted in their lives will grow in ways we couldn’t have imagined. I love the kids at Harshem, but I know our Father in heaven loves them even more and He has a plan for each one of them.
Brooka with the team and some of the children on her last day. Many of the children expressed verbally and with handmade cards how grateful they were for Brooka.
My final week was such a bittersweet time of saying goodbye to each kid and exchanging kind words as we parted ways. I’ll never forget the group of wild boys who tackled me in hugs on my last day. I will miss this, but I am so grateful I was able to be a part of it all.
Brooka getting buried in hugs on her last day