Ellingham & Ringwood RFC, based in the New Forest on the South Coast of England, partnered with Charis Refugees to make an application to resettle a family in the area. It is believed that this is the first time a sports club has formed a Community Sponsorship group. That is a remarkable, and sad, statistic. Rugby clubs are the perfect sponsors for projects like this. The sport is bound by strong principles on respect, diversity, inclusivity and a desire to give people the best opportunity in life. The sport is played by people from all walks of life and many professions who all play a role for the benefit of the team. Clubs around the World can work together to change the life of many refugees and give families the opportunity they deserve.

Community Refugee sponsorship, UK, is an initiative launched by the Home Office in July 2016 to strengthen the efforts to meet the government’s pledge to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees via the Syrian vulnerable persons resettlement (VPR) scheme. The concept was first developed in Canada in 1979. Since then Canada has successfully resettled more than 300,000 refugees. The idea was adopted by the UK and other countries are following suit. The benefits are many, especially the way in which the community own the project and support the family on the ground. This helps the family integrate into society in a far better way.