Sometimes, stuff happens. On Saturday we got a text from our friends @projectelpida telling us a German NGO needed to host a football tournament, pronto. Three days later, on Wednesday, March 8 , CHEERing FC held a full scale tournament at Goal Soccer Club in Athens, for over 100 refugee footballers, thanks to Stelp, an…

CHEERing launched War on Worms in 2022 with the ambitious goal of eliminating worms in two camps and among the refugee children on our football teams. Since then, we’ve distributed worm medicine to 172 family members. Numbers have dropped dramatically in the camps, though as new people arrive, new cases emerge and we treat 2-6 cases…

The Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) has received a seed grant from the Boston University Center on Forced Displacement (CFD) to support CHEERing’s international refugee work in greater Athens, Greece. This inaugural funding signifies the university’s investment in our international work. CHEERing Executive Director and Founder Anne Merewood MPH, PhD, affiliated faculty…

CHEERing recently teamed up with the NGO Project Armonia to provide nourishing meals and cooking classes to refugee children. Project Armonia supplies hot meals to 120 CHEERing football players every week, and once each week, 20 of our players visit their kitchen to cook, cause chaos, and eat great food! The cooking classes are followed…

Last night, the CHEERing team screened 40 of our young footballers for cardiac (heart) health. This included checking footballers’ heart rates and rhythm and the electrical activity of their hearts using ECG. This work is supported by the Barca Foundation. CHEERing conducts health screenings to ensure preventive health and provide direct support in refugee camps…

Our cooking classes are on a roll – literally! CHEERing holds weekly classes at Malakasa Camp to introduce nutritious and tasty foods to boys and girls. Last week, our BUSPH volunteer Zeinab Alsheraa taught a sushi-making class for children at the camp.  The boys and girls at Malakasa initially expressed interest in making sushi after seeing…

Come weigh and measure your babies and young children at CHEERing’s community Grow Clinic! Every Thursday, mothers can receive breastfeeding support and pregnant women can learn about breastfeeding and baby care. Learn more in the flyer below.

In the spring of 2022, CHEERing’s Football Fit program helped over 50 children, parents, and coaches access dental care. Trouble with Teeth When CHEERing screened players in our Football Fit program in spring 2022, poor dental health was the single biggest issue affecting parents and children. 86% of children had visible, severe issues with their…