CLEVELAND — This young boy knows exactly what he wants to be when he grows up.

What You Need To Know

  • Corner 65 is a youth-led extracurricular activity program for refugee students

  • It offers clubs for sewing, improv, sports and the arts

  • The director of the program said the players primarily come from east African countries

“A soccer player.”

He’s working toward this goal on Corner 65’s soccer team, a youth-led extracurricular group for refugee students in Cleveland. Becky Trout is the group’s director and helps manage the programming.

“They said, ‘Hey, we really want to play soccer, but we don’t have transportation, we don’t have ways to get consent forms in our native languages,’” Trout said.

Soccer is just one of the activities that Corner 65 offers to refugee students. It also has clubs for sewing, improv and the arts. Trout said the program helps newly-settled children and teens acclimate to their new home.

“Corner 65 started just to be a safe space for kids to be kids, and explore hobbies, and talents, and interests that they have,” Trout said. “It’s youth-led, so the kids tell us what they want to do and we make it happen for them.”

This season’s soccer team is composed of boys who are mostly from east African countries.

“Right now, for the boys’ team, we currently have two teams of [players]—two teams together of 40 kids,” Trout said.

16-year-old Jordan Mwami is a refugee from Rwanda whose family escaped wars and genocide. He said that he’s grateful to play with teammates who understand his struggle.

“We connect well together because we’re from the same place,” Mwami said.

It’s a feeling that the team’s coach, Mo Toumert, can identify with. He’s an immigrant from Algeria who said soccer can be a tool for mentorship and development. 

“It has been very important in their previous life in Africa, in the refugee camps, and I think that will help them here to socially integrate and make friends,” Toumert said.

Trout said that the team has been a hit among the kids so far and announced that they have plans to expand. She said that they hope to add a team for girls soon.

“We are starting a fundraiser for our next sports van to help us with transportation for a lot of the kids, so they can get to and from soccer games, practices, and other activities that we work on,” Trout said.

She added that it all wouldn’t be possible without the community’s donations that keep the program running. 

If you’re interested in learning more about Corner 65, visit their website.

Editors’ Note: An earlier version of this story included the name of a participant in the program whose parent has requested the name be removed. We have complied with the request in accordance with the Spectrum News Standards Guidelines, which call for particular care in naming minors in digital copy. (November 21, 2024)