M'bera
Spirit
Welcome to the latest KLABU clubhouse in the M’bera refugee camp, Mauritania, buzzing with activity. The Malian community has been setting it up since July 2024, and every day, new members join the fun.
The M'bera Refugee Camp in Mauritania
50km away from the Mauritania-Mali border, in the middle of the Sahara desert, you will find the KLABU in M’bera refugee camp. It’s home away from home to close to 100,000 Malian refugees.
In 2012, a coup d’état plunged Mali into a complex crisis, where climate shocks, epidemics, food insecurity and continued terrorist violence have forced many to flee their homes to neighbouring countries.
Mauritania was one of those. That year, the M’bera refugee camp was established to provide safety and opportunities rebuilding their lives. The inhabitants have taken full advantage of Mauritania’s favourable and welcoming asylum policies, erecting over 20 community based organisations and working closely with the UNHCR to improve the living conditions of their new home.
"Our Mauritanian brothers and sisters are our number one partners. We need to show them that we are a solution, not a burden."
The M’bera community is hugely inspirational: close-knit, highly organised, and ambitious. They are resilient and proud, with so much talent and potential.
In December 2022, at the UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) headquarters in Geneva, KLABU met the camp coordinator of M’bera, Mr Mohammed or ‘Momo’. After a first chat with him, it was obvious that a KLABU clubhouse would flourish in Mauritania. His accounts of M’bera’s many community initiatives and accomplishments tackling gender-based violence, encouraging recycling, advocating for further healthcare or supporting education, inspired us to visit the camp and meet this incredible community.
In M'bera, KLABU met a community with unbeatable spirit and with hopeful plans for a future where the camp will no longer be a camp but become a regular urban settlement. By working closely with the M'bera community and UNHCR, the clubhouse, which arrived in the camp on the 15th of July 2024, fits right into that ambition, and complements M’bera’s eight schools, vibrant and vast markets, and the connectivity centre and a bank!
M'bera getting KLABU ready
Abdallah proudly marking out the location for the KLABU clubhouse
Since its arrival in M’bera, the clubhouse has already counted over 10,988 participants, with over a third being girls.
Our girls' mobiliser Fatimetou focuses on the participation and inclusion of girls in all activities, safeguarding their needs and wishes, and raising awareness for the benefit of female participation across the camp.The clubhouse is open on a daily basis, offering access to sports equipment for activities around the clubhouse, but also working together with schools and other community based initiatives to support their activities with KLABU sports gear! There is an incredible opportunity for further expansion of the project, and the KLABU team on the ground is working tirelessly to ensure that all community groups can benefit from the project.
Our girls' mobiliser Fatimetou working in the clubhouse
Girls playing volleyball at the KLABU clubhouse
This sports commission is one of 20 community organisations in M'bera
"Sports are a good way to make friends, seeing others do what we also love. It makes us able to achieve what we’ve always dreamed of."
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The clubhouse is a large open area, with two volleyball courts, a football field, and a large open area for badminton, table tennis and other leisure activities.
With over a hundred participants at any given time, a team of 11 local staff members ensure the activities are well managed, safe and fun for all.
The clubhouse has already become a central space where people come together to watch football on the TV and listen to music. We have no doubt that this project will be an immense success and we are proud to continue sharing with you how the M’bera project will evolve !
The complete KLABU team in M'bera
The four KLABU clubhouse managers - Abdallah, Fatimetou, Dahi and Lily
"Sports have really helped me during stressful periods. Sports teach me to improve myself and always move forward."
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When we connected with On's social impact program Right To Run, we knew we found the right main partner for the project. On's mission to ignite the human spirit through movement perfectly aligns with KLABU's goal of supporting refugees rebuilding their lives through sports.
Together with the M'bera Spirit clubhouse managers and with On, UNHCR, and other partners and supporters, we built the clubhouse, designed by the architecture firm MVRDV. This is the newest version of the clubhouse design, focusing on usability, sustainability and style! It instantly became a success upon arrival, with the community unpacking the sports library on the first day. Unfolding the table tennis table, placing the boxing bag, holding a big football tournament clad in KLABU shirts - the M’bera Spirit was born!
