Sport Addressing the Crisis in Afghanistan: Our Q&A with Ascend Athletics

April 15, 2022 

As part of our series highlighting sport for development organizations in our network who are providing vital support, resources and more to those directly affected by humanitarian crises around the world, today read our Q&A with Marina LeGree, Executive Director of Ascend: Leadership Through Athletics in Afghanistan. 

Millions of Afghans are facing starvation, the country's economy and health-care system have essentially collapsed and years of conflict and environmental troubles have pushed the nation to the brink. In the immediate aftermath of the Taliban’s 2021 seizure of power, Afghans scrambled to flee the country, leaving 700,000 people newly displaced within the country, and 3.4 million people internally displaced in 2021. Compounded by human rights violations, backtracking on women and girls’ rights and a growing number of refugees, Afghanistan was named the number one humanitarian crisis on the IRC’s Top 10 Emergency Watch List. 

Ascend was founded with the goal of building confidence and expanding horizons for young women in a country where, under previous Taliban control, girls could not attend schools or participate in sports. Since 2014, Ascend’s mission has been to empower girls through high-impact sports-based leadership training. They develop young Afghan girls’ and women’s self-confidence, leadership skills and civic engagement through mountain climbing. 

Marina LeGree spoke to us about sports power to support in times of crisis, Ascend’s evacuation efforts and the potential to resume sports development programming in Afghanistan: 

You’ve gone to great lengths to help evacuate and re-house Afghans in need, can you tell us about your efforts and next steps? 

Yes, the events of 2021 have profoundly impacted Ascend and its staff, alumnae and board. We were drawn together to respond to the Taliban takeover in August, and the sheer terror felt by our team and staff. They saw the future and they wanted out, desperately. So we got to work and asked for help wherever we could. We were very fortunate to have friends and supporters rise to the occasion, and we worked around the clock for months to assist as many of our people as possible. Our primary objective was to secure visas; without that, evacuation was a job half done.

So we remain very grateful for friends in the countries who opened a legal pathway for our girls: Chile, Ireland, Poland, Germany, the United States and Denmark. In the end, we were able to get 135 people out of Afghanistan and onward to their destinations. Once visas were exhausted (last fall), we ceased evacuation efforts. We are now finishing the work of resettlement, primarily through partnerships created during the crisis, and refocusing our energies on beginning a new program in a new location. 

What is your outlook on being able to resume programming in Afghanistan?  

We are watching and waiting for the right moment to resume programming there. Right now is not that moment. During the last months of 2021, we did some humanitarian aid to help feed some of the most vulnerable families in Kabul. Due to the difficulty of moving funds, and the fact that we evacuated all of our staff, we have ceased activities in Kabul for now. 

The Taliban are giving conflicting guidance to NGOs, or no guidance at all. And more urgently, people are facing a collapsed economy and widespread food insecurity. 

What do you feel are the immediate needs for women and girls, particularly to help them from falling into poverty and with the denial of access to higher education past grade six?  

According to a March 22 statement by the Red Cross, 95% of Afghanistan’s people are not getting enough food each day. That is a staggering number of people who are not making it. It’s a gross failure of leadership. A government that removes women from public life invites disaster.

Ascend teaches girls to challenge social norms that keep them out of society and to strengthen themselves physically and mentally in order to make a difference in their world. And in the midst of a crisis, sport offers stress relief and space to feel joy. We intend to keep focusing on empowering girls because it is a well-established fact that countries where women play a significant role in leadership, are more peaceful and more prosperous than their male-led counterparts. That is a long-term, global challenge. Our part may be small, but we are driving towards deep change. We will keep after it. 

You introduced Ascend Online in February this year, how is the program going?  

Ascend Online is delivering courses to our girls every week in subjects including fitness, nutrition, yoga, life skills (job searching, financial management) and English. It has become quite literally a lifeline for the girls who are evacuated, but not yet resettled. The girls are getting stronger physically and preparing for the challenges of life ahead as newly arrived refugees in a totally new cultural and economic environment. We’re exploring ways to scale up Ascend Online and offer meaningful content to girls in other settings as well.

Alongside Ascend Online, are there any other programs or projects that you’re running to assist Afghan citizens?  

Yes, through our Ascend Alumnae Association, anyone who was a part of our program can join and stay connected to resources and opportunities through that platform. It is a global group, with girls around the world from New Zealand to Chile, Europe, Kazakhstan and more. The goal is to use the power of shared experiences at Ascend to help the girls transition to new lives. We’ll occasionally have alumni events; the next one is in Ireland next month. 

We are also still actively working on the responsible resettlement of the Afghan citizens we evacuated. This effort includes coordinating with community support groups and host families, establishing scholarships, funding social worker assistance, purchasing bicycles for transportation, providing psychological support, and meeting countless other needs of young adults and families settling into new and unfamiliar lives. While responsible resettlement is a temporary project for Ascend, it will continue in some locations through the rest of 2022.

In your opinion, what is it about sport that can provide support during humanitarian crises?  

Sport is a universal passion and motivator. It helps us all remember our common humanity. We have seen again and again how a shared love of the mountains inspires climbers from all over the world to reach out and support our Afghan team. People who have no connection whatsoever with Afghanistan or its people feel inspired by our team because they see that Ascend girls love to climb and hike just like they do; it breaks down walls and personalizes an otherwise overwhelming crisis. Some of our greatest support has come from the mountaineering and climbing community.

Do you have a message you’d like to share with our readers?  

The power of sport has fundamentally changed the lives of the girls of Ascend. We see every day how much potential our girls have, girls who might otherwise have been forced to marry as teenagers, had no chance for higher education and little control over their lives. They find strength and sisterhood through climbing which gives them the confidence to completely change their lives, and the ripple effects are profound.

We are so thankful to our supporters who give us the resources to do this work. And we can’t wait to bring the program to girls in new places. Thank you. 

How can people outside of Afghanistan help support you? 

Thank you for asking! Although this last year was an extraordinary challenge, we are eager to resume our programming to empower girls through sport. So, we need support! Please visit www.ascendathletics.org to learn more and to donate. We will be launching programming in new location(s) later this year; at this moment we are building our plans and laying the foundation to be successful in new environments. 

And follow us on social media! We are still a tiny organization, mostly run by volunteers. Share our story! 

Click here to read about other sport-based organizations in Afghanistan that are providing vital support, safe relocations equipment and resources to Afghans in need.