Umoja Community Mosaic

Building Community One Team Member at a Time (formerly Soccer Without Boundaries)

In 2010, Jean-Claude Munyezamu started a Saturday soccer club in his neighborhood in Calgary as a way for immigrant and low-income children to get involved with their community.
The program was an enormous success welcoming kids of every age, skill level, culture and economic background. More than 100 boys and girls have taken part, from such countries as Syria, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Somalia, Sudan, Rwanda, Korea, China, The Philippines, Uruguay, Colombia, Congo and more. Many of these children came to Canada as refugees.

Today, Jean-Claude’s original grassroots volunteer group has grown into Umoja Community Mosaic, an innovative multicultural outreach program aimed at integrating new Canadians into their community. It breaks down barriers and lets children feel that they belong. It allows them to build self-esteem, develop leadership skills and strengthen social relationships through team work, fair play, and conflict resolution. It also provides their parents and families with a means to volunteer and get involved.
The program runs all year, in-door and outdoor, on the strength of its wonderful volunteers. Umoja has grown to offer mores assistance to families in our communities. We offer food for families in need, laptop loaning and tutoring help for students needing educational support, and other community resources.