Standing Together to End Poverty
On 17 October, we join the global community in marking the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty – a day that reminds us poverty is not only about lack of income, but about dignity, justice, and belonging.
This year’s theme, “Ending social and institutional maltreatment by ensuring respect and effective support for families,” calls on all of us to challenge the systems that hold people back and to create ones that uplift and empower.
At The Atlas Foundation, we believe every child deserves to feel safe, valued, and supported. Through rugby and the values it teaches, teamwork, respect, discipline, and solidarity, we help children facing extreme hardship build brighter futures.
The United Nations calls for three key shifts to make this change possible:
- Care – build services that start with trust and dignity
- Support – invest in housing, healthcare, childcare, and family-strengthening progammes that empower rather than monitor.
- Co-created solutions – include people living in poverty in designing the very systems that affect their lives.
At Atlas, these principles guide our mission. We work hand in hand with local partners who understand the communities they serve, ensuring that every programme we support is built on trust, respect, and shared purpose.
As UN Secretary-General António Guterres reminds us…
“Poverty is not a personal failure; it is a systemic failure – a denial of dignity and human rights.”
Harnessing Rugby to Create Hope
The Atlas Foundation exists to help care for, support, and guide children living in extreme poverty toward a better future.
We are proud to have reached over 200,000 children worldwide, using rugby as a tool to deliver health, education, and inclusion.
Through our global network of partners, we create safe havens that provide clean water, nutritious food, teaching, coaching, and emotional support, the foundations children need to thrive.
Rugby’s spirit of teamwork and solidarity inspires communities to come together, breaking down barriers and showing young people what they can achieve when they are part of a team that believes in them.
Hope in Kibera
One of our most inspiring project partners is the Kings Rugby Development Academy (KRDA), based in Kibera, Kenya, the largest urban slum in Africa.
In Kibera, daily life is marked by extreme hardship. Most families live without running water, with limited electricity, and open sewers running through the community. For many young people, education remains an impossible dream. The severe lack of financial resources, through no fault of their own, means that school fees are out of reach, and opportunities to leave Kibera are few. Poverty restricts their potential, but KRDA offers a pathway to hope.
The academy provides children aged 5 to 19 the chance to engage in rugby, not only as a sport but as a vehicle for education, empowerment, and a brighter future.
Each Sunday, the most vulnerable children are transported out of Kibera to the RFUEA Grounds, where they experience something truly priceless: open green fields, positive mentors, nourishing meals, clean water, and the pure joy of play.
Through rugby, these children gain far more than athletic skills. They discover belonging, purpose, and a vision of life beyond poverty. They learn teamwork, leadership, and self-worth.
For these young people, KRDA represents more than a program; it is a source of connection, care, and hope, the essential ingredients for breaking the cycle of poverty and exclusion.
Building a Future of Respect and Opportunity
As the world reflects on this International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, our commitment is clear:
To put the furthest behind first. To replace stigma with respect. And to use the power of rugby to build communities where every child has the chance to thrive.
From the fields of Kibera to countless other communities around the world, we see proof every day that when children are treated with dignity and supported with care, they can transform not just their own lives, but the world around them.
