About the Camp

The Nina Brekelmans Running Camp for Girls was established in 2016 to fulfill Nina’s vision of building self-confidence, leadership, and well-being among young women in Jordan through running. The initiative's first year was supported with funding from the Nina Brekelmans Community Service Prize as well as private donations. 

The camp was launched as a partnership between Fulbright students from Nina’s cohort, leaders in the Jordanian running community, and Nina’s friends and family in the U.S. In its inaugural year, the pilot program nearly 25 girls ages 8-14 for five consecutive Saturdays in March and April at Sports City. The camp covered a range of topics designed to promote girls' health, wellness, and self-esteem and culminated with a 3km race at Sports City in Amman.

In 2017, we hosted nearly 50 girls for four weeks of camp at Sports City. We welcomed girls from across Jordan, many of whom joined through local nonprofits Reclaim Childhood and Ruwwad. Again, the program thrived with support from Fulbright students and our nonprofit partners. We doubled the program thanks to grant funding from the U.S. Department of State and were able to purchase cameras for the girls to vlog and capture their perspectives on sports and being strong. Again, we hosted a 3km race at Sports City and tied our attendance from the year prior!

For our third year, the camp adopted its new home at the sports fields of Al Hussein Public Parks. We offered four weeks of programming with around 40 girls at each week of camp and again continued our close partnership with Reclaim Childhood. 2018 marked the third and final year of the Nina Brekelmans Community Service Price, and we again were grateful for leadership from our Fulbright student team. Further, the program was once again awarded grant funding from the U.S. Department of State.

Now in our fourth year, the program continues to grow. We have added a new partnership with Sawiyan in addition to our collaboration with Reclaim Childhood. Our campers meet weekly for training at Al Hussein Public Parks and are learning from female speakers involved in esteemed running organizations, elite runners, and self-defense programs.

To learn more about our leadership team and structure throughout the years, check out our overview of the Foundation and Jordan Leadership Team.

For more details on each year of camp, check out our Archive below or follow along with our Blog for recent updates.