DIAMNADIO, Senegal (AP) — Arno Yafunga fled conflict-hit Congo with his family as a young child. Now, with his father as his coach, the 15-year-old judoka is making history as part of the first refugee team to compete at the Youth Olympic Games.
His father, Arnold, said they fled to Kenya in 2017 over safety concerns. Beside the Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya, the father found a judo club and continued practicing a sport he had loved since childhood before Arno and other family members asked to join him.
Nearly a decade later, Arno became one of six young athletes representing refugees at the ongoing Games in Senegal. The United Nations refugee agency described it as “a historic moment” for young refugees across Africa.
Arno's father told The Associated Press that he never had the chance to progress as far as his son but the judo training gave him something to focus on, away from what he had been fleeing.
In eastern Congo where they had lived, communities have been plagued for decades by fighting between government forces and over 100 armed groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, resulting in one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises with millions displaced.
Arno said he doesn't have many memories of his life in Congo — he was only 6 when his family fled to Kenya. He only remembers his father telling him about insecurity in Congo. But living in a new country also came with its challenges.
“Where I stay, there are many bad gangs,” Arno said of Kenya's capital Nairobi, where he now lives. “Judo keeps me away from those bad situations, bad people there.”
In Dakar, Arno came just short of Olympic glory, losing the bronze medal match in the boys’ 55-kilogram division. His five teammates were there to cheer him on.
The refugee team, created by the International Olympic Committee and managed by the Olympic Refuge Foundation, brings together athletes based in refugee camps in Kenya and Uganda competing in judo, taekwondo and track and field.
The first Refugee Olympic Team competed at the 2016 Games in Rio, but this is the first time a refugee team competes at the Youth Olympics, a smaller version of the Games for athletes aged 14 to 17.
“It will not only raise awareness about the global displacement crisis but will also demonstrate the Olympic spirit of inclusion by uniting young athletes from diverse backgrounds,” the Olympic Refuge Foundation said.
Their participation comes against a backdrop of widespread displacement. More than 117 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced at the end of 2025, including 39 million in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the U.N. refugee agency.
For teammate Florence Masumbe, 16, participating in the games offers the prospect of a better education and a chance to inspire other refugee children.
Born in Congo, Masumbe grew up in the Rwamwanja refugee settlement in western Uganda.
The 200-meter runner was identified through Game Connect, an Olympic Refuge Foundation-supported program that uses sport to improve mental health and bring refugees and host communities together.
“The message I want to send is that refugees can succeed and win too,” she said. “We have talent, and we can show it.”
Arnold, meanwhile, hopes his son’s journey will continue up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and that Arno will encourage other young refugees to take up judo.
“Being a refugee doesn’t mean it’s the end of things,” he said. “Being a refugee also allows you to dream of great things.”
In Senegal with his teammates, Arno remembers the advice from his father when he was much younger and had just started practicing judo.
“Never give up on what you’re doing,” he said.
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