A very special soccer camp took place in Birmingham a couple weeks ago. Many of the children who participated were from countries ripped apart by conflict and war.

There was little Ramazani of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He never stopped smiling when it was his turn to dribble.

Maria and her brother were from Colombia. They were inseparable.

Taras was Ukrainian and he did not have any patience for my Southern drawl mispronouncing his name. Taras also wanted me to know that his favorite soccer player in the world was Cristiano Ronaldo. When Taras scored on me, which he often did, he made sure to theatrically perform Ronaldo’s signature goal celebration every single time.

The mid-air pirouettes were perfect, too.

The four-day camp took place on the soccer field that’s located in the parking lot of Legion Field. It was hosted by Birmingham-based club Northstar and facilitated by the Alabama Office for Refugees. Birmingham Parks and Rec should maybe think about investing in a multi-field soccer complex for the city, but I guess that’s a topic for another day. Other children at the camp were from Afghanistan, Syria and South Sudan and the stories of their struggles tore me up inside. Just awful stuff. Seeing everyone play together, however, was like being bathed in the physical manifestation of hope.

They might have come to the United States from all over, but the young children are all now part of the Birmingham community. There were 25 participants of relocated families in the soccer camp, but there are hundreds of former refugees living in the Birmingham area. I was invited to the camp as a special guest and I didn’t know what to expect. I had no idea so many former refugees now call Birmingham home. After spending time with some of the families, my eyes were opened to a new treasure for the city.

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Their diversity makes Birmingham stronger. Their resiliency makes Birmingham richer. Their appreciation for Birmingham makes everyone better. The camp wasn’t just for former refugees either. Plenty of kids were from neighborhoods throughout Birmingham. It was hot and unbearably humid, but the campers didn’t seem to care about any of that. The language barriers weren’t problems for long either. Team sports knock down those kinds of cultural walls in minutes.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup is currently taking place in Australia and New Zealand. The U.S. is aiming for its third consecutive championship. I love the way that international soccer unites the world. Want to really feel the worldwide power of sports? Watch kids who were refugees from all over the globe play soccer together in Birmingham, Alabama.

“Look at those smiles,” said Danielle Gomez, the coordinator for the Alabama Office of Refugees who helped organize the camp. “They didn’t smile the first day. … Adjusting to life in a new country can be traumatizing and a lot of kids just don’t understand what’s going on.”

Kids understand fun, though. That’s why Gomez, who specializes in the mental health of refugees, wanted to get everyone together. She conducts mental health screenings for AOR but said she also looks for ways refugees can “get involved in the community and feel more rooted where they are.”

Gomez, who is 24, attended Samford University and then decided to stay in Birmingham after she graduated. She played in the Samford marching band. She’s a saint in my book. There are heroes among us who work in the service of those in need. While they probably would rather not see their names in this column, highlighting the selfless efforts of individuals is the best way we can share their spirit.

There are hundreds of families living in Alabama that were displaced from their home countries as refugees, evacuees or asylum seekers. The Alabama Office of Refugees is operated by the non-profit Inspiritus and Inspiritus deals directly with the federal government and the United Nations Refugee Agency. The UNHCR defines refugees as “people fleeing conflict, persecution and human rights abuses who have crossed a border into another country.”

Inspiritus and AOR are always looking for volunteers to welcome families to the United States and get involved with programs like the soccer camp. People interested in volunteering or helping out can email Jessica Nacarri at [email protected].

“We’ve got a lot of kids who are at home for the summer and soccer is an international sport, so Inspiritus was given the chance through the refugee community to bond and make relationships through this fun program with a sport they’re already familiar with,” Gomez said. “When I called all the families and told them we had a soccer camp, I asked them, ‘Has your kid played on a team before?’”

The children had never had the opportunity to participate in team sports, said Gomez, “but they know soccer.”

Recreational team sports bring people together and they are vital to the strength of communities. Gomez reached out to Northstar soccer directors Paul Neville and Grace Clark about the children of Birmingham’s relocated families coming together for a soccer camp. Together, Inspiritus and Northstar made it happen. Northstar then connected Gomez with local pro soccer club Birmingham Legion FC and Legion offered free tickets to the families of the camp’s participants.

The group attended Legion’s 1-0 victory against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The campers all had a chance to meet Legion’s players after the game. It was a beautiful moment when little Ramazani met Legion’s Congolese defender, Phanuel Kavita. Ramazani’s eyes lit up big and wide when Kavita began speaking to Ramazani’s family in Swahili.

Team president Jay Heaps said Legion hopes to work with AOR in the future. The club has a long-standing relationship with Northstar Soccer Ministries, which has worked in the Birmingham community since 1996. Birmingham Legion considers community outreach part of its club mission. It’s one of the reasons basketball hall of famer Dominique Wilkins recently joined Legion’s ownership group. Wilkins is the board president of KultureCity, a national non-profit that’s headquartered in Birmingham.

“This city, this community, it’s just … special,” Wilkins recently wrote about Birmingham in an op-ed for The Players’ Tribune. “As part of my work with the KultureCity nonprofit, I’ve spent a ton of time here over the past several years, and I’ve been truly blown away. Birmingham is incredibly inspiring to me.”

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Birmingham mayor Randall Woodfin has called Birmingham a “sanctuary city.” For many of the families placed in Birmingham by the UN Refugee Agency, the city represents the chance to call a place home after fleeing for their lives. I spoke with a mother from Afghanistan whose husband was murdered by the Taliban. He was killed in Kabul for working with the United States. It happened outside of his home.

His family fled to Qatar before being assigned to Alabama. The mother had never heard of Birmingham. Out of caution, her name isn’t being used in this column. She has two children and she misses her family, but says “life is safe.”

She also said that everyone in Birmingham “is very kind.”

Families arrive in Birmingham with nothing and then begin rebuilding their lives. AOR provides services and support to help with the process. Another mother, Olena Vyshyvanyuk, is in Birmingham by way of Ukraine. Back home her family made wedding dresses. When Ukraine was invaded by Russia, Olena’s business began producing uniforms and gear for Ukrainian soldiers. They spent all their money buying the fabrics. After eight months of fighting, Olena’s family left everything — house, cars and business — and fled to the U.S.

A family in Birmingham sponsored Olena’s move. She now works with AOR to help other Ukrainian families in Alabama. She had never heard of Birmingham either.

“I don’t know about the rest of the U.S.,” Olena said, “but I love Birmingham.”

Olena’s positivity is infectious. If she can’t go back home then she wants to get her family’s wedding dress business up and running. Her children will be attending local schools this fall.

“I like here in the U.S. they have so many sports,” she said. “They can learn to be team players. It’s important. It makes them really smart.”

Really smart? It was a refreshing perspective. I didn’t bring up the Iron Bowl. Her kids will learn about that on the first day of school.

Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of “We Want Bama”, a book about togetherness, hope and rum. You can find him on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.