"The purpose of life is not to be happy," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. "It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well." Even if happiness were the goal of life, 2020 would be a tough year to reach it. According to the UN, there are at least 79.5 million displaced persons in the world. This staggering figure includes 26 million refugees, half of them children. The struggle for survival that is everyday life for millions has been compounded cruelly by the COVID-19 pandemic, disrupting relief efforts around the globe. One agency unwilling to succumb to present circumstances is the ITTF Foundation, the "Social Responsibility Arm" of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). For years, the philanthropic outreach program has organized efforts around the world, guided by the mission to harness "the power of sport to provoke positive social changes." At the outset of the pandemic, the foundation shifted gears to focus on relief efforts for those in the global table tennis community whose well-being is most threatened by the pandemic. Launching the #TableTennisUnited campaign, they have raised over $314,400 to distribute hygiene kits to communities in Ecuador, Ghana, Kenya, India, and many other hard-hit areas. Now, the foundation looks to resume its ongoing outreach programs as safely and responsibly as possible. In Jordan's Za’atari refugee camp, a partnership with like-minded program Peace and Sport has provided structure, diversion and hope for the children of the camp, mostly refugees from the Syrian civil war. Similarly, in Jordan's Azraq refugee camp (pictured), regular play Thursdays and Sundays gives displaced persons something to look forward to every week. For ITTF Foundation Field Programs Manager Karine Teow, the big success of the year was keeping the dream alive during this most challenging year. "We are really proud of our project leaders and their attitudes during the pandemic," said Teow. "Even though there was no table tennis, they were all really involved in bringing local solutions to their communities... We received positive feedback that participants had greatly missed the interaction with their peers during session." Useful? Check. Honorable? Double check. Compassionate? Checkmate. Clearly the ITTF Foundation has lived, and continues to live well. Heck, it's a safe bet that they've even made a few people happy.

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