Our Misson
Movement in Refuge exists because we believe active movement, sport and physical activity is a fundamental human need. It is a tool of recovery, dignity, and human connection — and the people who need it most are the ones who have lost access to it entirely. We bring structured sport, coaching, and movement to refugee and conflict-affected communities, starting in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. We work especially hard for women and girls. And we are just getting started.
Why we exist
This organisation began with a loss.
Kasha Rigby was a world-class ski mountaineer, a North Face athlete, a pioneer who led all-women expeditions into the most remote ranges on earth. She found the refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar and the impoverished local communities around them — and worked with local girls on the coast to build fitness, swim and surfing capacity alongside literacy and numeracy.
What moved her most, in the end, was watching girls in tough situations find their footing — on a yoga mat, on a surfboard, in a team. She saw what sport could do in a place where almost nothing else could reach.
When Kasha suddenly passed away in early 2024, MiR was founded as the continuation of what she started — and the answer to a question she asked every day:
‘Why should these young people be without this?’
Her soul is in every session, every coach we train, every student who dares to move.
A Dedication to Kasha
Alpinist. Humanitarian. Comet.
She skied lines that had never been skied. She led expeditions that weren’t supposed to be possible. She built community wherever she went, with the kind of energy that made people feel like the best version of themselves.
And in the end, what she loved most was a girl in a refugee camp, finding her balance, discovering what her body could do.
That is the whole journey of MiR — from the most extreme edges of sport to the quietest, most profound act of sharing it. Kasha made that journey first. We are following her.
Kasha Rigby, 1969–2024. Our founding spark. Our north star.
Who We Are
We like to think of MiR as a global collective. It includes our students, their parents, our coaches, the communities that offered us a training space free of charge because they believed in what we were trying to do.
And it is our growing cadre of volunteers spread across every continent — researchers, humanitarians, academics, teachers, students, filmmakers, communicators, fundraisers, athletes — united by the belief that sport belongs to everyone.
Our founder
Magnus Wolfe Murray has spent his life moving between the two worlds of extreme sports and humanitarian action — from charging waves and riding backyard pools on a skateboard in his youth, learning to fly through taekwondo as a teenager, to leading major humanitarian missions in conflict and natural disaster settings across the world.
He has learned how the international humanitarian system works, and the difference between cost-effectiveness and bloated bureaucracies. He knows what genuine impact looks like. He’s also Scottish — which means every penny counts.
Kasha and Magnus were building the next chapter of their lives together — an extended adventure, in every sense — when it was taken away. MiR is Magnus’s way to keep Kasha’s light alive and carry it forward.
Our people - everyhere
We have exchanged the idea of a head office with light-footed remote working. We have a network of people who believe in this. The map is the team. And it keeps growing.
Want to be a dot on this map? Get involved →
Meet the team
Magnus
Founder & Director
Magnus has worked in humanitarian emergencies since the early 1990s, responding to crises in the Balkans, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. He has led NGOs, advised UN operations, and most recently served as a humanitarian advisor for the UK Government, including in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. In 2024, inspired by the work of his late fiancée Kasha Rigby, Magnus founded Movement in Refuge to bring the healing power of sport to displaced and host communities around the world. He believes that movement is a human right—and that sport can restore joy, dignity, and hope, even in the hardest places. He is now passionate on building a global network of people to power MiR’s mission into the future.
Jasmin Akter
Training Coordinator
Jasmin plays a vital role within MIR organising events within the camps. She makes sure that workshops and classes are carried out smoothly and respectfully within the communities we are working with.
Jasmin was born in a refugee camp in Bangladesh. Her family fled persecution in Myanmar, her father died just before she was born. In 2008 when she was around 7 years old she and her family were granted asylum in the UK. For the first time she could attend school, participate in games and sport. Then tragedy struck again – on a family trip to Bangladesh to visit family who remained in the camps – her mother was paralysed in a traffic accident, throwing Jasmin’s life into turmoil. Struggling with depression and anxiety, it was a school sports coach who helped her rediscover hope and meaning through training, team work and sports.
Sport became her lifeline—she went on to represent England in the World Street Cricket competition. Inspired to help others, Jasmin now brings sports and coaching to refugee communities in Bangladesh, including her former home Nyapara Refugee Camp, using play to uplift and empower.
Doug Mercado
Doug is a seasoned humanitarian leader with over three decades of experience responding to crises and supporting vulnerable communities across the globe. He has led emergency programs, shaped policy, and advised governments and NGOs in some of the world’s most challenging contexts. At Movement in Refuge, Doug is leading strategic development, program design, and U.S. registration. A lifelong runner and committed athlete, Doug has completed dozens of marathons and half marathons—bringing the same endurance, discipline, and heart to MiR as he does to every race.
Partners & Supporters
