On June 5, a children’s festival dubbed Kids Safari Festival took place at Nyakabanda, Remera Sector at 10:00 a.m.
Youth, Arts, Developmental and Entrepreneurship Network (YADEN), an NGO working with local alliances organised the festival.

The festival was aimed at training children by engaging facilitators on communication skills, including writing, reading, drawing, painting and performances; it attracted at least 50 children between the ages 10-15 from four primary schools within Kigali City which were; Muhima, Kacyiru, Nyakabanda and APAPER—each was presented by 10 pupils.

"This festival was unique in its kind and children got an opportunity to freely interact with each other and share ideas,” said James Manzi, YADEN’s Programmes officer.

Prior to the Kids Safari festival, pupils from the four selected schools underwent an intensive training to prepare them for the performance.

Manzi said that he believes that if children are guided by facilitators, they will be able to engage their communities in developmental issues by suggesting solutions to these challenges in their own way by combining the communication skills acquired the developmental knowledge learned, and their own experience.

The children’s festival also attracted NGOs, corporate companies, the media, schools, families and individuals. The event featured a lot of fun and educative performances from the children themselves with thematic presentations from individuals and various organizations.

"It is good to teach children through music and drama, because it’s more practical and helps them to pick the message more easily,” Manzi said.

The Executive Director of YADEN East Africa, Sami Gardii was the guest of honour at the Kids Safari Festival.

YADEN is in partnership with Oxfam International and it helps advance youth potential into skill that offer an opportunity for them to earn a decent livelihood and at the same time empowering them to actively participate in social-cultural and econo-politico development for their communities.

Currently, YADEN operates in all East African member states: Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, and Burundi.

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