RWAMAGANA-The Eastern Province has embarked on a campaign to promote sports and culture in all districts as a way of shaping up the youth.

According to the outgoing Governor, Dr. Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, the authorities were sensitising the youth to actively participate in sports and culture.

Jean Marie Makombe, the Executive Secretary of the Province, who officially launched the campaign on behalf of the Governor,  said that the province would invest in the new programme.

The programme that is expected to be long-term commenced yesterday when hundreds of talented youth from all districts in the province gathered in Rwamagana for the selection of a provincial football club.

"We target the youth...today is football, tomorrow it will be another game. Today, we are facing hardships and our culture is on the verge of collapse...this is what we want to reverse through sports and culture,” he said.

An official from FERWAFA, the country’s football governing body, Antoine Rutinduka, who has been deployed to help Eastern Province identify talent among the youth, said that the province was heading for a bright future.

He said that youth have the talent which only needs to be streamlined.

"What lacked were proper structures and poor management (of the sport). The talents I have seen here are enormous and there is no doubt it will benefit the whole country,” Rutinduka said.

Rwamagana vice Mayor, Yvonne Dusabe, stressed the importance of sports in the development of the youth.

"Our youth are involved in smoking marijuana, drinking local illicit brew, sex scandals, etc because of redundancy. Idleness is the devil’s workshop,” she emphasised.

"In one way, everyone will be involved in sports of some sort, whether playing or just watching. Sports and culture are too closely related, to be separated...that is why we need to handle them at ago”.

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