Schools using sports to promote unity

Schools are using sports to enhance unity and reconciliation as well as overcome the effects of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. According to the headmaster of ESSI secondary school in Nyamirambo, Isaac Munyakazi, sports help people to live in harmony. “When we come together through sports, we develop a spirit of love for each other and if that spirit is what the youth and others had, the Genocide would have been avoided,” Munyakazi said. The headmaster was speaking at the Kigali Genocide Memorial site, where he led six local football teams to a tour of the memorial. The teams have been participating in the Eid el-Fitr Cup competition that was organised by the school. According to the headmaster, it aimed at bringing together youth from various areas irrespective of religion. “As we come towards the end of Ramadhan, it is our opportunity to look back and pay our respects to the victims of Genocide and fight its ideology,” he said. After touring the site, some of those who spoke to The New Times denounced Genocide revisionists and planners. “The way forward is to make it our responsibility to avoid any other form of Genocide, and the best way is to first understand how it affect us,” said Jacques Mutungwa, one of the youth. He also appreciated the design of the Kigali Genocide Memorial saying the visit helped many understand the history of their country. Ends

National

Schools using sports to promote unity