Location: Kimisagara, Kigali, Rwanda

Centre Host: Espérance

Status: The opening is scheduled for end of 2011.

Kimisagara is a densely populated, disadvantaged area in central Kigali. There are few opportunities for young people and many drop out of school early. Espérance has been working with the community for several years.

The ethnic groups of Rwanda today continue to struggle with the legacy of the genocide in 1994. In the search for justice and peaceful coexistence, Espérance seeks to fight the ethnic divide of the Rwandan population through education and social programmes. The organisation established “Football for Peace and Anti-AIDS” in 2002. Espérance uses football as a tool not only to reconcile differences within the population, but also to raise awareness of dire issues that face the communities and young people.

Football tournaments are run in conjunction with AIDS awareness activities. Over 300 young people are trained on the football field each year and many more partake in other activities run by the organisation. Young participants are not just educated, they are trained to be educators themselves.

At the Kimisagara Football for Hope Centre, Espérance will strengthen its efforts for long-lasting peace building and reconciliation, using football as a tool. Football Amahoro (Football for Peace) tournaments will be regularly organised at the centre. During the tournaments a form of football3 is used to foster dialogue among the participants. Girls and boys play on one team and there is no referee. Disagreements are resolved by the players themselves through dialogue–a space before and after each match sets the scene and enables players to discuss and evaluate fair play.

In addition to these football tournaments, Espérance has recently developed a new methodology: Football Forum Theatre, which combines Football Amahoro and theatre on the pitch. Players are also actors and present a specific conflict or social issues, such as discrimination, HIV/AIDS, or gender. The participatory methodology allows spectators to contribute to the play, providing feedback and solutions to the presented conflicts.

The centre will also offer classroom space for tutorials and catch-up classes. Since English has recently been introduced as one of Rwanda’s official languages alongside Kinyarwanda and French, language classes will be offered to young participants as well as to adults in the community.

A third focus for the Football for Hope Centre will be IT education. The centre will be equipped with a computer room to train young people in information and communication technology and to provide internet services to the community.

Victor Sewabana
AJSK Espérance
Kimisagara Football for Hope Centre Manager
victornoxfr@yahoo.fr
+250 788442220

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