YDF in Rwanda: peace-building after the genocide

With a surface area of approximately 26,000 square kilometres and a population of around nine million, the central-east African country of Rwanda is one of the smallest and most densely populated countries on the continent. Its history has long been overshadowed by conflict between the various ethnic groups. This animosity culminated in a brutal genocide in 1994, the largest Africa has seen in modern times, and which saw some 800,000 people killed in the space of just one hundred days. Genocide, civil war and mass displacement have set the country's development back by years. The effects of the genocide are still present, and Rwandan society remains deeply divided and traumatised. An estimated 100,000 children live on their own because their parents were killed during the genocide, convicted for genocide-related crimes or because they died from AIDS. Approximately three per cent of the adult population is infected with HIV. Nevertheless, Rwanda has made a remarkable recovery since 1994 and is one of the few countries in Africa that stands a chance of reaching the Millennium Development Goal targets. A landmark occurred in 2003 when the first democratic parliamentary and presidential elections in Rwandan history were held. In 2008, Rwanda became the first country to elect a national parliament in which the majority of members are women.

YDF and Esperance: a sustainable partnership

In 2008, Rwanda became YDF’s first partner country. YDF, together with its non-governmental partner ‘Esperance’, has used football ever since as a means of peace-building in the former war-torn country. The project works in traumatised communities to support the rehabilitation, reconciliation and healing process in the Great Lakes Region - a crucial region for political stability after the genocide. Esperance was founded in 1996 in Kigali in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, its major objective being to engage young people in social cohesion as well as physical and psychological healing. One of their initial activities was the reconstruction of football pitches - of major importance in a society where the prevailing climate was either ignorant of, or opposed to, leisure and fun activities. In 1996, Esperance established a football youth league aimed at involving children and youths, particularly girls and young women, in sports participation, community work and active citizenship.

Football theatre for peace and justice

With YDF’s assistance, Esperance developed a facilitator’s handbook on the Football Forum Theatre (FFF) Methodology. The methodology combines football with theatre as a means of cultivating responsible behaviour, with the football pitch serving as a theatre stage. The participatory approach aims at involving the players and spectators of the game alike. In simulated conflicts between football players, who are simultaneously actors, players and spectators, the players have to seek to resolve the conflicts jointly. The instrument is well established in Rwanda and has also been tested in its neighbouring country, the Democratic Republic of Congo. The facilitator’s handbook provides the framework for coach-instruction workshops on the FFF Methodology. Subsequent to their training, the instructors will in turn pass their acquired skills on to coaches and youth leaders in their regular sporting programmes. The YDF Toolkit and the Football Forum Theatre Methodology will be jointly implemented during instructor workshops held in future.

Celebrating Africa and a fruitful cooperation

In March 2009, Rwanda’s capital of Kigali became the starting point for Caravanamani, the Peace Caravan initiative coordinated by YDF together with Esperance. For four weeks, the caravan toured the countries of the Great Lakes Region. It promoted peace-building, unity and sportsmanship through football, and animated the idea of an African 2009 FIFA Confederations CupTM and an African 2010 FIFA World CupTM. The Peace Caravan was supported by the Rwandese Ministry of Sports and Culture and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the World Cup. One year later, in May 2010, all eyes were again on Esperance and on Rwanda when Kigali became the starting point for YDF’s ‘Strong Youth, Strong Africa’ tour. The tour presented all partner countries except Ghana with a platform to showcase to the world what Africa is capable of, and to mobilise partners in supporting the legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. The cooperation with Esperance came full circle when members of the non-governmental organisation showcased the Football Forum Theatre Methodology during the World Cup at the International Football Village in Johannesburg, South Africa.