Sports for social cohesion among refugees

Mapendo* had never left Kiziba Camp since his arrival in 2020 from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.  He knows refugees like him from him country of origin found refuge in other seven camps and had never envisaged meeting other youth of his age group for interaction and having good times, despite the hard refugee life. 

“I don’t know what to say.  To have had an opportunity to travel to Mahama is a dream come true for me” said Mapendo.

Mapendo, 19, has always liked playing volleyball and together with his friends, they formed a team and meet regularly for practices.  However, besides doing it for pastime as there is hardly any other occupation in the camp, the game is also an opportunity for exercise.

“We play this game because we like it.  It also helps us to make physical exercise for our health as youth. No one can ever see anything beyond that.  We don’t have good playgrounds in the camp, no coaches, no other facilities that may develop our talents to excel beyond the camp”, noted Mapendo.

However, when Mapendo team was selected to represent his camp in the intercamp tournament this year, together with his teammates he became overjoyed, and the opportunity gave them motivation for dedication and hard work to meet with his peers from other camps with possibility to scoop prize in their discipline. 

On the other side, the intercamp games offer more than competitions to create space for socializing with their peers facing enormous social and emotional challenges as a result of being forced out of their countries, leaving everything behind and being separated from their families and loved ones. 

“Witnessing the kind of life your peers lead and listening to their stories of resilience challenges you to see the ordeal you are facing from a different perspective.  You feel energised to resist any source of discouragement to delve into degrading behaviours”, observed Benny, another Congolese refugee. 

The tournament attracted over 600 young men and women refugees from five different camps namely Mahama, Mugombwa, Nyabiheke, Kigeme, and Kiziba. They competed in various sport disciplines including football, volleyball, basketball, karate, and sitting volleyball.

Intercamp tournaments were organized through the Sports for Protection Programme to promote refugee children’s and young people’s talents and social cohesion among them and raise awareness of child protection, education, sexual and reproduction health, nutrition, inclusion, and gender equality promotion in all camps across Rwanda.

Mr. Eric Mutabazi, Refugee Technical Advisor in the Ministry in charge of Emergency Management (MINEMA), underlined the purpose of the intercamp competition by highlighting the promotion of social cohesion and talents among young refugees living in different camps.

"Through sports, we have seen how refugees can come together to work towards a common goal. It is truly inspiring to witness the passion and dedication these individuals have for their respective sporting disciplines”, Mr. Mutabazi said, at the closing of the tournament.

Intercamp competitions in Mahama Refugee Camp - YouTube

*Mapendo is not real name.  The name has been changed for safety purpose.