My

Story

Furaha

“I am from the Democratic Republic of Congo. When I was about 10 years old, I was under the care of my paternal uncle after my parents had passed away. At the age of 23, we fled the conflict in Congo and came to Rwanda.

Football, it’s like my life. I really like football. I remember when I was in Congo, my life was not good. Our living conditions were bad, I dropped out of school, and I started to work. But in the evening when I got home, I liked to play football. It made me feel happy, feel rested, and even forget other bad situations.

This is why here in the camp, I became a coach. Through my activities, the children have gained football skills, created good relationships, learnt to respect their parents, and they want an education. I feel that I am an important person in the community, particularly for the children. I teach them how they should respect others and how they should respect themselves too. I also encourage them to attend school. I try to show them some of the ways of life that they should follow in order to succeed.

I have inspired many children, particularly those who don’t have parents. I encourage them to avoid delinquency and to avoid drugs or any other things that can harm their development and well-being by showing them the consequences for their future. The activities have also helped girls to love sports, and also helped parents to value boys and girls equally because they can do every single thing the same way.

I have trained a lot of children, most of them are now in school. When they come during the holiday, they always tell me ‘Thank you coach, you did a lot for me’. This motivates me as a coach.

Before [the Young Coach Education in 2017/2018], I thought that football was only matches. But from the education I learnt that it was more. This follow-up training has also been helpful. Not only did we recall what we had already learnt, we also learnt new knowledge and skills, like training people with a disability.”