My

Story

Janvier

“My mother died in 1985, I grew up with my father in the village of Masisi in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

After my village was attacked and our house was burnt down, we fled to Rwanda in 2012. We fled on foot from a village called Mushaki. We were received in a transit center near the border where we spent around a year. I met there with other youths and started playing football trying to entertain ourselves. After a year, we moved from the transit center to Mugombwa camp where I live now with my family. In the camp, I continued assisting children and training them football. We founded a team called Once Rapide.

I have played football since I was 4 years old. I feel so happy when I play football. Football has taken me out of isolation. Through tournaments and competitions, I got to know so many people and made friends. This education sport program helped me to enhance my talent to coach and to follow my passion for football. I also learned how to link sport with child protection activities using football. When I first came from Congo, I worked as a sport volunteer. Now, I am the sport coordinator in the camp. My coaching skills have improved a lot while I understand children better, their needs and their rights. Before joining this program, I was only coaching the children who performed well while chasing away other children. But now I understand the importance of the activities for every child so I include everyone. More parents are asking me to register their children and be part of the team because the games and football give those children a purpose. In sports activities we keep them busy with meaningful activities.

I feel so happy seeing children playing football while parents are applauding around them. The parents are proud to see their children performing well and being happy. It creates joyful and positive atmosphere in their difficult life. Before every training, we talk about one of the child protection topics and children rights. For example, we encourage children to continue attending school and avoid boredom or doing silly or risky things through seeing the importance of education for their future. We also discuss with them how to obey and respect their parents, good behaviors, and other topics before we resume the football activities.”