Gisenyi, Rwanda: A challenge facing many young men in this corner of Rwanda is the difficulty of finding work, and what this means for their ability to assume responsibility for caring for their ageing parents or building a life of their own. Alexis Niyongombwa is 20 years old. This is his story.
Dodos Twahirwa (20) earns a living as a football coach for the community-based organisation, Vision Jeunesse Nouvelle. He was unable to finish secondary school because his family did not have enough money. Despite his worries, he encourages other young people to complete their high school education.
GISENYI, Rwanda: In response to a Unicef press release about the World Cup in My Village project, Reuters sent their Rwanda correspondent to Gisenyi to find out more. There he met Vestine Nziyandemye, one of the 15 youth reporters trained by the Children’s Radio Foundation who are producing radio stories about the views and experiences of young people in the area. After Themistocle Hakizimana had put his questions to Vestine and she had dutifully answered them, Vestine took her recorder and asked the Reuters correspondent a few questions of her own!
Here is the audio link to Vestine’s interview with Reuters correspondent, Themistocle Hakizimana, followed by a transcript in English.
Vestine: I’m Vestine, I’m one of the trainees trained by CRF, in radio journalism. Can you kindly introduce yourself to us?
Reuters: I’m called Hakizimana, Themistocle, and I’m working for the British television called Reuters.
Vestine: How did you hear about how these matches were organized here, and what do you think about them?
Reuters: It was all organized by Reuters in London as UNICEF was preparing this project of showing the World Cup to many children.
Vestine: It’s good to see you being a journalist with far more resources than us: what do you think of what you have seen at this stadium?
Reuters: What I have seen is that there are many children and hardly any adults. What I like most about this project is that it has brought World Cup matches to children who would not be able to afford to watch them in other places where they’d have to pay. That is what impressed me most, although I think that many more children would have come compared to the number of children I know live in Gisenyi.
Vestine: There are more children that are going to come later on, they’re still busy doing other jobs at home, but when the match begins they will come. So what would you say to the listeners of CRF?
Reuters: What I’d like to say is that many parents do not give any value to football. I’d like to encourage parents to let their children come and watch football matches because it’s an international game and any child who has that talent can benefit and get inspired by watching the matches.
Vestine: Thank you for coming, and welcome to our stadium, and please give our greetings to other journalists.
And here is an audio recording of the Reuters interview with Vestine, followed by a transcript in English.
Reuters (Themistocle Hakizimana): You’ve introduced yourself, please tell us about the [radio] training you received and are you putting your training into practice?
Vestine: We were trained for several days in how to use this recorder I have. We were trained in how to make stories, and how to make good recordings, and that is what I’m doing here so that they can evaluate me and see if I benefited from their training.
Reuters: Why do you think it was important to involve children in this project?
Vestine: It was good firstly because some children like the profession of journalism, such as me, I have always liked it, even if I hadn’t had the chance of studying journalism. But more importantly it is good that children were involved because it gave them a chance to express themselves. When a child is put in this position it empowers him to be able to do something.
Reuters: What do you think will be the benefit of showing children the matches here, starting with you yourself?
Vestine: It is very good even starting with myself, because there are children who have a talent that needs to be developed. There are times when a child can like football because of a particular player they admired. There are times like now, just before halftime, when there are messages played about nutrition, good water, education, and other subjects, which are good messages for children that they can listen to and can implement after watching the matches.
Reuters: You are a girl, many times in Rwanda, culture does not permit girls to play football. Does this embarrass you?
Vestine: No, it’s not an embarrassment at all because we are at a stage in development it is no longer an embarrassment for a girl to play football. So I think it’s important that girls are also allowed to come to these matches, because the messages that play here are not meant only for the boys.
Reuters: What message or advice do you have for UNICEF about these projects?
Vestine: My first request would be that because of the high levels of ignorance among parents in rural areas, they should be sensitized before matches to let their children come and benefit from the other messages [that are being played at the matches] about things like nutrition. That way the parents would be encouraged to send their children to the matches. The parent will feel that their child is not only coming for the matches or other mischief, but will know that the child will benefit from the messages, and therefore let the child come without any problem.
Reuters: The last question, of the matches that you have seen so far, which did you like most and what did you learn?
Vestine: The match I liked most was the first opening match with South Africa and Mexico. The reason was that the very first goal was from the Africans while the rest of the world thinks that Africa cannot do much. It shows that we are capable and not always needing to depend on the whites.
There are three official languages in Rwanda – Kinyarwanda, French and English. But two years ago, in 2008, English replaced French as the medium of instruction in Rwandan schools. Sandra Rugema (12) and her brother Ronald (10) live in Gisenyi in western Rwanda on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are part of a new generation of Rwandese for whom English is increasingly a familiar tongue.
Sandra Rugema is 12-years old. Like all Rwandese children she learns her school lessons in English.
Sandra is clear about how important education is to her.
Sandra does athletics at school and enjoys running. Does she think girls and boys should be able to play the same sports and have the same opportunities in life?
Sandra is proud to be Rwandese and says the country is changing for the better.
Ronald Rugema (10) spoke to the Children’s Radio Foundation about his favourite subjects at school, his ambitions, and which football teams he supports.
Ronald ‘s passion for science is linked to his high flying dream.
So, what would Ronald tell other children about his country?
Ronald is also a keen soccer player.
As part of World Cup in my Village—a partnership between UNICEF, the Children’s Radio Foundation (CRF) and Vision Jeunesse Nouvelle (VJN) in Rwanda—15 youth reporters are learning how to interview and produce their own radio content. The project gives them the opportunity to report on pressing issues affecting young people in their communities, and to share their experiences and concerns with the rest of the world.
Their audio reports will be broadcast on local, national, and international radio stations, and additional media content will be posted on the Children’s Radio Foundation’s website and disseminated via other social media platforms. In addition to media trainings, World Cup in My Village provides access to the World Cup matches to youth in areas of Zambia and Rwanda where there is little to no electricity or broadcasting service. Large open-air screens and projectors have been set-up and the matches will be screened from 11 June to 11 July.
In addition to the football matches, special public service announcements produced by UNICEF and partners will provide the audience—largely cut off from mainstream sources of information—with information about education, health and child protection. The public viewing spaces will also be used for community events such as youth soccer games and educational activities on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention. During the half-times of the World Cup matches, the trained youth journalists will conduct interviews with their peers and host live radio talk shows to sensitize fellow youth about community issues.
To find out more about World Cup in My Village, click here.
Are young people in Rwanda excited about the World Cup being held in Africa for the first time? This was one of a series of questions in a warm-up exercise put to the group of 15 youth reporters aged between 16 and 20 years as they gathered in Gisenyi, a town on the border of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Salama Uwamahoro was very positive. “I’m really looking forward to the World Cup, and to having it closer to us here. It means I will be able to see the matches, plus, I really like football.” (All audio is in Kinyarwanda).
By contrast, Zachee Tuyishime was less enthusiastic, explaining that just because the World Cup is being held in South Africa doesn’t bring it any closer to people living in Rwanda. “I’m not really looking forward to it,” he said, “because I can’t go there.”
Emmanuel Nteko was upbeat. “I’m looking forward to the World Cup – it’s a good thing that it’s being held in Africa. Africans have a chance to go & watch it, because when it was held in Europe it was far away.”
Christine Nyirajyambere was also excited, not just about the event but about who the eventual winners might be. “I’m looking forward to the World Cup and we are curious to know who will win. Secondly, because it’s in Africa and we are in Rwanda, there may be people who can go to South Africa and they will return and tell us how it was.”
However, Claude Nzabahimana was concerned about the possible negative consequences of a mega event like the Fifa World Cup. “I’m not looking forward to the World Cup in South Africa because there will other problems associated with the event. People won’t only watch the matches, but they will also have sex with young men and women. This will increase the risk of HIV and they may infect other people when they return, so I’m hesitant to say it’s a good thing.”
As part of World Cup in my Village—a partnership between UNICEF, the Children’s Radio Foundation (CRF) and Vision Jeunesse Nouvelle (VJN) in Rwanda—15 youth reporters are learning how to interview and produce their own radio content. The project gives them the opportunity to report on pressing issues affecting young people in their communities, and to share their experiences and concerns with the rest of the world.
Their audio reports will be broadcast on local, national, and international radio stations, and additional media content will be posted on the Children’s Radio Foundation’s website and disseminated via other social media platforms. In addition to media trainings, World Cup in My Village provides access to the World Cup matches to youth in areas of Zambia and Rwanda where there is little to no electricity or broadcasting service. Large open-air screens and projectors have been set-up and the matches will be screened from 11 June to 11 July.
In addition to the football matches, special public service announcements produced by UNICEF and partners will provide the audience—largely cut off from mainstream sources of information—with information about education, health and child protection. The public viewing spaces will also be used for community events such as youth soccer games and educational activities on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention. During the halftimes of the World Cup matches, the trained youth journalists will conduct interviews with their peers and host live radio talk shows to sensitize fellow youth about community issues.
To find out more about World Cup in My Village, click here.
