Claretian Mission in Ngaremara Hosts a 10-Day Sport for Peace and Development Event
In a month that simultaneously hosted the International day of the World’s Indigenous
Peoples [9 th Aug] and International Youth Day [12 th Aug] , the Claretian Missionaries
working among the pastoralists’ community of Ngaremara Mission in Kenya partnered
with the office of Cmf @UNEP and Pasua youth Initiative to capitalize on the role of
sports as a driver of peace and development among pastoralists’ youths. The 10-day
peace tournament [14thAug -2323aug] saw eight teams battling for not just winning
through scoring football goals but also winning through the goal of peaceful
sportsmanship.
Recognizing the role of play in building essential and transferable
physical, social, cognitive, communication and emotional life skills at all ages, and its
positive impact on promoting tolerance and resilience and facilitating social inclusion,
conflict prevention and peacebuilding [SDG 16], the 10- day event was strategically
organized into several thematic objectives including , peaceful coexistence , conflict
transformation, substance abuse, gender quality [SDG 5] , eco-stewardship / caring for
our common home [SDG13] , youths as protagonists of their own transformation,
right to play [ Gen Res/78/268] and sports as a tool of mapping of recreational spaces in
communally owned pastoralists lands.
After the ten days, we realized how sports can be a potent instrument in understanding
community relational dynamics as well as how engaging youths in sports can help in
learning their levels of emotional competence and consequently in the designing of
relevant intervention programs.
The very exciting yet tension filled event was graced by Ngaremera community superior
Fr. Baskar A cmf and coordinated by Bro Robert with tremendous resource support
from our missions and parishes in Musoma, Kerwa Michungwani, Kiembeni, Shanzu,
Chebororwa and cmf @unep, the delegation econome and delegation mission procure.
It could not have been suceeful without the immense work by Pasua Nation Youth
Initiative and Pastoralists-led organizing committee to whom we are greatly indebted.
