Football Unites coach Desbon Bushiri is about to embark on an exciting venture in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Inspired by his work with Football Unites, he has worked with interested parties in DR Congo to secure funding from FIFA-FARE to set up a project based on the ethos of Football Unites, but tailored to work with communities in a part of DR Congo seriously affected by conflict and civil war.
The Football Between Communities (or Football Inter-Communautaire) project will use the power of football to educate displaced young people in the Sud Kivu region and to bring young people from different origins together to help reduce social tensions.
Desbon is from Burundi and passed through the Sud Kivu region of DR Congo as a refugee from the civil war in Burundi before settling in Sheffield. Sud Kivu borders Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania.The area took in thousands of refugees fleeing from civil wars in Burundi and Rwanda from 1990 to 1994. The region then itself became affected by conflict and civil war. The United Nations estimates that 11,000 children in the region are still in the hands of armed groups.
The project aims to work with girls and boys of all ethnic groups who share an opposition to war and division, to help them express their aspirations for peace and reconciliation, building bridges between different communities through sporting activities including football camps and tournaments and working with schools and community leaders.
Desbon is travelling to DR Congo in October for six weeks to help set up the project. Football Unites is appealing for donations of football kit, boots or anything else to support the project that we can send to DR Congo either now or in the future. For more information please phone us on 0114 2553156 or email us.