Mchezo Inavunja Mipaka

"Breaking through barriers through sports"

April 6 is an internationally recognized and celebrated day for sports. It is a day to celebrate the power that sports has to promote peace and development across barriers, walls, bloodlines and cultures. In the spirit of this day, PJB teamed up with Gisenyi Basketball Club (GBC; Gisenyi, Rwanda) and Sport Pour Tous (Goma, DRC) to host a friendly event between our youth players at Promo Jeune Basket and the youth of Gisenyi.

This event was held in Gisenyi to show solidarity among the youth of the two bordering nations (DRC and Rwanda). The morning began with a march from the newly constructed Grande Barrière (Border) to the community basketball court in Gisenyi (Poste). Here players, coaches and fans alike were able to enjoy two friendly but competitive basketball matches between PJB and GBC.

After the basketball matches, the teams from both countries walked together to Tam Tam Beach in Gisenyi where players were encouraged to share a soda together and get to know each other. This was a great time of bonding for the two groups of youth. To finish the event, participants were asked to present a white card for the #whitecardcampaign, showing our support for development and peace in our region.