‘Muraho’ (hello) from Rwanda!
‘Muraho’ (hello) from Rwanda!
His face beams with joy in a mixture of concentration and elation. A soft pop-up and an explosive burst of acceleration through the gap, and it’s a try; the prize for a well-worked movement on the rugby pitch. The world is forced to stand outside, powerless to touch the blossomed beauty of the moment. Where else can languages transcend the corrupted human barriers of tragedy, sorrow and alienation other than on the sports field?
Over the summer half-term this year, Mr. Parfitt and I travelled to the African country of Rwanda for a short holiday. Infamous and stereotyped by the terrible genocide that took place there in 1994, many people were astonished by our choice of destination and often displayed a great deal of concern about our safety during the visit. However let me assure you, our experience was both compelling and priceless, as well as humbling in a variety of ways.
Not wishing to simply just take in the extraordinary natural beauty of the country in the famous gorilla treks, coffee plantations and the stunning Lake Kivu, we were also fortunate enough to gain insight into the local community through the medium of sport. On one of the evenings we managed to join a rugby training session with one of the local rugby sides. Even without the resources, equipment and experience that we are so spoilt with here in the UK, it was heartening to see such enthusiasm and fun on display.
On the final morning before our departure, we were privileged with the opportunity to host a coaching session at a local orphanage on the outskirts of the capital of Rwanda, Kigali. Mr. Parfitt took the football session whist I offered some rugby coaching. With limited English on the children’s part, and Mr. Parfitt’s five words of Rwandan on ours, it was always going to be a challenging experience. But that is the beauty of sport. With all the differences in the world between us, the communication of a shared passion in the enjoyment of rugby and football transcended it all, and what an enjoyable and precious morning it was!
How to capture in writing the experience of visiting an orphanage in the centre of Africa, in the heart of such a unique country? How to describe the vulnerability of the children, of the orphanage itself; and to capture the strength of humanity on display in so many ways? Words are fairly frail, and the real strength is the financial support that could be offered for the orphanage so that it can continue to carry out its important and profound work in the community.
