Congratulations to Lutengo A team, the winners of the “Play Soccer, Make Peace” match in celebration of Eid!
Written by Denis Cox Emuria
InterChange for Peace Uganda marked this year’s Eid, the Muslim festival celebrating the end of Ramadan, with a soccer match. The match was held at St. Anne playgrounds in Lutengo, Nama Sub-County in Mukono District.
The match was part of InterChange Uganda’s “Play Soccer, Make Peace” programme, the mission of which is to bridge the differences between cultures and religions, and to be united by the common good. “Play Soccer, Make Peace” matches are regularly played on religious holidays (such as Easter, Christmas and Eid) and on other internationally recognized days (such as the UN International Day of Peace and International Day of Tolerance).
Four adult clubs competed in the tournament: Katoogo FC, Kyapa FC, Lutengo A and Lutengo B. The final Eid match was played between Lutengo A and Lutengo B football clubs. The final winners of the game, Lutengo A, won in a penalty shoot-out and walked away with a full kit of sports jerseys donated by InterChange Uganda. Prizes,which included t-shirts, soccer balls, and cash prizes, were also given to the best players nominated in the games. You can find more photos of game day in the Photo Gallery.
Before the main event a “curtain-raiser” match was played between children’s teams consisting of players aged 10-14 years old. The children’s teams were given refreshments by InterChange Uganda, but due to lack of resources, the children did not receive any prizes. In the future, InterChange Uganda hopes to support the children’s teams with sports uniforms and footballs for training.
Addressing the invited guests, spectators and players was the coordinator of InterChange Uganda, Mukono Branch, Mr. Lubuulwa Henry, who urged the youth to work hard towards developing their natural talents. His words of encouragement to the youth advocated working hard as a means of achieving goals towards self and community sustainability. As he expressed, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop”. Mr. Henry thanked those who have participated in conflict resolution in Lutego and those who have been appreciative recipients of the work accomplished in the community, particularly in re-uniting families dealing with conflict.
The Chairman of InterChange Uganda, Mr. Issa Kirarira, also addressed the players before the match. He called upon the players to prioritize self-determination before monetary gain and to direct their energy towards developing their natural talents and abilities in order to achieve the objective of “Play Soccer, Make Peace”. Mr. Kirarira reinforced ideas of peace and tolerance amongst spectators, urging them to extend strong affection towards one another if we are to avoid violent conflict in society. He appealed to the local community in Lutengo to register for membership with InterChange Uganda because of the wide range of opportunities it offers, and to seek out InterChange’s local facilities to build up the community instead of traveling long distances for similar services.
InterChange is a community based organization with roots all over the world including: Canada, Nigeria, Kenya. Services offered by InterChange for Peace Uganda include: computer training, internet surfing, typing, scanning and counseling services, among others. The organization promotes peace on all levels, from the individual to family to community, and branching out to the national and international levels.
InterChange Uganda will be hosting another “Play Soccer, Make Peace” match in celebration of the International Day of Peace on Friday, September 21, 2012. They hope to raise funds to supply the children’s teams with balls, uniforms and other equipment. To support InterChange Uganda with a financial donation and to find out more about how to receive tax receipts for your donations, please visit our donations page. For donations being made within Uganda, please contact Issa Kirarira.
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