#EoF: The Stories - Jean Claude Rugigana is the coordinator of the Best Holidays Karate For Children project, which offers children a time period dedicated to sport during summer holidays.
by Maria Gaglione
published in Avvenire on 11/04/2020
Jean Claude Rugigana is a karate teacher and Young Leader of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). "When I read that The Economy of Francis in Assisi would welcome young people from all over the world committed to a sustainable and inclusive economy, I felt called because I am a social entrepreneur and I want to build a better world too. Through sport". Sport and social business are not that distant worlds. Many innovative projects today are promoted by professional sports people who have "reconverted" their know-how into business and social-environmental activities. For example, Yunus Sports Hub is an international community of experts dedicated to projects and activities aiming to face global challenges through sport and social business, valuing teamwork and the importance of sharing networks and communities.
"Sport has the power to change the world and social business is the key to "unleashing" that power," as one can read on the Hub website. As co-founder of the Champions Karate Academy, Jean Claude has been the coordinator of the Best Holidays Karate For Children project since 2017. It offers a time period dedicated to sport, during school holidays for children from 4 to 16 years old in Rwanda. Through karate, basketball and other sports, children experience the values of sports discipline and develop, in some cases, a real passion for sport. "In 2019, I attended the IOC Youth Summit,” Jean Claude tells us “where I met Yunus Sports Hub which was a great inspiration for me. Back home, I founded a non-profit organization - Sports and Society Organization - which, in addition to educating children to the principles of sport, promotes economic development projects, encouraging social cohesion and peace. As a former karate athlete I know very well that sport helps children and young people to increase their personal well-being, their self-confidence and trust in others. Sport is a perfect solution to disconnect from the digital world and return to social and real life".
Jean Claude also recalls the role of sport in the achievement of SDGs (sustainable development goals) and in particular the one dedicated to health and well-being. As a universal language, sport unites peoples, cultures and genders; through respect, understanding, integration, dialogue, sport promotes a healthy life, reduces inequalities, supports quality education, economic growth and decent work. "We have seen an improvement in school performance, lifestyles, social skills in case of many of our young people. The kids experience the importance of friendship, respect and commitment: an educational and formative premise for the new generations to promote the sustainable and inclusive development of the communities they live in. In these past years, the results of our commitment to children have played a decisive role in the growth of my community also on an economic level". And that's not all. The 1994 genocide in Rwanda - one of the bloodiest episodes in the history of 20th century Africa - is still an open wound. "Sports and Society Organization also says that sport can be a tool for building peace, protecting children from violence and exploitation, promoting unity and reconciliation, even in prisons or in those villages where victims and perpetrators of the genocide live together. The Economy of Francesco will help me grow as an entrepreneur to continue contributing to the social and economic development of my country and the world".