African Jimmy inspires a generation
Cricket charity empowering social change in Rwanda
English cricket is in the dock this week. Whatever the outcome of the Cricket Disciplinary Commission hearings, the only winners are the lawyers in this unedifying tale of he said, she said. Allegedly. Vast sums have already been spent. In a sense cricket – Yorkshire cricket in particular - is taking the rap for our general ignorance, insensitivity and unconscious bias during the previous decades. Sport reflects society, after all.
There are happier stories from abroad concerning cricket’s unifying and redeeming influence. One such was illustrated at a smart dinner at the Oval last week where over £100,000 was raised for the Cricket Builds Hope charity. The mission of this organisation, founded in 2014, was to use cricket as a force for social change in Rwanda, the country where, in the space of three months in 1994, over 600,000 minority Tutsis were killed by Hutu militias. In addition up to 500,000 women were raped during the genocide.
After 1994, Rwanda, a former Belgian colony, moved from the Francophone sphere of influence to the Anglophone. The official second language changed from French to English and with many former residents returning to their homeland from countries like Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, sports like cricket were embraced. The fact that Cricket Builds Hope has particularly focussed on empowering women can at least partly account for the amazing success of the Rwanda women’s U/19 team. Totally against odds they qualified for this year’s women’s U/19 world cup. Not only that but they also beat both West Indies and Zimbabwe in the actual tournament. Each success generated scenes of wild celebration in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. There was an open bus parade when they qualified for the U/19 World Cup.
One of the Rwandan women’s coaches, Fredy Ndayisenga (above), attended the Oval dinner – in his national dress – and later did a coaching session at Lords. His own story is a moving one. “Because of the problems of genocide that happened in Rwanda I wasn't actually born in Rwanda, I was born south of Rwanda, in Burundi,” Fredy said. “We came back in late 1994. I grew up in the middle of Kigali. But it was quite complicated to grow up there, where the genocide was actually still in lots of people's minds. So I couldn't actually express myself go and play with other kids which was quite hard. You couldn't always get other children’s parents to allow me to play.
“Luckily, I got a good school and that's where I found cricket. Before I was playing other games, like football, basketball, but it was always a bit challenging. I couldn't see any game where everyone is smiling or not hitting opponents on the pitch except cricket. Although I always wanted to play, my parents didn't allow me to because they didn't know if it was safe. BUT after joining cricket, I was like, yeah, this is my game. I ended up a professional player, representing my country, starting with under 15, then under 17.”
Fredy explains on the the Analyst podcast how he was inspired by Jimmy Anderson. He became a fast bowler and modelled his action and style on him. “They call me the Rwandan Jimmy,” he said. I asked him if cricket had brought people together from opposite sides of the racial divide. “That's one of the things that made me love cricket. Because you can never see anyone who hates each other. I met some people who were on the cricket programme and I don't know what type of race they are, because we no longer see each other's race like you are from this tribe, you're from this tribe. Everyone who wants to be into cricket is welcome. Once you have cricket, you're just Rwandan. Cricket is uniting people in Rwanda.”
“We have what we call street boys who normally spend their daily time in the street stealing doing nothing. I've tried to bring them together to learn cricket and give them something to do. They can see actually there's another life. We also try to teach them about social values, how to become a proper good human being.”
Will Hammond runs Cricket Builds Hope. He exudes a pride in what has been achieved – not least a magnificent cricket stadium in Kigali – known as the Lords of Africa – and huge empowerment particularly of women. “On a kind of macro level, the story of the success of the national team, the under 19, women, qualifying and then doing so amazingly, in that world cup, gives a sense of national pride. It brings hope to a country and inspires people at a broad level. What I really love to see is the impact that cricket makes on individuals or small communities. It's given the women we’ve worked with a sense of unity of purpose and a chance to learn new skills and find new opportunities.”
Talking of which, Hammond urges any cricketer with a bit of imagination to plan a visit to Rwanda and bring their club mates. A tour can be easily arranged. The standard is decent and they play most of the year and you’ll never need a sweater. To find more about the country and the charity visit Cricket Builds Hope
