VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLGB #1119 3481037
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141037Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 4970

UNCLAS KIGALI 001119 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
ECA/PE/CE, AF/PD FOR PATRICIA EHRNMAN AND KATHARINE MOSELEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OEXC IS JO KPAO LE RW
SUBJECT: SPORTS ENVOY REQUEST 
 
REF: A. STATE 153793 
     ¶B. STATE 165437 
 
¶1. Post welcomes the possibility of participating in the ECA 
sports program in FY08 and is pleased to submit this request 
for a Sports Envoy in field of basketball.  With an 
enthusiastic audience for the program, a low crime rate, 
excellent climate, and meticulously clean environment, post 
believes Kigali would make an excellent venue for a Sports 
Envoy program.  Preferred program dates are anytime during 
the month of July when Rwandan students are on school 
holiday. 
 
¶2.  Basketball is a fast growing sport in Rwanda, the NBA and 
its stars are increasingly popular among young Rwandans, and 
sports are an extremely important outlet for kids in a 
country with few recreational facilities.  Post is confident 
of its ability to organize a highly successful program and 
has the enthusiastic backing of the Ministry of Youth, 
Culture, and Sport for this endeavor.  More than 60 percent 
of Rwanda's population is under the age of 18 and Rwanda's 
genocide left the country with one of the highest levels of 
orphaned children in the world, making youth outreach 
programs especially important and meaningful.  The Sports 
Envoy program provides an excellent opportunity to diversify 
and extend our youth outreach programs.  As a focus country 
for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), 
post provides extensive support to orphans and vulnerable 
children across the country and also reaches out to youth 
with targeted HIV/AIDS behavioral change communication 
programs and voluntary counseling and testing initiatives. 
Post would seek opportunities to utilize the Sports Envoy 
program to advance the objectives of these existing programs 
and vice versa. 
 
¶3.  Rwanda has fledgling men's and women's professional 
basketball leagues and has also developed under-21 national 
sides.  Basketball is also widely played at Rwanda's 
universities and in youth centers around the country.  Post 
would draw on these communities to identify youth to 
participate in the program.  Despite its rapidly growing 
popularity, basketball does not have deep roots in Rwanda. 
As a result there is a critical shortage of trained coaches 
at all levels of the game.  For this reason, post proposes to 
organize a clinic for local coaches in addition to a series 
of drills and teambuilding activities for youth. 
 
¶4. The Embassy's primary partners in this initiative would be 
the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Sport and the Rwandan 
Basketball Federation.  As indicated, the Ministry has 
already endorsed this proposal.  Post previously was 
approached by the Basketball Federation with a request to 
support clinics for local coaches; we are confident, 
therefore, that the Federation would be equally enthusiastic 
about this program.  The primary venue for the clinics would 
be the 3,000 seat national basketball/volleyball stadium in 
Kigali. 
 
¶5. It is rare that Rwanda has the opportunity to host 
internationally recognized sports personalities.  Local TV, 
radio, and print media would be eager to cover all aspects of 
the program. 
ARIETTI