The Maheba refugee settlement, which is located 13 hours away by road from the capital Lusaka, welcomes nearly 20,000 refugees from nine African countries. Among these thousands of displaced families lives 10,000 children. Faustin is a young Burundian living in Maheba since January 2015. A black belt judoka, he was appointed as the coach of the refugee programme. In 2016 he declared: "This is a fantastic chance for all of us. Life is not easy and having something to do such as judo, first of all offers us a structuring activity, but also opens up new opportunities for us to restart in a positive way our lives.“
For the first time ever, on May 8th, the judo club organized its first outdoor demonstration to show to the families what is judo and how it can help them to develop a better future.
The organizers explained: “We wanted to show to all the refugees that judo is not violent and it can unite people no matter where they come from and without any kind of discrimination. They could discover what a powerful educational tool judo is.“
Last November, during the inauguration of the refugee camp judo program, Mr. Alfred Foloko, President of the Zambia Judo Association said: “We have seen the number of refugees rising and the implications of this scourge on peace and security should concern all of us. Therefore, the initiative by the International Judo Federation to come with this important project cannot be over emphasized. The main objective of the Judo launch at Maheba refugee settlement is to promote peace and unity among the different nationalities and the surrounding communities. We use judo as an education tool to bring about peace and unity among different people regardless their political, gender, cultural, religious affiliation. By training judo and follow the statement done by Jigoro Kano, the founder of our sport, a person will develop social skills that can be used to develop just society and help person in need.“
In 2015 the International Judo Federation, through the activities of its Judo for Peace Commission, had already launched its first programme in the Syrian refugee camps on the Turkish border (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utJCdr5UKIA) and other initiatives are now under construction.
