Children and Youth Sports Organisation in partnership with Startimes Rwanda, Kigali city, Water life, Trust industiry and UTB youth volunteers on Sunday launched ‘Rwanda Students’ Lifestyle’ at Amahoro National Stadium, Remera. The programme will work with different schools across the country through mass sports activities and, messages concerning healthy lifestyles. The event which brought together students from different schools in Rwanda attracted officials from the Ministry of Sports and Culture and Ministry of Education, among others. Nelson Mukasa, Executive Director of the organisation, said the main objective was to urge youth in schools to fight against HIV and drug abuse, and to know how they can prevent blood deficiency among adolescent girls. During the launch, the youth were screened to check their blood levels as they also engaged in various sports. Medication was given to boost blood levels for those found with problems. Dr Anita Asiimwe, Director of National Early Childhood Development Program (NECDP), said young people should be aware of anaemia, especially for adolescent girls. She said an adolescent girl grows up to be a mother later on, so dealing with anaemia early enough is vital to prevent it when they are of child-bearing age. Young people should know that anaemia deficiency, albeit serious, is easy to rectify and this can be fixed through good nutrition. “This is much more important in adolescent girls than boys because at this stage, girls have started having their menstrual period; they lose blood every month. If they don’t watch what they eat, it’s easy to have insufficient blood,” she explained. She urged girls to drop the mentality of ‘slimness equals beauty’ hence starving themselves; rather, eating well should be paramount to prevent anaemia. Fabrice Uwayo, the inspector of sports, arts, music, and Kinyarwanda at the Ministry of Education, said the event was one way of contributing to awareness on health and behaviour. He said the Ministry of Education has different skills provided through its curriculum, which incorporates general knowledge that a child acquires so as to embrace good behaviour and contribute to building Rwandan society. Youth being enlightened on certain behaviours, he said, helps them avoid vices such as prostitution and drug abuse. “Sports is one of the activities that brings together many people, therefore, it is easy to spread any message through it,” Uwayo added editor@newtimesrwanda.com
