Bonezaball is a game that is played by two competing teams of six players each. They compete in the court of a 28mx14m dimension, under organized rules. Each team tries to get the ball into one shared Imbonezo (a hoop of 50 cm diameters) that is mounted in the central division of the court and the ropes, in which a ball is targeted to score goals. Bonezaball knows no discrimination to people who wish to make teams because it is played by people with and/or without disabilities, young and old, and any kind of playground – cemented, clay, grass or artificial turf – in urban or rural areas. According to Jonas Ngirinshuti (pictured right), the sport’s inventor, the equipment used is designed and made in Rwanda, all with the recycled waste of tires, leather, and metals. Born and raised in Gihundwe, Rusizi District, Jonas Ngirinshuti, 30, is a father of three and an MBA holder from Mahatma Gandhi University. In an interview with Saturday Sport this week, Ngirinshuti said that he started developing entrepreneurship skills and artistic talents at a young age – around the age of 11. How did the Bonezaball idea come about? Since my boyhood, I was never the best at settling for the status quo. I always questioned things and that triggered my drive to create things but ideas were very many and sketchy until 2011 when I decided to focus on inventing a made-in-Rwanda sport. The idea to create Bonezaball was mainly influenced by two things; to inspire boys and girls in my home district and to contribute to the sporting landscape of the country – through innovation. After drafting my idea, I traveled to Kigali to present it to the Ministry for Sports and Culture (Minispoc) and I was given good feedback and told things to improve. Four years later, in 2015, I received the certificate of intellectual property for my idea from the Rwanda Development Board. What’s the state of Bonezaball today? The game is still a work in progress. The feedback we have received is very encouraging, and that keeps me and my team to keep refining it further with hope that it will one day – in near future – become a national sport. Over 100 youths in Rusizi and Nyamasheke Districts are employed by the sport, mostly from making equipment, delivery and expending the game. It is estimated that around 150,000 people in schools and community centers play Bonezaball in Rusizi and Nyamasheke Districts. / Courtesy It is estimated that around 150,000 people, in schools and community centers in the two West Province’s districts, play the game, and it is widely used as a tool to bring youth together and be taught about job creation, and mobilized against teen pregnancies and drug abuse. Has Bonezaball reached beyond borders yet? Yes. Besides Rwanda, the sport was also launched by our friends and partners in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. This year alone we received 500 young people from the U.K to learn about the sport so they can teach it in their schools. Bonezaball was introduced to three schools in the United Kingdom this year. / Courtesy As of today, the sport is played in three schools in the U.K and we are confident the game will keep spreading with time. My dream is to see it become an Olympic and Paralympic sport. Bonezaball is a fascinating sport. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
