Students urged to use sports to promote peace

The Central Equatoria Minister of Labour, Public Services, and Human Resource Development Modi John Molla has called on students in the state to embrace peace through sports activities.

Molla revealed the government has embarked on promoting peaceful co-existence across the country, hence, it was necessary to use sports at schools for peace.

“Central Equatoria State government is doing everything necessary and possible that can make sure that sports are fully incorporated in the curriculum,” he revealed.

 He was speaking during the finals of the CES Secondary Inter-School Competition on Tuesday at Buluk playground in Juba.

“As a tool of the unity, we urge our students across the country to use the sports…to promote peace and unity,” Molla said.

He gave an example of the spectators who were cheering their respective teams without bothering about their ethnic backgrounds.

The Central Equatoria State Minister of Education and Instruction Cirisio Zakaria lauded the initiative adding the state had gone 10 years without organizing the inter-school tournaments.

“…there has been no such school competition which is a big problem to our education because it makes our students not to develop the talents,” he stressed.

He said such a competition would encourage more youth to go back to school and develop their talents. 

“It makes the youth not to get involved in politics at early stages. Sports can unite us and reduce the rate of crime in the country,” he said.

Zakaria added that sports activities can act as a unifying factor for youth across states.

He emphasized the state government’s commitment to prioritizing sports because “it is the only way South Sudanese can get sustainable peace’’.

This was the same gospel preached by Ali Alia, a student from Juba Commercial Secondary who featured in their 2-1 win over Venus Star Secondary School.

“Football made me get out of the bad groups, like niggas, drinking, smoking, and other bad things.

“ I used to be in one of the groups where if we do not fight the other group, we have to look for ways how we can a least find one to fight,” he revealed.

He added that it was his friend that introduced him to football enabling him to withdraw from peer groups.

“Football [helps] us to love one another, gives us teamwork, meaning one cannot do without one another and in short, football means peace.”