Brighton Chiseva
ZAKA – Heal Zimbabwe Trust is preaching peace through sport in the country and the first tournament it organised in Masvingo province was held at Zaka High School last weekend.
Speaking to TellZim News after the tournament, Heal Zimbabwe advocacy and programmes manager Cleto Manjovha said the organisation had lined up 20 tournaments to be played this year.
He said the tournaments were meant to promote peace among youths of different political persuasions by putting them in the same teams that play together.
“We want to promote peace by making sure that the youths spend at least eight hours in co-existence. We also invite their political leaders and this sends a strong message to the youths that if their leaders can mingle, they too can do the same,” said Manjovha.
He said it would be good if more resources can be mobilised so that the 20 tournaments planned can be increased in order to expand the ’15 million voices talking peace’ initiative.
Zaka district MDC senator Misheck Marava thanked Heal Zimbabwe for the initiative which he said had shown the way by which people should coexist in peace.
“I want to thank Heal Zimbabwe for the programme. They managed to preach peace to the people who were present and they overcame the politicking that some people wanted to bring in,” said Marava.
Zaka Central legislator and the initial organiser and sponsor of the tournament, Paradzai Chakona praised the event as fruitful and thanked Heal Zimbabwe for solving differences that had initially threaten to derail the exercise.
“We disagreed on the issue of the venue and the theme but we managed to resolve the small dispute and the event was successful and we were together with guys from the opposition, the likes of Marava,” said Chakona.
Twenty teams participated in the tournament which saw Chinounye Stars walking away with the floating trophy, with only two coming from outside Zaka Central.local
