what football means to me (in HD)

check out this short video in full HD glory of Kwizera, the boys coach from Busanza as he speaks on what football means to his life.

a translation expert in kigali

Stephen Gatari was Play for Hope's translator in Kigali. He was sent to us by God..well

figuratively at least- Africa New Life Ministries, the activist church where we went to play with street kids every Monday, referred him to our group and he was such an asset to the team!

Not only assisting to preach to the hundreds of Rwandans crowding our clinics, he also went on national radio, in front of thousands of listeners. His english was amongtthe best around!

If you want to contact him for his services (his rates are the best around, seriously!) you can reach him by email at salig50@yahoo.com or by phone at (+250) 078 835 3283

Chillin with me at a bar next to the stadium sippin on some Fantas

Goofin off with a couple of the volunteers at the Kigali Hope Festival.

Check out this video from his radio interview

the play for hope tourney

The tourney @ amahoro stade was a smash success. Hundreds came out to support the 12 teams involved, and the kids played very well on the main stage of kigali's national stadium. Here's some of the highlight shots:

Kimisagara v. Rugunga Day 1

Day 1 opening match boys from Samuduha march around stadium

street boys from Busanza with Rwanda star striker Jimmy Gatete (in black), and Radio10's "DJ Shaka" (back left wearing button-up) on July 15, 2009

boys from Kanombe are psyched for their match on day 1! July 15, 2009

player from Gatenga scores against the u-20 boys from Kanombe

Coach Erasto from Kimisagara preps his team before the championship match vs Gatenga. July 16, 2009

Hope for Life Home in Kabunga

We drew a huge crowd when we went to Kabunga's open market to play with the kids.

Last Saturday we took off for the second time to visit a home called Hope for Life. There are 14 boys in Kabunga, who have been given a second chance at life through the shelter that two college students helped establish just a four months ago.

Since March of this year these boys have been taken off the streets and given schooling, proper nutrition and love. In only this short time they have made great improvements in their health and outlook on life. While they act up at times, being in this environment has done wonders for them.

Its a simple example of how much change can be created by just a few individuals with a passion for the children of Rwanda. You can see more about this great project here: http://hilliarysart.com/HFL/index.html

within 2 minutes of showin up the the field we had drawn a crowd of over 200. The muzungu show was officially on!

Jess showin off her phenom heading skills

bike taxis look on to get a view of the action

bought some sukali at the local market, and tried our hand at eatin it

turns out they were a little more skilled than we were

our group at the kid's home

Gooooaaall

videos from Rwanda- 5dmk2

Here's the first preview of what vids I've been able to shoot here in Rwanda
heres some

Football Drills in Gatenga from Ryan Bowen on Vimeo.

Heres an impromptu worship session after putting on a soccer clinic...

Kids in Rwanda worship in Kinyarwandan from Ryan Bowen on Vimeo.

Playin with the kids

Just wrapped day 3 of sports camps with play for hope..so far we've had over 100 kids a day show up. Many of the kids we're workin with are street children who don't go to school, so theres plenty of energy for them to get out.

Day 1: without a kinyarwandan speaker to guide us, we pantomimed the soccer drills. Over 100 children showed up, ages ranging from 4-18-ish



Day 2: miraculously with Serious, our Rwandan sports ministry guide, the camps moved flawlessly. We americans just stood by watching the fruit of our labor.


coach esteban leading the children from the field to go hear a message and lead a prayer.



Pastor Will from the Luis Palau Association leads the kids in a prayer after playing



this boy was too cute to pass up. He played on the side while we lead the older children in soccer passing and handling skills



a group getting their trainin on!


kids are LOOOOvin the camera.. this is one of many to come.

across the atlantic and down into the dark continent

I made it to Kigali, Rwanda this afternoon. The internet @ the house I'm at is very slow, so uploading images is proving t be taking quite a while. Enjoy these, many more to come..slowly but surely!

was stuck in London for an extra 24 hours after missing my connection, but tried to make the most out of it.

here's the airport connection to kigali..

Play for Hope-Rwanda - Images by Ryan Bowen