Winter Olympic Games Excite Rwandan Villagers Through Satellite Project

By Xinhua

Feb 06, 2022 01:27 AM 

Students of GS (Group Scolaire) Kicukiro watch the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Kigali, capital of Rwanda, Feb. 4, 2022.

Residents of Indatemwa cell, Rutunga sector, Gasabo district, in the Kigali city suburbs were treated to a thrilling opening ceremony of 2022 Winter Olympics in the Chinese capital Beijing on Friday through "Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages" project in their community.

"We were very happy to watch the opening ceremony. You can see the villagers are happy and entertained. It is the first time we watched these kind of games," Claudine Abandibana, Executive Secretary of Indatemwa cell told Xinhua in an interview.

She said that the satellite TV enabled them to watch the games because without it they couldn't have afforded to watch Winter Olympics because many of the people in the community don't have the TVs. "We are grateful for the satellite equipment that allowed us to watch the games. We shall use the equipment to watch news and follow the current events of public importance," said Abandibana.

"Watching the Winter Olympic Games is a good opportunity for our children to learn these kind of games that featured in Winter Olympics," Emmanuel Bikorimana, one of the Indatemwa residents told Xinhua, adding that "it will motivate and inspire our children to grow up loving sports and get to know a wide range of sports."

Bikorimana said that he is looking forward to seeing more satellite TVs installed in many areas in his community to enable more people watch news and sports. "This will keep villagers busy and entertained instead of spending much time on things that don't add value to our community for example social and family conflicts," said Bikorimana.

In another related development, students and teachers at Groupe Scholaire Kicukiro a secondary school located in Kigali city enjoyed the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games. The school is among the beneficiaries of the satellite project.

"I was excited to watch the Winter Olympic Games, they are interesting to watch. We have been asking ourselves how can our children learn and know Olympic Games and be able to participate in the future Winter Olympic Games," said Fidele Muhitwa, sports teacher at Group Scolaire Kicukiro.

Rachel Munganyinka, senior five student at the school said she was happy and greatly entertained by the Winter Olympic Games. "We enjoyed watching Olympic Games because of the entertainment equipment that have been availed to our village. I was so excited to watch it with my fellow students. I really enjoyed the games," said Munganyinka.

The China-aided satellite TV project, which aim to provide digital TV access to 10,000 African villages is part of a project that China promised at the 2015 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Johannesburg, South Africa, to connect 10,000 African villages to satellite TV.

"After completion of the satellite project, in 2019, 2020 and 2021, we have organized our after-sales engineer team regularly to carry out daily inspection and maintenance services for the 10,000 African Villages project users," Ma Pengjing, Commercial and After-sales service Director, Star Africa Media Co., Ltd told Xinhua.

He said that during the Winter Olympic Games they ensured the routine inspection and maintenance service of the satellite project.

"Our Chinese staff will also lead the team to publicize the knowledge and schedule of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games to local villagers and help them with maintenance, so that they can enjoy the games well," said Ma.

On July 31, 2015, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the 2022 Winter Olympics to Beijing, making the Chinese capital the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Games.