Bonavada veterans: Using sport to promote social cohesion and community development

The President of BONAVADA Veterans, Mr Emmanuel Lifita Mbella, is championing an important vision in which sport is used not only for recreation and competition, but also as an instrument for social cohesion, community participation and sustainable community development.

Through football and other community sporting activities, BONAVADA Veterans continue to create spaces where people from different villages, age groups and social backgrounds can meet, interact and strengthen relationships.

At a time when communities need stronger bonds and greater participation in local development, such initiatives demonstrate how something as simple as a football match can contribute to a much broader objective: bringing people together around a shared community identity.

A Special Women’s Veterans Football Encounter

One of the activities reflecting this vision is a special football encounter between BONAVADA Veterans Women and Bonakanda Veterans Women, organised by BONAVADA Veterans.

The encounter is particularly significant because it expands community sporting activities beyond the conventional participation of men. It gives women an opportunity to participate, reconnect, exercise, socialise and contribute to the wider community spirit created through sport.

The involvement of women also reinforces an important development principle: community development must be inclusive. Women should not only be beneficiaries of community initiatives but active participants in creating and sustaining them.

Sport as a Platform for Social Cohesion

Sport possesses a remarkable capacity to break down social barriers. On the football field, differences in profession, economic status, family background or village of origin become less important. People come together around common rules, common objectives and a shared experience.

For communities such as BONAVADA, sporting activities can therefore help strengthen relationships among people from the different villages, encourage interaction between generations and provide opportunities for individuals who might otherwise rarely meet to build friendships.

This is where the wider value of the initiative becomes evident. The real victory is not simply determined by the final score; it is found in the relationships created and strengthened through the game.

Promoting Women’s Participation and Healthy Living

The special encounter also highlights the connection between sport, women's participation and healthy living.

Regular physical activity contributes to personal well-being, while organised community sport provides opportunities for recreation and social interaction.

For veteran participants in particular, football can encourage people to remain physically active while maintaining strong connections with friends and their communities.

Encouraging women to participate equally also sends a positive message to younger generations, particularly girls, that community sport belongs to everyone.

Building Bridges Between Villages

BONAVADA is made stronger when its constituent communities see themselves not merely as separate villages but as partners with common interests and a shared future sport provides a practical platform for building those bridges.

A football encounter may last only a few hours, but the conversations, friendships and networks created around it can continue long afterwards.

These relationships can become useful when communities need to mobilise around issues such as youth development, education, environmental protection, health, cultural promotion and other community-development initiatives.

In this sense, sport becomes an entry point for broader cooperation.

Veterans Giving Back to the Community

The involvement of veterans carries another important message. Veterans possess experience, community connections and leadership that can be channelled towards supporting younger generations and strengthening community institutions.

Under the leadership of President Emmanuel Lifita Mbella, BONAVADA Veterans are demonstrating that veterans' associations can have a role beyond sporting reunions. They can become platforms for mentorship, social mobilisation, community service and development.

This approach gives greater meaning to veterans' activities because it connects the enjoyment of sport with responsibility towards the community.

From Competition to Community Development

The vision being promoted by BONAVADA Veterans recognises that sporting events can serve several purposes simultaneously. They can provide entertainment and recreation while also promoting peaceful coexistence, inclusion, friendship, physical well-being, women's participation and community solidarity.

The special encounter between BONAVADA Veterans Women and Bonakanda Veterans Women therefore represents more than another fixture on the football calendar.

It demonstrates what can happen when community organisations deliberately use sport to bring people together.

One Community, One Shared Future

The initiative ultimately carries a simple message: strong communities are built when people have opportunities to meet, participate and work together.

Through the leadership of Mr Emmanuel Lifita Mbella and the collective commitment of BONAVADA Veterans, sport is gradually becoming an important platform for strengthening relationships and encouraging greater participation in community life.

Football may provide the meeting point, but unity, inclusion and community development are the greater goals.

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