When Christopher Shale visited Rwanda in 2007, little did he know his family would live a lasting legacy on the small East African country.
A passionate cricketer, Shale saw the need for a proper cricket facility in Rwanda and he committed to seeing this dream come to reality.
Unfortunately he passed on in 2011 but his son Alby Shale took up the responsibility to make sure that his father’s dream comes to reality.
Alby has lived in Rwanda for the last two years raising over £1M through the Rwanda Cricket Stadium Foundation.
The stadium was officially opened by HE Paul Kagame the President of Rwanda who had to brave a morning downpour to grace the event.
Dressed in gentle clothing and a signature Rwanda Cricket sun hat, the man who has led the recovery of the small nation was a reminder of the commitment of how his government is using sports to bring the nation together.
The government of Rwanda offered the 4.5 acres of land on which the stadium sits and also offered a tax waiver on all construction materials used on the ground.
The two complete phases of the ground have been completed in just a year and phase 3 will be handled in the next round of fundraising.
Located in Kicukiro District, the Gahanga Stadium gets its name from the its location Gahanga Sector.
The iconic pavilion, an impression of a bouncing ball, it includes dressing rooms, a bar with a pavilion at the top. The stadium overlooks the suburbs of Kigali and the adjacent hills of the rest of Kigali, the windy conditions will be useful to seam bowlers when the ground hosts international tournaments.
Hershe Gibbs, a South African legend who featured in the celebrity cricket match, named Gahanga as one of the top 5 cricket grounds he has played cricket besides his home ground New Lands and the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in India.
Current RCA President Eddie Balaba was all smiles the whole weekend and obviously thrilled. He knows with Gahanga now officially opened, they will have to work overtime as an association to make sure they fully utilize the facility.
The Gahanga project is in 3 phases and so far only Phase 1 (Ground) and Phase 2 (Pavilion) are complete. Phase 3 includes parking and another ground which will be undertaken after 2 more years of fundraising.
We have plans to at least host 3 major international events every year and we already have plans to upgrade our old ground at Kicukiro and with the second ground at Gahanga we shall have at least 3 international standard grounds.
In his notes, David Cameron former PM of the UK noted that;
The RCSF was formed with the aim of building a future for cricket in Rwanda, RCSF is seeking to support the rebuilding of communities in Rwanda under its new name Cricket Builds Hope. The focus of Cricket Builds Hope will be on the vulnerable women and girls in Gahanga where the stadium is located.
RCSF Co-Founder Edo Mapelli-Mozi lauded the Shale family for their vision in seeing this through
Christopher loved Rwanda and he loved cricket and he saw the joy the game gave to people who had such a troubled past.
It was typical both of his desire to help others and his ability to think big, that rather than bemoaning the lack of facilities.
He came up with an ambitious plan to raise money to build a proper home for cricket in Rwanda. His vision has now been realized.
The Shale family was left in tears at he end of the celebrity game when it finally hit them that their father’s dream had finally come to pass.
The plaque at the ground reads; “Gahanga Cricket Stadium officially opened by HE Paul Kagame in memory of Christopher Shale” a befitting tribute to a visionary man.
Halfway through the job, the Shale family is still committed to Rwanda through the Cricket Builds Hope initiative and they also still have work to do on the ground.
The Cricket Build Hope tournament which was won by Uganda in its first edition will be played on an annual basis, however they will need to have it played earlier in the year to avoid the wet season.
The Yorkshire connections of the Shale family in the UK should help attract more celebrities next year to add to the class of Micheal Vaughan, Sam Billings, Steve Tikolo, Jimmy Kamande and Hershe Gibbs that showed up this year.
Eddie Balaba sums up the relevance of Gahanga to the future of cricket in Rwanda;
Rwandans can finally watch their national team on home soil. This will engage young people inspiring them to be cricket stars of the future.
It’s clear Cricket will be never be the same in Rwanda thanks largely to the memory of Christopher Shale.
