Kinshasa, 19 December 2010 - MONUSCO Western Brigade Commander, Brig Gl Martin Owusu-Ababio, distributed 70 soccer balls to team site leaders who gathered in a symbolic ceremony in Kinshasa on 19 December to promote peace and unity among Congolese through sportsmanship.

"Experience in conflict torn areas shows that a sport like football has the potential to bring people together and often serves as a source of unity, thereby forcing hatred and enmity to evaporate," said the Military Observers Commander, Lt Col Sanjay Ahuja, one of the organizers.

The team site leaders present at the ceremony came from Gbadolite, Gemena, Mbandaka, Bandundu, Mbuji-Mayi and Kinshasa. Encouraged by the success of this initiative, they agreed to take it further to the rest of the country under the slogan "Give Football, Give Happiness."