Success Stories
SportsWorks International NGO secures the naming rights to a sports complex in Nakaziba, Uganda
Video announcement of the naming rights
Video announcement of the naming rights
Taking Football From The Streets To Big Screens: Grassroots-Level Football Brought To The Limelight.
by Carissa Rego
Paschal Agonsi, the founder of the nonprofit Turf Season, hails from the state of Lagos - Nigeria. Lagos has long been home to a variety of indigenous ethnic groups, but migration since the nineteenth century has resulted in the presence of sizable numbers of non-native Nigerian ethnic groups, many of whom are descended from former slaves who came back to Africa in the 1800s along with a thriving Middle Eastern Nigerian community.
As of 2018, around 23.5 million people were living in the Lagos metropolitan region, making it the largest metro area in Africa. In addition to being the economic center of Lagos State and all of Nigeria, Lagos is a significant financial hub for Africa. The city, which has a significant impact on business, entertainment, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, and fashion, has been called the cultural, financial, and entertainment center of Africa. Lagos is also one of the 10 cities and urban areas with the fastest rate of growth worldwide.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the Lagos metropolitan area is a significant center for education and culture. Paschal was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and lived in Nigeria for most of his life. Having done his schooling in the city, and been brought up there, he has a profound love for his country and wants to aid in its progress in the best way possible.
He noticed that there were a lot of young, talented individuals in the country who were passionate about the game of football. These young people were challenged with a lack of good coaching, training facilities, and zero career opportunities in the sport. In view of this, Paschal was motivated to advocate for the prominence of football development in the country.
Here’s a conversation with Paschal Agonsi, founder of Turf Season, on his reasons for setting up Turf season, what Turf season aims to accomplish, and how SportsWorks International NGO is aiding this nonprofit in fulfilling its mission.
As of 2018, around 23.5 million people were living in the Lagos metropolitan region, making it the largest metro area in Africa. In addition to being the economic center of Lagos State and all of Nigeria, Lagos is a significant financial hub for Africa. The city, which has a significant impact on business, entertainment, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, and fashion, has been called the cultural, financial, and entertainment center of Africa. Lagos is also one of the 10 cities and urban areas with the fastest rate of growth worldwide.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the Lagos metropolitan area is a significant center for education and culture. Paschal was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and lived in Nigeria for most of his life. Having done his schooling in the city, and been brought up there, he has a profound love for his country and wants to aid in its progress in the best way possible.
He noticed that there were a lot of young, talented individuals in the country who were passionate about the game of football. These young people were challenged with a lack of good coaching, training facilities, and zero career opportunities in the sport. In view of this, Paschal was motivated to advocate for the prominence of football development in the country.
Here’s a conversation with Paschal Agonsi, founder of Turf Season, on his reasons for setting up Turf season, what Turf season aims to accomplish, and how SportsWorks International NGO is aiding this nonprofit in fulfilling its mission.
Q1. Tell me a little about Nigeria from your viewpoint.
Nigeria is certainly one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Though the country is blessed with natural resources such as farmlands and crude oil, its most valuable resource is its people. We, in Nigeria, have an abundance of human resources that is raw and untapped potential. I strongly believe with great leadership, the Nigerian nation could be the next world economic superpower. At the moment, we are one of the biggest economies in Africa.
Q2. Why did you choose the sport - football to focus on?
Football is important in Nigeria. Almost every Nigerian is a football player or coach. During public and bank holidays, football is played on the streets of Nigeria. The sport has proved to be a great unifier in a country with around 250 tribes and different languages.
Growing up, I would see all these people set aside their differences to play football as a team. It wasn’t that football was the only game. Sports like basketball or table tennis were prominent too, but with football, social connections are instant and long-lasting. I feel Football is a lot more inclusive than other sports as it takes in more people to play the sport and thus, I choose the people's game - football.
Q3. What led to the creation of Turf Season?
Turf Season was an idea that came to me when I was looking for a way to give back to my country and society. In my teen years, I had a friend who wanted to be a professional footballer. This led him to forfeit his education in pursuit of the sport. He did in fact get a chance to compete in tryouts and with football clubs outside of Nigeria but it didn’t lead to anything concrete. He was forced to come back to Nigeria. When he was asked what had gone wrong, I wondered the same and did my research on what might have gone wrong for my friend. My research helped me unearth what it entails to be a professional footballer and as much as we would like to believe that anyone can do anything they put their mind to, some things just aren’t meant to be, without the right information.
I gained a good insight into the requirements that professional football associations have and realized that most people harboring the dream of playing a sport for money didn’t know what the reality of the matter was. The number of football clubs is scarce which means there is a limit to the number of opportunities budding footballers have.
These facts generally get overlooked by passionate players and no one cares to highlight these essential facts.
To make matters worse, such information isn’t available on the internet or other public forums. My research helped me gain a lot of knowledge that I felt was imperative to share and educate people so as to save them from any sort of disappointment when they aren't able to bag the jobs of their dreams.
Q4. What is Turf Season all about and how has it been substantial in bringing about a change in society?
Day in and day out, we watch football being played on our televisions, inspiring millions of young children to play the sport. So many of them envision themselves playing the game at a professional level but have no idea where to go and how to start their professional journey, the demands, the challenges, and the obstacles.
To feed the passion of these young enthusiasts, while protecting them from fake agents and human trafficking rings, I decided to start Turf season. Though Nigeria has some of the best talents the world can find, the way the football industry is structured cannot accommodate jobs for the millions of prospects attracted to the game. Moreover, there is a limit to how many people can get accepted into a club, and their acceptance isn’t just based on the skills the player possesses. When talent meets talent, talent is no longer enough. An individual's personality, character, and profile are all taken into consideration to be able to secure a spot on the team.
At Turf Season, we aim to provide young players with a global platform to showcase their talent as well as the right education on what it takes to be a professional footballer. We also advise players to consider education and skill development as a backup plan for their football career.
Turf Season is like a community for people who love football and people who would like to make a profession out of the game. Since its inception in 2015, we have been able to directly and personally impact about 2000 people. If we take into consideration our reach online through digital media platforms, the number could easily be close to one million people impacted.
Q5. How has SportsWorks International NGO aided Turf Season in its journey?
We had a league in 2021 that allowed us to compete with various football teams and connect with them. These players didn’t have the right equipment and kits to play the game. SportsWorks International NGO led by John Klintworth was quick to help us acquire the necessary kits. Our relationship with SportsWorks is more than a partnership to transform lives through Sports. We feel more like family and today, we are an amazing global community of people dedicated to creating a better world.
Q6. What is your vision for Turf Seasons’ future?
We aim to let young people know that it is good to have a dream but they must also have a realistically attainable dream. We don’t want the youth to waste their time trying to pursue a professional career in football without knowing what they are getting into. We want to educate, inform and provide them with the means to discover and grow their talent in turn growing holistically as individuals.
We would love to have more of a direct impact on individuals and have the right infrastructure in place to measure the impact we have created in our society.
Through the distribution of sports equipment and the placement of the right facilities, we want to encourage people to play the sport more. Right now we don’t have good pitches and infrastructure to offer for professional training and practice. We hope to be able to offer these young players the right means to develop their skills in order to scout the best talent.
We also want to offer the youth more opportunities. We want them to think of ways to contribute positively to the growth and development of society. I think the onus is upon us to provide them with the right information and guidance for it to be a Win-Win situation for everyone involved. Providing them with the right education will aid them in making informed choices in their careers.
Nigeria is certainly one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Though the country is blessed with natural resources such as farmlands and crude oil, its most valuable resource is its people. We, in Nigeria, have an abundance of human resources that is raw and untapped potential. I strongly believe with great leadership, the Nigerian nation could be the next world economic superpower. At the moment, we are one of the biggest economies in Africa.
Q2. Why did you choose the sport - football to focus on?
Football is important in Nigeria. Almost every Nigerian is a football player or coach. During public and bank holidays, football is played on the streets of Nigeria. The sport has proved to be a great unifier in a country with around 250 tribes and different languages.
Growing up, I would see all these people set aside their differences to play football as a team. It wasn’t that football was the only game. Sports like basketball or table tennis were prominent too, but with football, social connections are instant and long-lasting. I feel Football is a lot more inclusive than other sports as it takes in more people to play the sport and thus, I choose the people's game - football.
Q3. What led to the creation of Turf Season?
Turf Season was an idea that came to me when I was looking for a way to give back to my country and society. In my teen years, I had a friend who wanted to be a professional footballer. This led him to forfeit his education in pursuit of the sport. He did in fact get a chance to compete in tryouts and with football clubs outside of Nigeria but it didn’t lead to anything concrete. He was forced to come back to Nigeria. When he was asked what had gone wrong, I wondered the same and did my research on what might have gone wrong for my friend. My research helped me unearth what it entails to be a professional footballer and as much as we would like to believe that anyone can do anything they put their mind to, some things just aren’t meant to be, without the right information.
I gained a good insight into the requirements that professional football associations have and realized that most people harboring the dream of playing a sport for money didn’t know what the reality of the matter was. The number of football clubs is scarce which means there is a limit to the number of opportunities budding footballers have.
These facts generally get overlooked by passionate players and no one cares to highlight these essential facts.
To make matters worse, such information isn’t available on the internet or other public forums. My research helped me gain a lot of knowledge that I felt was imperative to share and educate people so as to save them from any sort of disappointment when they aren't able to bag the jobs of their dreams.
Q4. What is Turf Season all about and how has it been substantial in bringing about a change in society?
Day in and day out, we watch football being played on our televisions, inspiring millions of young children to play the sport. So many of them envision themselves playing the game at a professional level but have no idea where to go and how to start their professional journey, the demands, the challenges, and the obstacles.
To feed the passion of these young enthusiasts, while protecting them from fake agents and human trafficking rings, I decided to start Turf season. Though Nigeria has some of the best talents the world can find, the way the football industry is structured cannot accommodate jobs for the millions of prospects attracted to the game. Moreover, there is a limit to how many people can get accepted into a club, and their acceptance isn’t just based on the skills the player possesses. When talent meets talent, talent is no longer enough. An individual's personality, character, and profile are all taken into consideration to be able to secure a spot on the team.
At Turf Season, we aim to provide young players with a global platform to showcase their talent as well as the right education on what it takes to be a professional footballer. We also advise players to consider education and skill development as a backup plan for their football career.
Turf Season is like a community for people who love football and people who would like to make a profession out of the game. Since its inception in 2015, we have been able to directly and personally impact about 2000 people. If we take into consideration our reach online through digital media platforms, the number could easily be close to one million people impacted.
Q5. How has SportsWorks International NGO aided Turf Season in its journey?
We had a league in 2021 that allowed us to compete with various football teams and connect with them. These players didn’t have the right equipment and kits to play the game. SportsWorks International NGO led by John Klintworth was quick to help us acquire the necessary kits. Our relationship with SportsWorks is more than a partnership to transform lives through Sports. We feel more like family and today, we are an amazing global community of people dedicated to creating a better world.
Q6. What is your vision for Turf Seasons’ future?
We aim to let young people know that it is good to have a dream but they must also have a realistically attainable dream. We don’t want the youth to waste their time trying to pursue a professional career in football without knowing what they are getting into. We want to educate, inform and provide them with the means to discover and grow their talent in turn growing holistically as individuals.
We would love to have more of a direct impact on individuals and have the right infrastructure in place to measure the impact we have created in our society.
Through the distribution of sports equipment and the placement of the right facilities, we want to encourage people to play the sport more. Right now we don’t have good pitches and infrastructure to offer for professional training and practice. We hope to be able to offer these young players the right means to develop their skills in order to scout the best talent.
We also want to offer the youth more opportunities. We want them to think of ways to contribute positively to the growth and development of society. I think the onus is upon us to provide them with the right information and guidance for it to be a Win-Win situation for everyone involved. Providing them with the right education will aid them in making informed choices in their careers.
UBUNTU PANAFRICANISM AND WELFARE FOR AFRICANS(UPAWA): A JOURNEY OF RESILIENCE AMIDST BITING POVERTY
by Simon Kahiga
Songea district is a rural area located in Ruvuma Region some 1054 kilometers southwest of Dar es Salaam the commercial city of Tanzania. The area’s main economic activity is small-scale farming. It is usually postulated that most communities that are based in agricultural areas in Africa face a barrage of endemic challenges with poverty being the most dominant malady.
Kasheni Sengo is a trained teacher, having graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education in 2016, and currently pursuing post-graduate training in project management. After graduation from college, Mr. Sengo worked as a secondary school teacher in various high schools in Ruvuma that delivered education with humanitarian aspects. Most of those schools received sponsorship from various United Kingdom-based charitable organizations. Mr. Sengo learned the ropes of humanitarian work on the job in his stints at various secondary schools.
Equipped with the necessary experience, undying zeal, and a vision to empower children, women, and disabled young people in his community with basic education and lifelong skills, Mr. Sengo resigned from full-time employment and registered Ubuntu Pan-Africanism and Welfare for Africans UPAWA as a Community Based Organisation (CBO) which has its headquarters in Songea. Because a CBO in Tanzania is registered to work in only one district, Mr. Sengo later registered the organization as an NGO in order to operate in the whole of Tanzania. Currently, it has programs in the areas of Songea, Namtumbo, and Nyasa which are areas of the larger Ruvuma Region.
The organization runs its programs by working with children to ensure that access to education as their human rights is upheld. In Tanzania, basic education from pre-primary, primary, and secondary school is free and guaranteed by the government but due to debilitating poverty that afflicts farming families in Ruvuma province, most children are deterred from enjoying the right to education to the fullest and school dropout ratio is very high because many children lack basic school necessities such as school uniforms, stationeries, sporting facilities, equipment, uniforms and other hygiene products such as tissue papers and sanitary pads for girls.
In Tanzania’s rural areas the youth, girls, women, and the disabled face myriad societal ills and problems. These include societal stigmas, underage marriages, lack of employment, lack of basic education, and discrimination of the disabled members of the society for example many traditional mistaken beliefs in Africa take disability as a curse and punishments as a result of mistakes of relatives, albinism is loathed in many communities in Tanzania and many people with albinism are endangered people since they are targeted by witchdoctors who target them for killing in order to harvest body parts by crooked people who believe that people who live albinism have magical powers and thus use their body parts as ingredients to make charms.
Other challenges also include lack of capital for extensive and effective farming practices, lack of market for products, and lack of extension services UPAWA has been acting as a bridge between the inexperienced peasant farmers and professionals in various fields.
UPAWA has abdicated itself the duty to run programs that have been empowering young girls and women who undergo underage marriages. The women are enabled to get economic empowerment by facilitating them undergo training and thus impacting upon them skills that enable them to start and run small businesses and get skills that help them start and run small scale farming and agro-business.
UPAWA is also involved in alleviating the problem of employment amongst the youth by trying to empower and enabling them to get conducive mentorship on sports, and modern agricultural practices, facilitating the youth get information and network with friendly loan granting institutions, connecting the youth with extension services that teach then best agricultural practices. These efforts are geared towards enabling the youth to attain self-employment for themselves and also enable them to create sustainable employment for other youths. Programs in this area also enable the people living with disability to get economic empowerment and enable them to self-sustain themselves by changing their mindsets and helping them exploit entrepreneurship talents in them.
Still, in agriculture UPAWA has helped 78 women who are mainly widows and HIV-positive women get training on sustainable agricultural practices, facilitating them to access loans, extension services, and marketing. The women have got extensive training in garlic cultivation, chicken farming, and pig production. The women are taught important practices in organic farming and thus assist them to participate in protecting the environment and thus help in accelerating UN goals in climate mitigation.
UPAWA has also been involved in tree planting projects where around 250 tree seedlings have been planted in Mawa primary school. The project of tree planting is aimed at teaching young children the importance of caring for and protecting the environment and helping in efforts geared toward climate mitigation.
UPAWA has been involved in impacting positive mentorship upon primary school-going children. The program involves running sporting events and offering free lectures to school-going children in primary school by trying to change the mindset that they have in that school ends at standard 7. Many of them can believe and take the fallacy as an engraved culture. Many children are joining secondary schools nowadays. During the lectures, Mr. Sengo and UPAWA have been able to identify some 20 children who live in abject poverty and are thus disadvantaged because their parents are unable to buy small necessities that the kids need in order to attend school daily. UPAWA has been able to buy necessities and this has helped to keep the kids in school to date. Under the program, UPAWA identified 2 extremely disabled children who could not attend school due to a lack of necessary items and aiding devices to help them maneuver their way in the disabled unfriendly school facilities. The two children are able to attend school due to the efforts of Mr. Sengo.
UPAWA is also undertaking visibility studies to facilitate Mawa School to get water for internal use in order to ensure hygiene for the children and also to enable the kids to get clean drinking water and also water for cooking daytime meals.
UPAWA has also made strides by running peer education for girl children by teaching them about productive rights in order to reduce underage pregnancies which is also a common phenomenon in poor rural areas of Tanzania. UPAWA offers free lectures and mentorship sessions in girls and mixed schools in the areas of Songea, Namtumbo, and Nyasa.
SPORTSWORKS INTERNATIONAL NGO
It was during public schools mentorship lectures that were aimed to facilitate education for school children that Mr. Sengo came to learn of the challenges that girls at Mlilayoyo mixed public primary school were facing in that the learning environment was not conducive for those experiencing a monthly period. The school did not have suitable toilets and those that were there posed a hazard to the children. The local community and the parents at the school had an idea of building a modern ablution block with modern pit latrines which were conducive to learning. The community was not able to complete the construction of the project and UPAWA petitioned. Mr. Sengo in April 2022 met Mr. John Klintworth who is the director of SportsWorks International NGO. The organization through Mr. John made a financial donation that enabled UPAWA to chip in and help in plastering the exterior walls of the ablution block. Other finishing work is still ongoing though a lot of essential work in interiors, doors, sinks, and water is still pending.
The partnership between UPAWA and SportsWorks International NGO is exploring ways of further partnership that will help to alleviate many of the problems that affect the farming communities in the southwest areas of Tanzania. The partnership has resulted in a GofundMe Crowdfunding campaign that is aimed at raising funds that will help UPAWA complete pending projects example the girl's school ablution renovation that will help in assisting girls to access quality education in a friendly environment.
Other projects are lined for funding through upcoming GoFundMe campaigns. Mr. Sengo is optimistic that prospective donors will seriously consider heeding the calls for funding since the challenges that his organization intends to address are endemic to Ruvuma province due to its geographical location which is a place away from most social amenities associated with African big cities and towns. Most rural communities live disconnected lives due to a lack of effective communication which denies many people the right to adapt to changing societal life trends.
CHALLENGES
UPAWA has been facing a lot of challenges that include a lack of sustainable sources of income that can help supplement and help the organization hire permanent staff. UPAWA relies heavily on volunteers who are mostly unreliable as most of the time they are needed they are either engaged elsewhere or lack transport to commute from their residencies to UPAWA offices and or the field where most of the programs are carried. UPAWA has a great need to hire a finance officer, secretary, office administrator, peer educators, agricultural extension officers, and marketers.
Individual donations are unpredictable and thus not sustainable. UPAWA also coordinates its programs and projects in a rented office space thus paying for the monthly rent is very challenging. Transport for Mr. Sengo and volunteers is a challenge due to a shortage of funds. Also, the organization UPAWA is unable to attract international volunteers as Mr. Sengo had envisioned since local facilitation will be utter challenging and difficult. UPAWA has had the ambition of fully incorporating sporting activities in its programs but at the moment due to financial constraints the organization is unable to donate sporting items, equipment, and necessities to enable children and to youth fully embrace and feel the impact of the programs.
UPAWA has a lot of challenges while striving to network the needy 20 children with sponsors who can facilitate them and offer financial help in order to alleviate their plight.
The lack of resources has put a lot of strain on Mr. Sengo who is forced to utilize income from his personal taxi business to run the organization's programs. With milestones so far achieved and with the many challenges encountered Mr. Sengo is very optimistic that UPAWA will achieve its mission of uplifting ills that afflict his community in Ruvuma province. The journey is akin to a marathon rather than a sprint.
Kasheni Sengo is a trained teacher, having graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education in 2016, and currently pursuing post-graduate training in project management. After graduation from college, Mr. Sengo worked as a secondary school teacher in various high schools in Ruvuma that delivered education with humanitarian aspects. Most of those schools received sponsorship from various United Kingdom-based charitable organizations. Mr. Sengo learned the ropes of humanitarian work on the job in his stints at various secondary schools.
Equipped with the necessary experience, undying zeal, and a vision to empower children, women, and disabled young people in his community with basic education and lifelong skills, Mr. Sengo resigned from full-time employment and registered Ubuntu Pan-Africanism and Welfare for Africans UPAWA as a Community Based Organisation (CBO) which has its headquarters in Songea. Because a CBO in Tanzania is registered to work in only one district, Mr. Sengo later registered the organization as an NGO in order to operate in the whole of Tanzania. Currently, it has programs in the areas of Songea, Namtumbo, and Nyasa which are areas of the larger Ruvuma Region.
The organization runs its programs by working with children to ensure that access to education as their human rights is upheld. In Tanzania, basic education from pre-primary, primary, and secondary school is free and guaranteed by the government but due to debilitating poverty that afflicts farming families in Ruvuma province, most children are deterred from enjoying the right to education to the fullest and school dropout ratio is very high because many children lack basic school necessities such as school uniforms, stationeries, sporting facilities, equipment, uniforms and other hygiene products such as tissue papers and sanitary pads for girls.
In Tanzania’s rural areas the youth, girls, women, and the disabled face myriad societal ills and problems. These include societal stigmas, underage marriages, lack of employment, lack of basic education, and discrimination of the disabled members of the society for example many traditional mistaken beliefs in Africa take disability as a curse and punishments as a result of mistakes of relatives, albinism is loathed in many communities in Tanzania and many people with albinism are endangered people since they are targeted by witchdoctors who target them for killing in order to harvest body parts by crooked people who believe that people who live albinism have magical powers and thus use their body parts as ingredients to make charms.
Other challenges also include lack of capital for extensive and effective farming practices, lack of market for products, and lack of extension services UPAWA has been acting as a bridge between the inexperienced peasant farmers and professionals in various fields.
UPAWA has abdicated itself the duty to run programs that have been empowering young girls and women who undergo underage marriages. The women are enabled to get economic empowerment by facilitating them undergo training and thus impacting upon them skills that enable them to start and run small businesses and get skills that help them start and run small scale farming and agro-business.
UPAWA is also involved in alleviating the problem of employment amongst the youth by trying to empower and enabling them to get conducive mentorship on sports, and modern agricultural practices, facilitating the youth get information and network with friendly loan granting institutions, connecting the youth with extension services that teach then best agricultural practices. These efforts are geared towards enabling the youth to attain self-employment for themselves and also enable them to create sustainable employment for other youths. Programs in this area also enable the people living with disability to get economic empowerment and enable them to self-sustain themselves by changing their mindsets and helping them exploit entrepreneurship talents in them.
Still, in agriculture UPAWA has helped 78 women who are mainly widows and HIV-positive women get training on sustainable agricultural practices, facilitating them to access loans, extension services, and marketing. The women have got extensive training in garlic cultivation, chicken farming, and pig production. The women are taught important practices in organic farming and thus assist them to participate in protecting the environment and thus help in accelerating UN goals in climate mitigation.
UPAWA has also been involved in tree planting projects where around 250 tree seedlings have been planted in Mawa primary school. The project of tree planting is aimed at teaching young children the importance of caring for and protecting the environment and helping in efforts geared toward climate mitigation.
UPAWA has been involved in impacting positive mentorship upon primary school-going children. The program involves running sporting events and offering free lectures to school-going children in primary school by trying to change the mindset that they have in that school ends at standard 7. Many of them can believe and take the fallacy as an engraved culture. Many children are joining secondary schools nowadays. During the lectures, Mr. Sengo and UPAWA have been able to identify some 20 children who live in abject poverty and are thus disadvantaged because their parents are unable to buy small necessities that the kids need in order to attend school daily. UPAWA has been able to buy necessities and this has helped to keep the kids in school to date. Under the program, UPAWA identified 2 extremely disabled children who could not attend school due to a lack of necessary items and aiding devices to help them maneuver their way in the disabled unfriendly school facilities. The two children are able to attend school due to the efforts of Mr. Sengo.
UPAWA is also undertaking visibility studies to facilitate Mawa School to get water for internal use in order to ensure hygiene for the children and also to enable the kids to get clean drinking water and also water for cooking daytime meals.
UPAWA has also made strides by running peer education for girl children by teaching them about productive rights in order to reduce underage pregnancies which is also a common phenomenon in poor rural areas of Tanzania. UPAWA offers free lectures and mentorship sessions in girls and mixed schools in the areas of Songea, Namtumbo, and Nyasa.
SPORTSWORKS INTERNATIONAL NGO
It was during public schools mentorship lectures that were aimed to facilitate education for school children that Mr. Sengo came to learn of the challenges that girls at Mlilayoyo mixed public primary school were facing in that the learning environment was not conducive for those experiencing a monthly period. The school did not have suitable toilets and those that were there posed a hazard to the children. The local community and the parents at the school had an idea of building a modern ablution block with modern pit latrines which were conducive to learning. The community was not able to complete the construction of the project and UPAWA petitioned. Mr. Sengo in April 2022 met Mr. John Klintworth who is the director of SportsWorks International NGO. The organization through Mr. John made a financial donation that enabled UPAWA to chip in and help in plastering the exterior walls of the ablution block. Other finishing work is still ongoing though a lot of essential work in interiors, doors, sinks, and water is still pending.
The partnership between UPAWA and SportsWorks International NGO is exploring ways of further partnership that will help to alleviate many of the problems that affect the farming communities in the southwest areas of Tanzania. The partnership has resulted in a GofundMe Crowdfunding campaign that is aimed at raising funds that will help UPAWA complete pending projects example the girl's school ablution renovation that will help in assisting girls to access quality education in a friendly environment.
Other projects are lined for funding through upcoming GoFundMe campaigns. Mr. Sengo is optimistic that prospective donors will seriously consider heeding the calls for funding since the challenges that his organization intends to address are endemic to Ruvuma province due to its geographical location which is a place away from most social amenities associated with African big cities and towns. Most rural communities live disconnected lives due to a lack of effective communication which denies many people the right to adapt to changing societal life trends.
CHALLENGES
UPAWA has been facing a lot of challenges that include a lack of sustainable sources of income that can help supplement and help the organization hire permanent staff. UPAWA relies heavily on volunteers who are mostly unreliable as most of the time they are needed they are either engaged elsewhere or lack transport to commute from their residencies to UPAWA offices and or the field where most of the programs are carried. UPAWA has a great need to hire a finance officer, secretary, office administrator, peer educators, agricultural extension officers, and marketers.
Individual donations are unpredictable and thus not sustainable. UPAWA also coordinates its programs and projects in a rented office space thus paying for the monthly rent is very challenging. Transport for Mr. Sengo and volunteers is a challenge due to a shortage of funds. Also, the organization UPAWA is unable to attract international volunteers as Mr. Sengo had envisioned since local facilitation will be utter challenging and difficult. UPAWA has had the ambition of fully incorporating sporting activities in its programs but at the moment due to financial constraints the organization is unable to donate sporting items, equipment, and necessities to enable children and to youth fully embrace and feel the impact of the programs.
UPAWA has a lot of challenges while striving to network the needy 20 children with sponsors who can facilitate them and offer financial help in order to alleviate their plight.
The lack of resources has put a lot of strain on Mr. Sengo who is forced to utilize income from his personal taxi business to run the organization's programs. With milestones so far achieved and with the many challenges encountered Mr. Sengo is very optimistic that UPAWA will achieve its mission of uplifting ills that afflict his community in Ruvuma province. The journey is akin to a marathon rather than a sprint.
Claire Funderburk
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Constructing a Sports Complex In Nakaziba, Uganda In Partnership With Ba Nga AfayoBy Claire Funderburk
Nakaziba is a small village located in Uganda’s Kayunga district. The Kayunga district, located near the Great Lakes region of Africa, is home to large agricultural businesses representing ninety percent of the total employment in the region. The people of Nakaziba struggle with poverty, hunger, and lack of access to formal education. Yet, the village is not short of intelligent, hard-working, and self-motivated people driven to learn and teach themselves new skills for the betterment of their own lives and the lives of people in their community. One of these people being Joseph Ddiba, an IT expert, self-taught website designer, and community non-profit director. Unlike many children in Nakaziba, Ddiba was blessed with the gift of education which opened many doors for him throughout his life. With the gift of education Ddiba was given, he was able to start a movement working towards accessible education for children of all ages in his community. |
Ba Nga Afayo, translating to “show you care” in the Luganda language, is the name of Ddiba's non-profit created to help the people of his village who are in need. Ba Nga Afayo has several programs including child protection, early education, back-to-school programs, primary education for out-of-school children, girl child empowerment, vocational education, and sport for development. Many of Ba Nga Afayo’s programs are centered around education due to the proliferation of child labor in the region, keeping children out of school, or causing them to drop out early. If children do not have exposure to programs that help them to gain valuable skills, learn new languages, and develop critical thinking styles, they are unlikely to financially succeed later in life. Thus, making it difficult to break the cycle of familial poverty.
Young girls face additional challenges when formal education is made inaccessible to them. Young girls born into low-income families, who cannot pay for education, are often left with less decision-making power when it comes to marriages. They often marry early without another option or the freedom to decide how they will form their families. Ba Nga Afayo’s girl child empowerment program works to build the decision-making capacity of adolescent girls, increasing their autonomy and eliminating gender gaps in education.
Education also plays a crucial role in Ba Nga Afayo’s sport for development program. Sports have many developmental, emotional, and social benefits for children, yet low-income groups lack access to adequate facilities and equipment to integrate sports into the everyday lives of their community. The sports for development program works toward offering athletic spaces that serve as a multipurpose platform for skill development, community engagement, and learning opportunities. Sports can bring significant value to the lives of marginalized groups, especially those that lack access to primary and secondary schooling. The goals of Ba Nga Afayo’s sport for development program strongly align with SportsWorks Int’l NGO’s mission to enrich the lives of economically disadvantaged children and youth through sports instruction.
SportsWorks International NGO has been cultivating strong partnerships with Ba Nga Afayo and working to provide the small village with a sports complex. This sports center will be a clean and safe space for children to not only learn new athletic talents, but also acquire transferable skills for higher education, future careers, and social life. This space will be used for learning new athletic talents, becoming familiar with the English language, and providing a space for building community resilience and empowerment.
The clearing of the land for the sports complex has already begun. “We have a few materials, and we are at the beginning stages of the construction process,” relays Joseph Ddiba. Children have already started playing on the grounds of the cleared land for the complex location and SportsWorks Int’l NGO has donated equipment as well. “It is great to see the impact this facility is already having on the children, as many had fallen into depression after the Covid-19 pandemic,” when children were unable to attend school or spend time with friends. Joseph Ddiba sees the impact that the partnership between his non-profit, Ba Nga Afayo, and SportsWorks Int’l NGO has already had on the children and is “grateful for the support that SportsWorks has given our community so far.”
To continue building upon this project, SportsWorks Int’l NGO is working towards gaining more funding and forming partnerships with organizations that have a similar mission and an appreciation for the value that sports can bring to marginalized communities. SportsWorks Int’l NGO is looking forward to growing its support for communities like those in the village of Nakaziba, Uganda and others around the world. With the help of sponsors and generous partners, more children in Nakaziba can have the same opportunity of access to education as Joseph Ddiba had and more children will be able to pass the benefits of their education on to their families and community. By spreading the gift of sports to communities around the world, SportsWorks Int’l NGO hopes to build the capacity of vulnerable groups and enhance the lives of children everywhere.
Young girls face additional challenges when formal education is made inaccessible to them. Young girls born into low-income families, who cannot pay for education, are often left with less decision-making power when it comes to marriages. They often marry early without another option or the freedom to decide how they will form their families. Ba Nga Afayo’s girl child empowerment program works to build the decision-making capacity of adolescent girls, increasing their autonomy and eliminating gender gaps in education.
Education also plays a crucial role in Ba Nga Afayo’s sport for development program. Sports have many developmental, emotional, and social benefits for children, yet low-income groups lack access to adequate facilities and equipment to integrate sports into the everyday lives of their community. The sports for development program works toward offering athletic spaces that serve as a multipurpose platform for skill development, community engagement, and learning opportunities. Sports can bring significant value to the lives of marginalized groups, especially those that lack access to primary and secondary schooling. The goals of Ba Nga Afayo’s sport for development program strongly align with SportsWorks Int’l NGO’s mission to enrich the lives of economically disadvantaged children and youth through sports instruction.
SportsWorks International NGO has been cultivating strong partnerships with Ba Nga Afayo and working to provide the small village with a sports complex. This sports center will be a clean and safe space for children to not only learn new athletic talents, but also acquire transferable skills for higher education, future careers, and social life. This space will be used for learning new athletic talents, becoming familiar with the English language, and providing a space for building community resilience and empowerment.
The clearing of the land for the sports complex has already begun. “We have a few materials, and we are at the beginning stages of the construction process,” relays Joseph Ddiba. Children have already started playing on the grounds of the cleared land for the complex location and SportsWorks Int’l NGO has donated equipment as well. “It is great to see the impact this facility is already having on the children, as many had fallen into depression after the Covid-19 pandemic,” when children were unable to attend school or spend time with friends. Joseph Ddiba sees the impact that the partnership between his non-profit, Ba Nga Afayo, and SportsWorks Int’l NGO has already had on the children and is “grateful for the support that SportsWorks has given our community so far.”
To continue building upon this project, SportsWorks Int’l NGO is working towards gaining more funding and forming partnerships with organizations that have a similar mission and an appreciation for the value that sports can bring to marginalized communities. SportsWorks Int’l NGO is looking forward to growing its support for communities like those in the village of Nakaziba, Uganda and others around the world. With the help of sponsors and generous partners, more children in Nakaziba can have the same opportunity of access to education as Joseph Ddiba had and more children will be able to pass the benefits of their education on to their families and community. By spreading the gift of sports to communities around the world, SportsWorks Int’l NGO hopes to build the capacity of vulnerable groups and enhance the lives of children everywhere.
Orphanages in Punjab, Pakistan Help Women and Children Forced Into Bonded Labor In Brick Kilns
By Claire Funderburk
Of the four provinces of Pakistan, Punjab is the most populous and prosperous region of the country. Yet, this prosperity comes at a cost to women, children, and impoverished families who work in the brick kiln industry of Punjab. Thousands of people migrate each year to the rural areas of Punjab where seasonal brickwork is available for those who can’t find sources of employment elsewhere or are unable to sustain themselves off the land. People are forced to migrate in order to escape the possibility of starving at home, so workers take a loan from the brick kiln owners at the start of the season. Throughout that season, they must work making bricks in order to pay off that debt. However, most of the time, workers aren’t provided their wages or don’t learn that their debt has been worked off until the end of the season. This makes it difficult to leave the kilns and leads to a form of bonded labor or slavery.
Workers are paid for molding one thousand bricks. It doesn’t matter how many hours go into making those one thousand bricks. Most adults work fourteen hours a day making the bricks for less than minimum wage. Nor does it matter how many hands go into making the one thousand bricks. In the Punjab brick-making industry, children make up around twenty percent of the workforce. They typically work seven to twelve hours a day and do not go to school. Women make up over forty percent of the workforce in the brick kilns, yet they are rarely recognized as workers and are not paid. Families are paid as a unit with all money usually paid to the male head of the family. This puts women in difficult situations and often leads them to seek money elsewhere through sex work. This work can be dangerous and poor for women’s health.
Our partner, Healing Hands Ministries of Pakistan, operated by Qaisar Shahzad and others, has worked to open boys’ and girls’ orphanages as a sanctuary for children affected by the brick kiln industry or other blights of poverty. There are forty boys and forty girls living in each orphanage. These children, who were being sexually exploited or forced into bonded labor at the brick kilns in the sweltering heat, now have safe places to sleep, nutritious meals, are offered education, and receive Christian devotionals and prayers.
It is up to NGOs like SportsWorks International and Healing Hands Ministries to provide respite to these families fallen into the cycle of the bonded labor system. Police and Pakistani government forces do not recognize the system of bonded labor that exists within the country. They deny the system of bonded labor because “bonded labor” is no longer physical. Although the chains are not visible, families still cannot leave. The means with which the brick kiln owners use to bondage laborers is different, they withhold wages instead and make threats to families who try to leave. The payment system itself underpins bonded and child labor. Proper records are not maintained, so workers cannot argue in court if they are given the wrong wages. There is an extreme hindrance to achieving justice when authorities don’t recognize the invisible system of slavery that is at work. Furthermore, the people buying bricks and supporting the industry are the elite of Pakistan who are indifferent to what happens to these laborers. NGOs must work to help families, provide them shelter, better opportunities, and curtail a corrupt legal system that turns a blind eye to child labor and young girls turning to sex work to support their families.
In order to provide continuous support to the children in orphanages in Punjab, Pakistan, SportsWorks Int’l NGO is partnering with Healing Hands Ministries of Pakistan to coordinate alternatives for women and children escaping the bonded labor system and appreciates all support from donors or other partners seeking to help. There is strength in numbers when facing corrupt systems and power in building community. By giving the gift of community, education, shelter, and faith within these orphanages, SportsWorks Int’l NGO saves lives every day. With the help of generous partners, we can continue our work and mission, so please reach out with any questions if you or your organization feel called to get involved in the cause to fight bonded labor.
Of the four provinces of Pakistan, Punjab is the most populous and prosperous region of the country. Yet, this prosperity comes at a cost to women, children, and impoverished families who work in the brick kiln industry of Punjab. Thousands of people migrate each year to the rural areas of Punjab where seasonal brickwork is available for those who can’t find sources of employment elsewhere or are unable to sustain themselves off the land. People are forced to migrate in order to escape the possibility of starving at home, so workers take a loan from the brick kiln owners at the start of the season. Throughout that season, they must work making bricks in order to pay off that debt. However, most of the time, workers aren’t provided their wages or don’t learn that their debt has been worked off until the end of the season. This makes it difficult to leave the kilns and leads to a form of bonded labor or slavery.
Workers are paid for molding one thousand bricks. It doesn’t matter how many hours go into making those one thousand bricks. Most adults work fourteen hours a day making the bricks for less than minimum wage. Nor does it matter how many hands go into making the one thousand bricks. In the Punjab brick-making industry, children make up around twenty percent of the workforce. They typically work seven to twelve hours a day and do not go to school. Women make up over forty percent of the workforce in the brick kilns, yet they are rarely recognized as workers and are not paid. Families are paid as a unit with all money usually paid to the male head of the family. This puts women in difficult situations and often leads them to seek money elsewhere through sex work. This work can be dangerous and poor for women’s health.
Our partner, Healing Hands Ministries of Pakistan, operated by Qaisar Shahzad and others, has worked to open boys’ and girls’ orphanages as a sanctuary for children affected by the brick kiln industry or other blights of poverty. There are forty boys and forty girls living in each orphanage. These children, who were being sexually exploited or forced into bonded labor at the brick kilns in the sweltering heat, now have safe places to sleep, nutritious meals, are offered education, and receive Christian devotionals and prayers.
It is up to NGOs like SportsWorks International and Healing Hands Ministries to provide respite to these families fallen into the cycle of the bonded labor system. Police and Pakistani government forces do not recognize the system of bonded labor that exists within the country. They deny the system of bonded labor because “bonded labor” is no longer physical. Although the chains are not visible, families still cannot leave. The means with which the brick kiln owners use to bondage laborers is different, they withhold wages instead and make threats to families who try to leave. The payment system itself underpins bonded and child labor. Proper records are not maintained, so workers cannot argue in court if they are given the wrong wages. There is an extreme hindrance to achieving justice when authorities don’t recognize the invisible system of slavery that is at work. Furthermore, the people buying bricks and supporting the industry are the elite of Pakistan who are indifferent to what happens to these laborers. NGOs must work to help families, provide them shelter, better opportunities, and curtail a corrupt legal system that turns a blind eye to child labor and young girls turning to sex work to support their families.
In order to provide continuous support to the children in orphanages in Punjab, Pakistan, SportsWorks Int’l NGO is partnering with Healing Hands Ministries of Pakistan to coordinate alternatives for women and children escaping the bonded labor system and appreciates all support from donors or other partners seeking to help. There is strength in numbers when facing corrupt systems and power in building community. By giving the gift of community, education, shelter, and faith within these orphanages, SportsWorks Int’l NGO saves lives every day. With the help of generous partners, we can continue our work and mission, so please reach out with any questions if you or your organization feel called to get involved in the cause to fight bonded labor.
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Simon KahigaSimon Kahiga is a Kenyan based Lawyer who has 13 years experience in public service. He is a freelance writer passionately advancing on various topical issues, Law, social and economic, current affairs humanitarian assistance, investment law, consultancy, commercial Law, Business Law. He also researches on diverse economic aspects, legal, impact investing and humanitarian assistance . He is also an entrepreneur having founded Excel fortune Company LTD a company incorporated in Kenya.
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New Hope Waves: A Mission Of Giving Hope And Empowering The Youth Through Sports
By Simon Kahiga
When Auldridge Chibbwalu graduated from his University with a degree in developmental studies his vision was to empower the youth with skills that could equip them for their lifetime. This would distance them from the pangs of poverty as they would be able to harness these talents and nurture them to make progressive careers out of sports. Mr. Aulridge worked for various local and international charitable organizations before he resigned from employment and embarked on a serious mission. In 2015 he registered New Hope Waves as a company limited by guarantee and acquired a non-profit legal status with PACRA in Zambia.
New Hope Waves NGO works with underprivileged, challenged, and vulnerable boys and girls between the ages of 10 years and 25 years in the slums of Malaba in Livingstone town some 150 km West of Lusaka the capital city of Zambia. Livingstone is a town of 81,000 people as per the official government census of 2012. It is where the famous Victoria Falls is situated. The town receives thousands of tourists from all over the world who come to visit the magical, eye-catching Victoria Falls. Many young people in slums and low-income areas such as Malaba are exposed to all evils associated with the allure of wanting to live easy lives and try to ape the tourists that come across.
The organization runs its program in two tiers or arms. The first arm is a sports academy. The sports academy is hosted in a church compound where the catholic women's center has rented out the offices where New Hope waves NGO has its headquarters and offices. The organization utilizes the women's center compound as a playing, training, and outdoor activity field.
The second arm is the new Hope Waves NGO School which is affiliated with a private organization. It is an academic institution with 150 children and caters to kids between the ages of 4 to 15. It runs a preschool offering early childhood education and a primary school hosting young children in grades 1 to 7. The school uses premises rented by a larger private institution that sublets it. The school classrooms, offices, and the playing field is owned by the Catholic church youth community center.
New Hope waves NGO's impetus is mainly empowering the youth in football (soccer). The small and young organization has bestowed upon itself the task of impacting the skills of young people by giving them a platform to sharpen their skills in football through coaching, mentoring, providing a playing field, and providing them with game kits( football shoes, jerseys, etc.).
New Hope Waves NGO funds its programs from sources such as major donors, well-wishers, individuals, other charitable organizations, church-based organizations, youth foundations, and sporting clubs. Donations are made through funds, soccer kits, uniforms, free transport, etc. Many of the organization’s instructors and teachers work voluntarily after heeding calls from the director of the New Hope Waves NGO.
New Hope waves NGO has been engaging young people in other activities to keep them busy and teach them teamwork. Young people are trained in agricultural practices and agri-business skills. This way the young ones are made job ready so that they can take up jobs for themselves and create a sustainable livelihood. The knowledge imparted by the NGO also prepares them for various leadership and management roles to help them to change their fortunes in the future.
New Hope waves NGO has joined partnerships that are very important for the furtherance of its mission and vision. One such partnership was formed last year between the New Hope Waves NGO and SportsWorks International. A nonprofit organization based in Canada that also has the same mission. When Mr. Auldridge met Mr. John Klintworth, the director of Sportworks International NGO in 2021, he formed a partnership immediately, bringing forth a cordial lasting relationship. Being a global franchise, SportsWorks International has been aiding New Hope Waves in the form of donations, sports kits, jerseys, football boots, and more.
New Hope waves NGO has been facing a myriad of challenges that have hampered its activities and rendered them short of achieving its mission to its fruition. These challenges include a lack of sustainable sources of income that can allow the organization to pay for utilities and expenses. Mr. Auldridge has been working relentlessly to obtain a sustainable solution in the areas of funding. He urges you to acknowledge his work and the role he is playing in shaping the minds of our future and help him on his journey in any way you possibly can. To quote Sir Winston Winston Churchill, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
When Auldridge Chibbwalu graduated from his University with a degree in developmental studies his vision was to empower the youth with skills that could equip them for their lifetime. This would distance them from the pangs of poverty as they would be able to harness these talents and nurture them to make progressive careers out of sports. Mr. Aulridge worked for various local and international charitable organizations before he resigned from employment and embarked on a serious mission. In 2015 he registered New Hope Waves as a company limited by guarantee and acquired a non-profit legal status with PACRA in Zambia.
New Hope Waves NGO works with underprivileged, challenged, and vulnerable boys and girls between the ages of 10 years and 25 years in the slums of Malaba in Livingstone town some 150 km West of Lusaka the capital city of Zambia. Livingstone is a town of 81,000 people as per the official government census of 2012. It is where the famous Victoria Falls is situated. The town receives thousands of tourists from all over the world who come to visit the magical, eye-catching Victoria Falls. Many young people in slums and low-income areas such as Malaba are exposed to all evils associated with the allure of wanting to live easy lives and try to ape the tourists that come across.
The organization runs its program in two tiers or arms. The first arm is a sports academy. The sports academy is hosted in a church compound where the catholic women's center has rented out the offices where New Hope waves NGO has its headquarters and offices. The organization utilizes the women's center compound as a playing, training, and outdoor activity field.
The second arm is the new Hope Waves NGO School which is affiliated with a private organization. It is an academic institution with 150 children and caters to kids between the ages of 4 to 15. It runs a preschool offering early childhood education and a primary school hosting young children in grades 1 to 7. The school uses premises rented by a larger private institution that sublets it. The school classrooms, offices, and the playing field is owned by the Catholic church youth community center.
New Hope waves NGO's impetus is mainly empowering the youth in football (soccer). The small and young organization has bestowed upon itself the task of impacting the skills of young people by giving them a platform to sharpen their skills in football through coaching, mentoring, providing a playing field, and providing them with game kits( football shoes, jerseys, etc.).
New Hope Waves NGO funds its programs from sources such as major donors, well-wishers, individuals, other charitable organizations, church-based organizations, youth foundations, and sporting clubs. Donations are made through funds, soccer kits, uniforms, free transport, etc. Many of the organization’s instructors and teachers work voluntarily after heeding calls from the director of the New Hope Waves NGO.
New Hope waves NGO has been engaging young people in other activities to keep them busy and teach them teamwork. Young people are trained in agricultural practices and agri-business skills. This way the young ones are made job ready so that they can take up jobs for themselves and create a sustainable livelihood. The knowledge imparted by the NGO also prepares them for various leadership and management roles to help them to change their fortunes in the future.
New Hope waves NGO has joined partnerships that are very important for the furtherance of its mission and vision. One such partnership was formed last year between the New Hope Waves NGO and SportsWorks International. A nonprofit organization based in Canada that also has the same mission. When Mr. Auldridge met Mr. John Klintworth, the director of Sportworks International NGO in 2021, he formed a partnership immediately, bringing forth a cordial lasting relationship. Being a global franchise, SportsWorks International has been aiding New Hope Waves in the form of donations, sports kits, jerseys, football boots, and more.
New Hope waves NGO has been facing a myriad of challenges that have hampered its activities and rendered them short of achieving its mission to its fruition. These challenges include a lack of sustainable sources of income that can allow the organization to pay for utilities and expenses. Mr. Auldridge has been working relentlessly to obtain a sustainable solution in the areas of funding. He urges you to acknowledge his work and the role he is playing in shaping the minds of our future and help him on his journey in any way you possibly can. To quote Sir Winston Winston Churchill, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
Sinkumunchis: A Fascinating Peruvian Story Of Love Of Sports And Integrating Football With Andean Culture.
By Simon Kahiga
Sinkumunchis in Peru’s aborigine language of Quechua Literally means “we roll together”. When I first heard the word “Sinkumunchis” from Mr. John Klintworth, I was hyper enthusiastic to learn the origin of the word and the interesting story it might hold. This story was presented to me by two cousins: Diego and Gonzalo. The unforgettable word ‘Sinkumunchis’ has a rich history that positively exhibits a love for culture and a fathomable journey in the quest to explore a rich Peruvian rural culture.
Peru has a rich history and possesses a rich ancient culture. This multicultural country has at least 33 million people residing in it. Peru is a country in South America; it is one of the world’s richest countries in terms of natural resources and has world-class touristic geographical locations. Peru is a middle-income country and it faces many of the same problems faced by low-income countries. Many communities in rural areas especially the youth, girls, and women are susceptible to poverty, underage marriages, lack of employment, gender inequality in access to opportunities, poor nutrition, lack of basic education, domestic violence, and discrimination against the aborigines, etc.
Peru is famously known for being home to the Andes Mountains, the Amazon rainforests, and Machu Picchu, an ancient Incan city high in the Andes Mountains. Other attractions include the Sacred Valley, the Inca trail, and the city of Cusco which is the old capital of the Inca Empire. The story of Sinkumunchis revolves around the farming area inhabited by Quechua-speaking communities in Pisac, a small town located in the Sacred Valley near Cusco.
Sinkumunchis has been registered as a non-profit organization in both Peru and the United States by Gonzalo Garcia, his cousin Diego Garcia and a friend Francesco D’Angelo. The nonprofit has various objectives such as introducing soccer in Quechua-speaking communities, raising healthy children and young adults with values of team spirit, the principles of team sports as a virtue that nurtures youth development, and promoting gender equality. Sinkumunchis achieves this by providing consistent soccer training (over 3 hours a week) and taking teams to soccer tournaments outside of their communities. To promote gender equality, they provide communal training for every gender. Their soccer facilities and infrastructure aid them in providing high-quality sports and physical education to the youth aged 4 to 18.
The organization runs its programs by working with impoverished rural communities and providing them with soccer training through football schools. Sinkumunchis operates in the already built schools and community sporting facilities. These programs are taught strictly in the Quechua language teaching and coaching both boys and girls in a mixed training setup, this helps in empowerment for women to fight vices such as domestic violence against women. The age-group categories are under 6, under 8, under 10, under 12, under 14, and 18 for both men and women, with around half of the participants being women. The program mostly commences after school hours. They also try integrating these football programs with the regular school as “extra-curricular” activities to help in mentoring the young children and monitoring their academic progress.
Sinkumunchis’ founders
The three partners have rich academic backgrounds and an array of experiences that keep Sinkumunchis afloat. Gonzalo Garcia was born in Peru and has degrees in coaching and Industrial engineering. He has coached in Peru and Spain for over 7 years in different leagues for both girls and boys. During his stint in Barcelona-Spain, he furthered his education and doubled as a football trainer before he pursued his passion for the integration of local Peruvian aborigine languages in sporting academic and cultural activities. While growing up Gonzalo learned Spanish but not the aborigine language of Quechua. This formed the foundation in which he connected with his cousin Diego. They returned to his hometown in Peru to start Sinkumunchis together with Francesco.
Diego Garcia was also born in Peru and attained excellent academic laurels that took him to the US. There he studied International business and marketing which led him to work in marketing, advertising, and product development. Most recently he worked as a product marketing Manager at Facebook, focusing on developing and launching new products across different industries. He took a sabbatical leave in March 2020 to attend to his passion - soccer in Peru. He visited his hometown and together with his cousin and a friend formalized the formation of Sinkumunchis as a soccer program.
Francesco D’Angelo has a degree in Anthropology from the Universidad Catolica Del Peru. He has been working with farming communities in the district of Pisaq and Maras in Cusco whereas he is still furthering his graduate studies in Anthropology. Francesco has been working on projects in agriculture, tourism, and gastronomy in rural communities. Francesco teamed up with the two cousins to help the youth in the communities that he has worked with access quality physical education.
The three partners have been working harmoniously to ensure that Sinkumunchis is formalized in the USA where Mr. Diego runs the branch of Sinkumunchis aimed at supportive programs such as fundraising to ensure that the organization gets funding to help it successfully run programs in Peru.
SportsWorks International x Sinkumunchis
It was during the quest to join hands with splendid partners to form alliances and network with like-minded organizations that Diego met Mr. John Klintworth, the director of SportsWorks International. SportsWorks International has graciously, through Mr. John made financial donations, and donated sports equipment, wear, and sports kits. The nonprofit has also supported them by offering training, counseling, advice, ideas, and general mentorship and guardianship to the young Sinkumunchis. These efforts have aided in the growth of Sinkumunchis.
Though Sinkumunchis is a young organization and just about 2 years old, the partnership between Sinkumunchis and SportsWorks International has enabled efforts dedicated to exploring ways of further partnership that will help to alleviate many of the challenges that young start-up organizations like Sinkumunchis face.
CHALLENGES
Sinkumunchis faces an array of challenges and herculean tasks which can be discouraging. These include difficulties in raising funds to pay for trainers. Most of the sources of the organization’s funding include donations from family members and friends. These might not remain viable options in the future and thus, not sustainable.
In August Sinkumunchis received 501(c)(3) status and is a registered charity in the United States, making them eligible for federal taxes exemptions. They believe this will help them receive more funding from public and private entities in the USA.
The organization has a hard time meeting all its logistical needs such as - Transport for the youth to and from sporting events and coaching sessions. Its programs entail long commutes and as most of the youth are of school-going age, and come from dependent backgrounds, they depend on Sinkumunchis to foot the transport costs.
Communities have fairly good sporting fields but the youth find it difficult to access them and can only do so during the day as these fields aren’t lit. This is a challenge because the hours reserved for extra-curricular activities such as training and coaching are very short and mostly in the evening. The sporting fields need light and the communities who own the field need Sinkumunchis to foot the bill to have floodlights installed in the fields. This way they will be able to ensure the youth get unfettered access to the field during the early evening hours. Sinkumunchis is unable to raise adequate funds to undertake this task.
Sinkumunchis face one more challenge, that of not being able to find the right and adequate trainers. They would like to have international coaches volunteer to coach the kids but volunteers need facilitation and funds to recruit, retain, accommodate, and help the volunteers access the areas where their services are most needed in Peru.
The story of Sinkumunchis has just started. The three founders are enthusiastic and have high hopes that collaborations and the development of new networks will enrich the organization and open new avenues to aid their journey. Together they hope to bring “a sporting revolution” to Peru through cultural integration and inclusion.
Sinkumunchis in Peru’s aborigine language of Quechua Literally means “we roll together”. When I first heard the word “Sinkumunchis” from Mr. John Klintworth, I was hyper enthusiastic to learn the origin of the word and the interesting story it might hold. This story was presented to me by two cousins: Diego and Gonzalo. The unforgettable word ‘Sinkumunchis’ has a rich history that positively exhibits a love for culture and a fathomable journey in the quest to explore a rich Peruvian rural culture.
Peru has a rich history and possesses a rich ancient culture. This multicultural country has at least 33 million people residing in it. Peru is a country in South America; it is one of the world’s richest countries in terms of natural resources and has world-class touristic geographical locations. Peru is a middle-income country and it faces many of the same problems faced by low-income countries. Many communities in rural areas especially the youth, girls, and women are susceptible to poverty, underage marriages, lack of employment, gender inequality in access to opportunities, poor nutrition, lack of basic education, domestic violence, and discrimination against the aborigines, etc.
Peru is famously known for being home to the Andes Mountains, the Amazon rainforests, and Machu Picchu, an ancient Incan city high in the Andes Mountains. Other attractions include the Sacred Valley, the Inca trail, and the city of Cusco which is the old capital of the Inca Empire. The story of Sinkumunchis revolves around the farming area inhabited by Quechua-speaking communities in Pisac, a small town located in the Sacred Valley near Cusco.
Sinkumunchis has been registered as a non-profit organization in both Peru and the United States by Gonzalo Garcia, his cousin Diego Garcia and a friend Francesco D’Angelo. The nonprofit has various objectives such as introducing soccer in Quechua-speaking communities, raising healthy children and young adults with values of team spirit, the principles of team sports as a virtue that nurtures youth development, and promoting gender equality. Sinkumunchis achieves this by providing consistent soccer training (over 3 hours a week) and taking teams to soccer tournaments outside of their communities. To promote gender equality, they provide communal training for every gender. Their soccer facilities and infrastructure aid them in providing high-quality sports and physical education to the youth aged 4 to 18.
The organization runs its programs by working with impoverished rural communities and providing them with soccer training through football schools. Sinkumunchis operates in the already built schools and community sporting facilities. These programs are taught strictly in the Quechua language teaching and coaching both boys and girls in a mixed training setup, this helps in empowerment for women to fight vices such as domestic violence against women. The age-group categories are under 6, under 8, under 10, under 12, under 14, and 18 for both men and women, with around half of the participants being women. The program mostly commences after school hours. They also try integrating these football programs with the regular school as “extra-curricular” activities to help in mentoring the young children and monitoring their academic progress.
Sinkumunchis’ founders
The three partners have rich academic backgrounds and an array of experiences that keep Sinkumunchis afloat. Gonzalo Garcia was born in Peru and has degrees in coaching and Industrial engineering. He has coached in Peru and Spain for over 7 years in different leagues for both girls and boys. During his stint in Barcelona-Spain, he furthered his education and doubled as a football trainer before he pursued his passion for the integration of local Peruvian aborigine languages in sporting academic and cultural activities. While growing up Gonzalo learned Spanish but not the aborigine language of Quechua. This formed the foundation in which he connected with his cousin Diego. They returned to his hometown in Peru to start Sinkumunchis together with Francesco.
Diego Garcia was also born in Peru and attained excellent academic laurels that took him to the US. There he studied International business and marketing which led him to work in marketing, advertising, and product development. Most recently he worked as a product marketing Manager at Facebook, focusing on developing and launching new products across different industries. He took a sabbatical leave in March 2020 to attend to his passion - soccer in Peru. He visited his hometown and together with his cousin and a friend formalized the formation of Sinkumunchis as a soccer program.
Francesco D’Angelo has a degree in Anthropology from the Universidad Catolica Del Peru. He has been working with farming communities in the district of Pisaq and Maras in Cusco whereas he is still furthering his graduate studies in Anthropology. Francesco has been working on projects in agriculture, tourism, and gastronomy in rural communities. Francesco teamed up with the two cousins to help the youth in the communities that he has worked with access quality physical education.
The three partners have been working harmoniously to ensure that Sinkumunchis is formalized in the USA where Mr. Diego runs the branch of Sinkumunchis aimed at supportive programs such as fundraising to ensure that the organization gets funding to help it successfully run programs in Peru.
SportsWorks International x Sinkumunchis
It was during the quest to join hands with splendid partners to form alliances and network with like-minded organizations that Diego met Mr. John Klintworth, the director of SportsWorks International. SportsWorks International has graciously, through Mr. John made financial donations, and donated sports equipment, wear, and sports kits. The nonprofit has also supported them by offering training, counseling, advice, ideas, and general mentorship and guardianship to the young Sinkumunchis. These efforts have aided in the growth of Sinkumunchis.
Though Sinkumunchis is a young organization and just about 2 years old, the partnership between Sinkumunchis and SportsWorks International has enabled efforts dedicated to exploring ways of further partnership that will help to alleviate many of the challenges that young start-up organizations like Sinkumunchis face.
CHALLENGES
Sinkumunchis faces an array of challenges and herculean tasks which can be discouraging. These include difficulties in raising funds to pay for trainers. Most of the sources of the organization’s funding include donations from family members and friends. These might not remain viable options in the future and thus, not sustainable.
In August Sinkumunchis received 501(c)(3) status and is a registered charity in the United States, making them eligible for federal taxes exemptions. They believe this will help them receive more funding from public and private entities in the USA.
The organization has a hard time meeting all its logistical needs such as - Transport for the youth to and from sporting events and coaching sessions. Its programs entail long commutes and as most of the youth are of school-going age, and come from dependent backgrounds, they depend on Sinkumunchis to foot the transport costs.
Communities have fairly good sporting fields but the youth find it difficult to access them and can only do so during the day as these fields aren’t lit. This is a challenge because the hours reserved for extra-curricular activities such as training and coaching are very short and mostly in the evening. The sporting fields need light and the communities who own the field need Sinkumunchis to foot the bill to have floodlights installed in the fields. This way they will be able to ensure the youth get unfettered access to the field during the early evening hours. Sinkumunchis is unable to raise adequate funds to undertake this task.
Sinkumunchis face one more challenge, that of not being able to find the right and adequate trainers. They would like to have international coaches volunteer to coach the kids but volunteers need facilitation and funds to recruit, retain, accommodate, and help the volunteers access the areas where their services are most needed in Peru.
The story of Sinkumunchis has just started. The three founders are enthusiastic and have high hopes that collaborations and the development of new networks will enrich the organization and open new avenues to aid their journey. Together they hope to bring “a sporting revolution” to Peru through cultural integration and inclusion.
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A Cricket Club That Does More Than Just Playing CricketBy Carissa Rego
Approximately 430 miles away from mainland Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, lies Bijaynagar, a quaint village tucked away in rural Nepal. The nearest city to Bijaynagar is Narayanghat, and it takes about 2–3 hours to reach by road, which is also the only mode of transportation to and from the village. Most people living within a radius of 150 miles have to travel this distance for good healthcare and supplies for their daily living. With around 2500 dwellers, this village is a primarily agrarian community that hasn’t yet modernized its mode of farming. Crops like paddy (rice), mustard, and potatoes are grown here along with other crops for the consumption of the people of the region. And from young children to the elderly, everyone is involved on the farm in some form. |
A flock of travelers from the mainland en route to a jungle safari spotted a young group of boys hard at work in the fields one hot-sunny day and decided to introduce them to the sport of cricket. Cricket became a household sport among the children thereafter, and this group of enthusiastic cricketers wanted to pass on the skills. They joined together to form the Bijaynagar Champions Cricket Club. Since its formation, most children and teens looking to add to their knowledge began enrolling in the club, and soon the club needed to have tryouts before enrolling more people. The club now looks after children from underprivileged backgrounds by giving them a platform and gear to play the sport and represent their villages at leagues and tournaments.
When the pandemic struck, businesses of most kinds shut down, and funds were hard to come by. The members tried to run the club on the resources at their disposal, but these were scarce. When the Bijaynagar champions cricket club was on the verge of shutting down, Samar Bania (Sammy), a twenty-two-year-old BSc student and member of the club since 2011, was determined to save the club. He knew the only way he could do so was by thinking outside the box. Recalling his quest, he said, "It really was a do or die situation for us and I must have sent out 50-60 emails to every sports federation, brand, or nonprofit seeking help. Our Addidas got back to me, but they denied my request, seeing that there was no mutual gain for them. The younger kids would come and ask me if they would get to play the next day or get the equipment they needed. "
At the most critical point, SportsWorks International reached out to Sammy. The nonprofit believes that every child deserves to have a bright future filled with hope regardless of their economic background and strives to ensure that every child is equipped with the means to do so. Upon a conversation with him, they realized that helping Sammy save his sports club aligned perfectly with the mission of the nonprofit, and they provided Sammy with the necessary funds to keep the club afloat. Sammy ensured all the gear and equipment were distributed to the players and they continued training. With SportsWorks International's help, they were able to participate in a tournament and they came in second. This won the team a cash prize, and they were able to invest in some professional-grade coaching.
Sammy is an ambitious young man who has had first-hand experience of what economic hardship in the village looks like. He is doing his undergraduate studies remotely from Tribhuvan University and is one of the 5 students that study there. Since Sammy is a bright mind, his professor pays for his internet connection that he shares with the rest of his friends. His college starts at 5:40 am and till 11:00 am he attends college and then teaches the younger children in the village as the nearest school is 15-20 miles away.
Sammy has the vision to use the resources available at his disposal to make his village self-reliant. By modernizing their farming methods and incorporating the modern technology of tractors, chemical fertilizers, and manure, they will be able to yield more crops. This will enable them to feed the growing population of their village and earn them more money. The village’s environment and climatic conditions make it suitable to grow high-demand crops such as kiwi and avocado. These fruits have a high market value, and their saplings also fetch a hefty price.
Fish rearing isn’t popular among Nepalese, but with the recent pandemic and the benefits of Omega-3 coming to light, a lot more people are consuming fish. Sammy wishes to capitalize on this growing demand and rear fish in his village. All these steps can help see a boom in the village’s economic condition, and they will be able to afford basic necessities like the internet and schooling for their children in the future. SportsWorks International wants to support Sammy in every way possible to bring his vision to life, but they need your help. We helped this passionate young cricketer save his cricket club. Now let’s help him save his village and secure the future of the younger generation of his land.
When the pandemic struck, businesses of most kinds shut down, and funds were hard to come by. The members tried to run the club on the resources at their disposal, but these were scarce. When the Bijaynagar champions cricket club was on the verge of shutting down, Samar Bania (Sammy), a twenty-two-year-old BSc student and member of the club since 2011, was determined to save the club. He knew the only way he could do so was by thinking outside the box. Recalling his quest, he said, "It really was a do or die situation for us and I must have sent out 50-60 emails to every sports federation, brand, or nonprofit seeking help. Our Addidas got back to me, but they denied my request, seeing that there was no mutual gain for them. The younger kids would come and ask me if they would get to play the next day or get the equipment they needed. "
At the most critical point, SportsWorks International reached out to Sammy. The nonprofit believes that every child deserves to have a bright future filled with hope regardless of their economic background and strives to ensure that every child is equipped with the means to do so. Upon a conversation with him, they realized that helping Sammy save his sports club aligned perfectly with the mission of the nonprofit, and they provided Sammy with the necessary funds to keep the club afloat. Sammy ensured all the gear and equipment were distributed to the players and they continued training. With SportsWorks International's help, they were able to participate in a tournament and they came in second. This won the team a cash prize, and they were able to invest in some professional-grade coaching.
Sammy is an ambitious young man who has had first-hand experience of what economic hardship in the village looks like. He is doing his undergraduate studies remotely from Tribhuvan University and is one of the 5 students that study there. Since Sammy is a bright mind, his professor pays for his internet connection that he shares with the rest of his friends. His college starts at 5:40 am and till 11:00 am he attends college and then teaches the younger children in the village as the nearest school is 15-20 miles away.
Sammy has the vision to use the resources available at his disposal to make his village self-reliant. By modernizing their farming methods and incorporating the modern technology of tractors, chemical fertilizers, and manure, they will be able to yield more crops. This will enable them to feed the growing population of their village and earn them more money. The village’s environment and climatic conditions make it suitable to grow high-demand crops such as kiwi and avocado. These fruits have a high market value, and their saplings also fetch a hefty price.
Fish rearing isn’t popular among Nepalese, but with the recent pandemic and the benefits of Omega-3 coming to light, a lot more people are consuming fish. Sammy wishes to capitalize on this growing demand and rear fish in his village. All these steps can help see a boom in the village’s economic condition, and they will be able to afford basic necessities like the internet and schooling for their children in the future. SportsWorks International wants to support Sammy in every way possible to bring his vision to life, but they need your help. We helped this passionate young cricketer save his cricket club. Now let’s help him save his village and secure the future of the younger generation of his land.
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Creating A Stronger Future For Kasoa, Ghana, Through The Sport Of Football
By Carissa Rego
Kasoa, located in Ghana's Central region, has a population of approximately 68,521 people. Since 2000, Kasoa's population has been rapidly increasing due to the "spill-over effect" of the Accra-Tema metropolitan area's expanding population into nearby smaller towns. The town of Kasoa has a large market area that is also the primary place of trade and job opportunities in the region. Job opportunities are scarce in this region. Apart from agro-business, mobile banking, mobile money agent, shop keeping and sport betting jobs are the next best options, and for the learned, teaching. The urbanized districts of Kasoa face the same difficulties as those living in crowded metropolitan areas. And many a time, Kasoa is found in the news, and not always for the right reasons.
Mathias Donkor, a youth activist from Kasoa, Ghana, found that the youth of his community did not have any organizations where they could spend time learning and doing something productive after school. This led them to join gangs, or develop unproductive habits that would not serve them in the long run. Mathias knew that these young people are who the future relies on and thus, he wanted to provide them an avenue to use their time productively and become good, noble, and skilled citizens.
Along with his 4 brothers and a family friend, Mathias started “Kratos Football Club” a community-based football club for students to learn the sport of football. As a young child, Mathias was an ardent football lover and enjoyed playing the sport. Most young children in Kasoa grow up watching the sport on television and playing on the streets. Mathias wanted them to gain quality-professional training and the means to play well. In addition, Mathias also wanted to impart crucial life skills and values for them to advance in life holistically.
Mathias doesn’t come from a very financially stable background and school wasn’t very smooth sailing for him. As the second of 6 children, he had to take up a job mid-way to support his family. He worked hard for 2 years and continued his education thereafter. Mathias has a university degree in Information Technology. Though his journey was tough, Mathias never lost sight of his passion. Throughout his school and graduation days, he continued to pave the way for youth development programs through football. When he started the football club, Mathias pursued a job in computing alongside his true passion which was to make an impact in the lives of the youth through Football.
When Kratos Football Club was established, Mathias had a vision of creating a means by which he might encourage young people to spend their time productively, acquire important life lessons, and advance as professional football players. As the first course of action, Mathias’s objective was to convince the youth to leave the gangs and the unproductive lifestyle and get them to join the club instead. This was a success as many wanted to leave but did not have a better alternative. The football club created a buzz in the community and they finally had a meaningful route to divert their potential toward.
Some of the youth who joined the club had close to nothing but left the club as skilled football players equipped to face the challenges of life. Many of the students progressed both in academics and as footballers. Some are now college graduates with jobs as managers and in other sectors. One of the prodigies of the club, who joined in the early stages has advanced to play for the national hockey team of Ghana and represented the nation in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth games (hockey tournament). This way Mathias has fulfilled the part of his mission where he wanted to make an impact in the lives of these children. The students that are a part of the club are of the ages 10 through 18 and a few above 18, who are enthusiastic about the sport.
When asked why Mathias chose football as the game to coach the youth, he said, “Many sports are being played in Ghana but football is one of the most common ones that engage both youth and children alike. If you came to Ghana and to my community you might conclude football is the only sport we have. You will find a group of children playing football on every street. They love the game and understand the language of the game. I wanted to reach out to them using the same sport and speak the same language they understand to teach them values and principles of life through sport and affect their lives moving forward.”- Mathias Donkor
When the club started, it started with a dozen people and had a few local volunteers coming in and out to help. In 2019, the Sir Stanley Matthews Foundation based in the UK came aboard to support with funding for equipment and coaching support also Kitz4Kidz supported with jerseys and boots in 2021. With the intervention of SportsWorks International, Mathias Donkor will lead the SportsWorks International NGO Ghana to create platforms for more underserved youths in Kasoa to develop their talent through football. Their partnership has helped them professionalize their operations and streamline their programs. SportsWorks International provided the necessary funding for top-notch equipment to facilitate training for the young players of the club. “We have adequate equipment now that we can boast of as a sports organization, thanks to John Klintworth and SportsWorks International NGO”. - Mathias Donkor.
As part of the efforts to promote the organization: SportsWorks International NGO Ghana, was officially launched on the 28th of August, 2022, the event was honored by dignitaries, parents and families from across communities to get a taste of what the organization has to offer and support their mission by sending their children to train in the sport of football. SportsWorks International NGO Ghana’s aim is not only to train the young to be formidable footballers but also to impart the skills and knowledge required to become responsible adults and have stable careers in sports or any field of their choosing.
SportsWorks International NGO Ghana has brought unique opportunity for more children and youths in Kasoa, especially the Akweley community to play sports and learn lifelong values. The SportsWorks brand has also changed the erroneous perception some parents have about sports development. Mathias Donkor is the executive director of the organization and has 100 students participating in their various programs. The organization currently uses a secondary-school ground that has no turf to coach its students. In the future, Mathias would like to grow the organization into a full-fledged football academy where the students will have a chance to not only become skilled in the field but also practical skills that they can use in their lives and careers. “Even though we are a sports club, we don’t want to focus only on sports training. We want to focus on the person who has come to us to play football. We want to learn what else we can offer these people aside football so that they develop as whole and complex individuals.”, he said.
SportsWorks International NGO Ghana presently has only young, enthusiastic boys training in the sport. The organization hopes that soon they will have girls enthusiastic about football join them and they will be able to impart the necessary life skills to them too.
Kasoa, located in Ghana's Central region, has a population of approximately 68,521 people. Since 2000, Kasoa's population has been rapidly increasing due to the "spill-over effect" of the Accra-Tema metropolitan area's expanding population into nearby smaller towns. The town of Kasoa has a large market area that is also the primary place of trade and job opportunities in the region. Job opportunities are scarce in this region. Apart from agro-business, mobile banking, mobile money agent, shop keeping and sport betting jobs are the next best options, and for the learned, teaching. The urbanized districts of Kasoa face the same difficulties as those living in crowded metropolitan areas. And many a time, Kasoa is found in the news, and not always for the right reasons.
Mathias Donkor, a youth activist from Kasoa, Ghana, found that the youth of his community did not have any organizations where they could spend time learning and doing something productive after school. This led them to join gangs, or develop unproductive habits that would not serve them in the long run. Mathias knew that these young people are who the future relies on and thus, he wanted to provide them an avenue to use their time productively and become good, noble, and skilled citizens.
Along with his 4 brothers and a family friend, Mathias started “Kratos Football Club” a community-based football club for students to learn the sport of football. As a young child, Mathias was an ardent football lover and enjoyed playing the sport. Most young children in Kasoa grow up watching the sport on television and playing on the streets. Mathias wanted them to gain quality-professional training and the means to play well. In addition, Mathias also wanted to impart crucial life skills and values for them to advance in life holistically.
Mathias doesn’t come from a very financially stable background and school wasn’t very smooth sailing for him. As the second of 6 children, he had to take up a job mid-way to support his family. He worked hard for 2 years and continued his education thereafter. Mathias has a university degree in Information Technology. Though his journey was tough, Mathias never lost sight of his passion. Throughout his school and graduation days, he continued to pave the way for youth development programs through football. When he started the football club, Mathias pursued a job in computing alongside his true passion which was to make an impact in the lives of the youth through Football.
When Kratos Football Club was established, Mathias had a vision of creating a means by which he might encourage young people to spend their time productively, acquire important life lessons, and advance as professional football players. As the first course of action, Mathias’s objective was to convince the youth to leave the gangs and the unproductive lifestyle and get them to join the club instead. This was a success as many wanted to leave but did not have a better alternative. The football club created a buzz in the community and they finally had a meaningful route to divert their potential toward.
Some of the youth who joined the club had close to nothing but left the club as skilled football players equipped to face the challenges of life. Many of the students progressed both in academics and as footballers. Some are now college graduates with jobs as managers and in other sectors. One of the prodigies of the club, who joined in the early stages has advanced to play for the national hockey team of Ghana and represented the nation in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth games (hockey tournament). This way Mathias has fulfilled the part of his mission where he wanted to make an impact in the lives of these children. The students that are a part of the club are of the ages 10 through 18 and a few above 18, who are enthusiastic about the sport.
When asked why Mathias chose football as the game to coach the youth, he said, “Many sports are being played in Ghana but football is one of the most common ones that engage both youth and children alike. If you came to Ghana and to my community you might conclude football is the only sport we have. You will find a group of children playing football on every street. They love the game and understand the language of the game. I wanted to reach out to them using the same sport and speak the same language they understand to teach them values and principles of life through sport and affect their lives moving forward.”- Mathias Donkor
When the club started, it started with a dozen people and had a few local volunteers coming in and out to help. In 2019, the Sir Stanley Matthews Foundation based in the UK came aboard to support with funding for equipment and coaching support also Kitz4Kidz supported with jerseys and boots in 2021. With the intervention of SportsWorks International, Mathias Donkor will lead the SportsWorks International NGO Ghana to create platforms for more underserved youths in Kasoa to develop their talent through football. Their partnership has helped them professionalize their operations and streamline their programs. SportsWorks International provided the necessary funding for top-notch equipment to facilitate training for the young players of the club. “We have adequate equipment now that we can boast of as a sports organization, thanks to John Klintworth and SportsWorks International NGO”. - Mathias Donkor.
As part of the efforts to promote the organization: SportsWorks International NGO Ghana, was officially launched on the 28th of August, 2022, the event was honored by dignitaries, parents and families from across communities to get a taste of what the organization has to offer and support their mission by sending their children to train in the sport of football. SportsWorks International NGO Ghana’s aim is not only to train the young to be formidable footballers but also to impart the skills and knowledge required to become responsible adults and have stable careers in sports or any field of their choosing.
SportsWorks International NGO Ghana has brought unique opportunity for more children and youths in Kasoa, especially the Akweley community to play sports and learn lifelong values. The SportsWorks brand has also changed the erroneous perception some parents have about sports development. Mathias Donkor is the executive director of the organization and has 100 students participating in their various programs. The organization currently uses a secondary-school ground that has no turf to coach its students. In the future, Mathias would like to grow the organization into a full-fledged football academy where the students will have a chance to not only become skilled in the field but also practical skills that they can use in their lives and careers. “Even though we are a sports club, we don’t want to focus only on sports training. We want to focus on the person who has come to us to play football. We want to learn what else we can offer these people aside football so that they develop as whole and complex individuals.”, he said.
SportsWorks International NGO Ghana presently has only young, enthusiastic boys training in the sport. The organization hopes that soon they will have girls enthusiastic about football join them and they will be able to impart the necessary life skills to them too.
Golden Boots Uganda: A Journey of Resilience and Commitment to Changing the World
by Carissa Rego
Bwaise is an area inhabited by people stricken with abject poverty and nowhere else to seek refuge. It is one of the largest slum areas in the capital city of Uganda, Kampala. Muhammed Kisirisa (Mo), the founder and CEO of Golden Boots Uganda, hails from this region and was born into a family of 20 siblings competing for the same limited resources.
In places that are plagued by poverty, everyone - adults and children alike have only one objective - to find the means to afford food and shelter for themselves and their families. Education, though is the right of every Ugandan citizen, very little is done for its implementation in real-time. For many young children who come from such economically strained backgrounds, going to school is more of a privilege than a choice. For Mo, the situation was no different.
From the age of 12 along with a hunger to learn, Mo also loved being involved in sports. Though his family wasn’t a great advocate of taking up sports as a full-fledged career, his mother was supportive of Mo’s decisions. During his school days, though his parents would much rather have him find an alternate source of income, Mo would sneak off to play soccer. After trying his hand at boxing but realizing he wasn’t built to withstand the pain that boxing involved, he decided to play basketball. With all of his peers being older and much taller, Mo decided that soccer was the right sport for him.
From a young age, Mo knew that he had a knack for finding his way through the most unspirited of situations. He discovered that skills such as communication, organization, and leadership came quite naturally to him. One could argue that certain situations might lead one to rise up to an occasion, but it was Mo’s innate nature to help others and use his skills to bring about change and reform his community. He envisioned an Uganda where the youth are empowered and socio-economic progress for those living on the wrong side of the tracks.
Along with four of his colleagues, He founded Action For Fundamental Change and Development (AFFCAD). AFFCAD aims to empower children, youth, and women through programs for education, health, and economic empowerment. This way, Kampala's poorest slum neighborhoods can be transformed. Since then, the organization has expanded its initiatives to include advocacy.
Slums offer low-cost dwellings, which has led to an influx of refugees from neighboring countries settling in these areas. The rates of crime, substance abuse, and other illegal activities are rooted in these communities, which are plagued by poverty, unemployment, poor water supply, and inadequate sanitation. This also becomes a breeding ground for communities and fester conflict brought on by cultural differences and unfavorable circumstances.
AFFCAD understood that enabling the dwellers to raise their standard of living is the only way they can achieve a resolution. AFFCAD began initiatives with partners to assist kids in making the transition from criminal activity, destitution, and unemployment to economic empowerment, employment, and health, including access to sexual and reproductive health.
The introduction of golden boots
Life wasn’t a bed of roses for young Mo. He had to work odd jobs to find a way to keep himself in school. Mo recalled that he wasn’t the best performer at school but one of the biggest motivators that kept him there was what came at the end of school hours. Eagerly and patiently he would wait for the bell to go off at 4 pm indicating school was done for the day and he would rush out to the field to play soccer. The community didn’t have the money to invest in soccer kits which led Mo, in his off time, to twist banana fibers and polythene bags into balls and practiced the sport with them.
When asked why Mo thought soccer was the way to unite young children and impart the kind of life skills classroom learning wouldn’t be successful in doing, he said, “I don’t know how many of those in school will become scientists or mathematicians. I don’t even know if they will become professional soccer players. My dream was to play for Manchester United but today I am a leader, the CEO of Golden boots Uganda, and an ambassador of change. This also made me realize that there are many children like me and the only way I could get them to complete school was through creating access to school.”
As a young boy, when Mo would play a sport, he learned the importance of physical activity. With this realization, he also concluded that when individuals are involved in sports such as soccer, they learn to be team players and think outside the box. Whether one wins or loses, the team has to persist and strive to either stay on top or reach the next level. In the face of adversity, players need to learn to motor through setbacks as they have the ability to discourage an individual or even a team. These circumstances teach individuals to learn from their errors and come back stronger.
These findings encouraged Mo to share his knowledge with the young generation of his village and community. He realized just like music and art, sports had a unique ability to unite people from various walks of life and the language of sports is universal. This led to the inception of Golden Boots Uganda. Through hosting matches and sporting events, was able to break the levels of ingrained mental barriers and societal ills that plagued Uganda for decades.
Issues Golden Boots Uganda Seeks To Resolve
Uganda, as a nation, is a land rich in culture, and by their nature, Ugandans are happy people. The music industry and festival scene in Uganda is breathtaking and celebrations continue all year round. Yet, the country is riddled with problems. Child marriages, exclusion of women from the workplace and public forums, genital mutilation of young girls, the youth taking to substance abuse, and ever-prevalent unemployment. Uganda stands third in the world, with the third largest refugee population. All of these issues are what Golden Boots Uganda aims to root out through sports, especially - soccer.
When Golden Boots Uganda began in early 2020 - late 2019, the pandemic had just struck leaving everyone confined to their houses. This sent mental health issues staggering. There were around 9 million people struggling with their mental health. To make matters worse, There is only one mental health care center with just 500 beds. There are only 6 professional psychiatrists. This translates into 1 psychiatrist per 1 million Ugandans.
With the lockdown making any sort of physical activity impossible, and child and domestic abuse on the rise, the team and Golden Boots Uganda made it their mission to provide a safe space for girls and women to voice out the issues they have been facing. During the course of the lockdown, approximately 50,000 girls between the ages of 14-17 were impregnated with most of these being incestuous.
Golden Boots Uganda created a program called ‘girls lead’ to empower women and break any sort of mental barriers that keep women at the edge of society. The program invites women who are industry leaders or athletes and sportspersons to address and inspire young women and girls to stand up for themselves. This way these young women get a chance to witness what women are really capable of and they can gain knowledge and tips from these resilient women on how to handle the various situations they face. The attendees are also encouraged to discuss issues of domestic violence, sexual abuse, their basic education rights, and women in the employment and government spaces.
Matches between father figures (like fathers of young girls, community leaders, and religious and spiritual leaders) of the community and the girl soccer players of the community are organized. These matches, though competitive, give daughters and fathers the necessary time and space to bond with the elders and father figures. The nonprofit then leverage this platform to discuss issues such as child marriage and allow girls to focus and develop their careers rather than just confining themselves to marriage. For long girls playing soccer or any sport has been taboo in the community. These matches have been revolutionary and successful in opening the minds of the people in the community and helping women unlock their potential.
The other program that the nonprofit organizes is inclusion. This program caters to two specific communities - refugees and persons with disabilities. Through sports, Golden Boots Uganda helps refugees from various come together and helps them overcome differences in religion and language. This way every community can be more mindful of other cultures. In addition, the program aims to train peace leaders from these communities to propagate the messages of living together in peace and harmony with one another.
Persons with disabilities are excluded from their communities and branded as liabilities. It is a common belief that children born with disabilities are possessed by evil spirits and the mother who birthed the child is cursed. Introducing them to the world of para-sports helps them unleash their potential and build their confidence. Watching those with disabilities playing a sport allows for a shift in perspective in the minds of onlookers and they no longer view them as worthless. Blind football and wheel-chair basketball are what Golden boots Uganda offers as of now. The nonprofit also organizes awareness programs on disability rights and employment opportunities for PwDs.
Progress This Far
Capitalizing on existing sports organizations, Golden Boots Uganda partnered with 20 community clubs from various parts of Kampala working who were already working with various sports displays such as basketball, boxing, soccer, and amputee soccer. This way they didn’t need to start from scratch. This enabled them to train 80 coaches not just in how to coach their students but also in human rights, gender equality & sexual abuse. These coaches are also trained in how they must coach women players and the unspoken rules that they must follow as a coach. Additionally, the nonprofit provided these 20 organizations with adequate equipment such as boxing gloves, soccer & basketball - balls, and uniforms.
Golden Boots Uganda, additionally, also organizes tournaments for these sports that attract around 200 - 250 spectators, members of parliament, religious leaders, and even the press. All of whom come together to witness the power of sports in action.
Golden Boots Uganda and SportsWorks International
Golden Boots Uganda was selected out of six nonprofits in Uganda to represent the country and its people at an international forum at the global sports week in Paris. Their project - using sports to promote mental health awareness among young people was the reason why they were chosen. Furthermore, Golden Boots Uganda was selected to participate in the Mandela Washington Fellowship, a US government-run program for young African leaders.
After completing 6 months of his Fellowship at the University of Georgia, Mo traveled to California to network and spread the word about his organization. Here’s where he was acquainted with SportsWorks International and met John Klintworth, the Founder/Executive Director at SportsWorks International NGO. Together they discussed the work Mo and his foundation was doing and SportsWorks International was happy to aid Golden Boots Uganda in any way they could.
Receiving funds as a Ugandan nonprofit from US-based organizations is tough and has requirements and compliances a Ugandan nonprofit might find hard to get. Uganda doesn’t even allow access to a PayPal account making it even more difficult to receive donations online. Online campaigns such as GoFundMe are the only solution. Both Mo and John realized that here’s where SportsWorks International NGO can add value to the organization and soon became a fiscal sponsor for Golden Boots Uganda and agreed to receive funding on their behalf. SportsWorks Int’ also represents Golden Boots Uganda in Canada, The US, and the UK to spread awareness among those with a kind heart to aid the organization in accomplishing its mission.
The nonprofit Golden Boots Uganda, like many organizations, struggles with capacity development besides the fundamental leadership goals, money and fundraising troubles, and social mobilization. This requires a skilled team that knows the work and their job roles and fulfills them to a tee. This, if not done right, will curb the possibility of furthering their relationship and stunt the reach of SportsWorks International in the regions where it hasn't been able to establish its presence yet.
The Future Golden Boots Uganda Dreams of
The nonprofit would very much like to have an established sports complex that will encompass all the various games the youth can play. They also want these children to be able to consider sport as a viable career option and train those who join the academy professionally and in accordance with international standards. This academy can also organize summer camps and special programs during the holiday seasons for kids to enroll. The organization doesn’t merely aim to be a sports organization but also plays a role in the holistic development of the children who are a part of their academy. Mental health and physical health awareness and skills that can help them progress in their careers will also be taught at the academy.
As a short-term goal, Golden Boots Uganda would like to set up a sales department where they can sell equipment like soccer kits, to those who can afford them and want to play. Zumba is a fad that has taken over Uganda too. Golden Boots Uganda would like to establish classes across the region and charge a membership fee. They are also working on custom merchandise that their supporters can buy to give themselves some extra swag.
From its inception to date, the nonprofit has catered to 3000 young people and has a goal of reaching 50,000 young minds. As Mo puts it, “We want to connect the youth with mentors and those who can inspire them to dream big. Sports help children grow and become healthy - mindful individuals and help retain children in schools. They have a clear vision for their futures. There are a lot of talented sportspersons in Uganda. With the right training, infrastructure, and support, I am sure these talents will go on to become international players.
At present, the organization has a live GoFundMe campaign that SportsWorks International helped them set up and has made a sizable contribution to their cause. They have a target of $1000. Together we can help Golden Boots Uganda and its citizens gain a better and brighter future.
Bwaise is an area inhabited by people stricken with abject poverty and nowhere else to seek refuge. It is one of the largest slum areas in the capital city of Uganda, Kampala. Muhammed Kisirisa (Mo), the founder and CEO of Golden Boots Uganda, hails from this region and was born into a family of 20 siblings competing for the same limited resources.
In places that are plagued by poverty, everyone - adults and children alike have only one objective - to find the means to afford food and shelter for themselves and their families. Education, though is the right of every Ugandan citizen, very little is done for its implementation in real-time. For many young children who come from such economically strained backgrounds, going to school is more of a privilege than a choice. For Mo, the situation was no different.
From the age of 12 along with a hunger to learn, Mo also loved being involved in sports. Though his family wasn’t a great advocate of taking up sports as a full-fledged career, his mother was supportive of Mo’s decisions. During his school days, though his parents would much rather have him find an alternate source of income, Mo would sneak off to play soccer. After trying his hand at boxing but realizing he wasn’t built to withstand the pain that boxing involved, he decided to play basketball. With all of his peers being older and much taller, Mo decided that soccer was the right sport for him.
From a young age, Mo knew that he had a knack for finding his way through the most unspirited of situations. He discovered that skills such as communication, organization, and leadership came quite naturally to him. One could argue that certain situations might lead one to rise up to an occasion, but it was Mo’s innate nature to help others and use his skills to bring about change and reform his community. He envisioned an Uganda where the youth are empowered and socio-economic progress for those living on the wrong side of the tracks.
Along with four of his colleagues, He founded Action For Fundamental Change and Development (AFFCAD). AFFCAD aims to empower children, youth, and women through programs for education, health, and economic empowerment. This way, Kampala's poorest slum neighborhoods can be transformed. Since then, the organization has expanded its initiatives to include advocacy.
Slums offer low-cost dwellings, which has led to an influx of refugees from neighboring countries settling in these areas. The rates of crime, substance abuse, and other illegal activities are rooted in these communities, which are plagued by poverty, unemployment, poor water supply, and inadequate sanitation. This also becomes a breeding ground for communities and fester conflict brought on by cultural differences and unfavorable circumstances.
AFFCAD understood that enabling the dwellers to raise their standard of living is the only way they can achieve a resolution. AFFCAD began initiatives with partners to assist kids in making the transition from criminal activity, destitution, and unemployment to economic empowerment, employment, and health, including access to sexual and reproductive health.
The introduction of golden boots
Life wasn’t a bed of roses for young Mo. He had to work odd jobs to find a way to keep himself in school. Mo recalled that he wasn’t the best performer at school but one of the biggest motivators that kept him there was what came at the end of school hours. Eagerly and patiently he would wait for the bell to go off at 4 pm indicating school was done for the day and he would rush out to the field to play soccer. The community didn’t have the money to invest in soccer kits which led Mo, in his off time, to twist banana fibers and polythene bags into balls and practiced the sport with them.
When asked why Mo thought soccer was the way to unite young children and impart the kind of life skills classroom learning wouldn’t be successful in doing, he said, “I don’t know how many of those in school will become scientists or mathematicians. I don’t even know if they will become professional soccer players. My dream was to play for Manchester United but today I am a leader, the CEO of Golden boots Uganda, and an ambassador of change. This also made me realize that there are many children like me and the only way I could get them to complete school was through creating access to school.”
As a young boy, when Mo would play a sport, he learned the importance of physical activity. With this realization, he also concluded that when individuals are involved in sports such as soccer, they learn to be team players and think outside the box. Whether one wins or loses, the team has to persist and strive to either stay on top or reach the next level. In the face of adversity, players need to learn to motor through setbacks as they have the ability to discourage an individual or even a team. These circumstances teach individuals to learn from their errors and come back stronger.
These findings encouraged Mo to share his knowledge with the young generation of his village and community. He realized just like music and art, sports had a unique ability to unite people from various walks of life and the language of sports is universal. This led to the inception of Golden Boots Uganda. Through hosting matches and sporting events, was able to break the levels of ingrained mental barriers and societal ills that plagued Uganda for decades.
Issues Golden Boots Uganda Seeks To Resolve
Uganda, as a nation, is a land rich in culture, and by their nature, Ugandans are happy people. The music industry and festival scene in Uganda is breathtaking and celebrations continue all year round. Yet, the country is riddled with problems. Child marriages, exclusion of women from the workplace and public forums, genital mutilation of young girls, the youth taking to substance abuse, and ever-prevalent unemployment. Uganda stands third in the world, with the third largest refugee population. All of these issues are what Golden Boots Uganda aims to root out through sports, especially - soccer.
When Golden Boots Uganda began in early 2020 - late 2019, the pandemic had just struck leaving everyone confined to their houses. This sent mental health issues staggering. There were around 9 million people struggling with their mental health. To make matters worse, There is only one mental health care center with just 500 beds. There are only 6 professional psychiatrists. This translates into 1 psychiatrist per 1 million Ugandans.
With the lockdown making any sort of physical activity impossible, and child and domestic abuse on the rise, the team and Golden Boots Uganda made it their mission to provide a safe space for girls and women to voice out the issues they have been facing. During the course of the lockdown, approximately 50,000 girls between the ages of 14-17 were impregnated with most of these being incestuous.
Golden Boots Uganda created a program called ‘girls lead’ to empower women and break any sort of mental barriers that keep women at the edge of society. The program invites women who are industry leaders or athletes and sportspersons to address and inspire young women and girls to stand up for themselves. This way these young women get a chance to witness what women are really capable of and they can gain knowledge and tips from these resilient women on how to handle the various situations they face. The attendees are also encouraged to discuss issues of domestic violence, sexual abuse, their basic education rights, and women in the employment and government spaces.
Matches between father figures (like fathers of young girls, community leaders, and religious and spiritual leaders) of the community and the girl soccer players of the community are organized. These matches, though competitive, give daughters and fathers the necessary time and space to bond with the elders and father figures. The nonprofit then leverage this platform to discuss issues such as child marriage and allow girls to focus and develop their careers rather than just confining themselves to marriage. For long girls playing soccer or any sport has been taboo in the community. These matches have been revolutionary and successful in opening the minds of the people in the community and helping women unlock their potential.
The other program that the nonprofit organizes is inclusion. This program caters to two specific communities - refugees and persons with disabilities. Through sports, Golden Boots Uganda helps refugees from various come together and helps them overcome differences in religion and language. This way every community can be more mindful of other cultures. In addition, the program aims to train peace leaders from these communities to propagate the messages of living together in peace and harmony with one another.
Persons with disabilities are excluded from their communities and branded as liabilities. It is a common belief that children born with disabilities are possessed by evil spirits and the mother who birthed the child is cursed. Introducing them to the world of para-sports helps them unleash their potential and build their confidence. Watching those with disabilities playing a sport allows for a shift in perspective in the minds of onlookers and they no longer view them as worthless. Blind football and wheel-chair basketball are what Golden boots Uganda offers as of now. The nonprofit also organizes awareness programs on disability rights and employment opportunities for PwDs.
Progress This Far
Capitalizing on existing sports organizations, Golden Boots Uganda partnered with 20 community clubs from various parts of Kampala working who were already working with various sports displays such as basketball, boxing, soccer, and amputee soccer. This way they didn’t need to start from scratch. This enabled them to train 80 coaches not just in how to coach their students but also in human rights, gender equality & sexual abuse. These coaches are also trained in how they must coach women players and the unspoken rules that they must follow as a coach. Additionally, the nonprofit provided these 20 organizations with adequate equipment such as boxing gloves, soccer & basketball - balls, and uniforms.
Golden Boots Uganda, additionally, also organizes tournaments for these sports that attract around 200 - 250 spectators, members of parliament, religious leaders, and even the press. All of whom come together to witness the power of sports in action.
Golden Boots Uganda and SportsWorks International
Golden Boots Uganda was selected out of six nonprofits in Uganda to represent the country and its people at an international forum at the global sports week in Paris. Their project - using sports to promote mental health awareness among young people was the reason why they were chosen. Furthermore, Golden Boots Uganda was selected to participate in the Mandela Washington Fellowship, a US government-run program for young African leaders.
After completing 6 months of his Fellowship at the University of Georgia, Mo traveled to California to network and spread the word about his organization. Here’s where he was acquainted with SportsWorks International and met John Klintworth, the Founder/Executive Director at SportsWorks International NGO. Together they discussed the work Mo and his foundation was doing and SportsWorks International was happy to aid Golden Boots Uganda in any way they could.
Receiving funds as a Ugandan nonprofit from US-based organizations is tough and has requirements and compliances a Ugandan nonprofit might find hard to get. Uganda doesn’t even allow access to a PayPal account making it even more difficult to receive donations online. Online campaigns such as GoFundMe are the only solution. Both Mo and John realized that here’s where SportsWorks International NGO can add value to the organization and soon became a fiscal sponsor for Golden Boots Uganda and agreed to receive funding on their behalf. SportsWorks Int’ also represents Golden Boots Uganda in Canada, The US, and the UK to spread awareness among those with a kind heart to aid the organization in accomplishing its mission.
The nonprofit Golden Boots Uganda, like many organizations, struggles with capacity development besides the fundamental leadership goals, money and fundraising troubles, and social mobilization. This requires a skilled team that knows the work and their job roles and fulfills them to a tee. This, if not done right, will curb the possibility of furthering their relationship and stunt the reach of SportsWorks International in the regions where it hasn't been able to establish its presence yet.
The Future Golden Boots Uganda Dreams of
The nonprofit would very much like to have an established sports complex that will encompass all the various games the youth can play. They also want these children to be able to consider sport as a viable career option and train those who join the academy professionally and in accordance with international standards. This academy can also organize summer camps and special programs during the holiday seasons for kids to enroll. The organization doesn’t merely aim to be a sports organization but also plays a role in the holistic development of the children who are a part of their academy. Mental health and physical health awareness and skills that can help them progress in their careers will also be taught at the academy.
As a short-term goal, Golden Boots Uganda would like to set up a sales department where they can sell equipment like soccer kits, to those who can afford them and want to play. Zumba is a fad that has taken over Uganda too. Golden Boots Uganda would like to establish classes across the region and charge a membership fee. They are also working on custom merchandise that their supporters can buy to give themselves some extra swag.
From its inception to date, the nonprofit has catered to 3000 young people and has a goal of reaching 50,000 young minds. As Mo puts it, “We want to connect the youth with mentors and those who can inspire them to dream big. Sports help children grow and become healthy - mindful individuals and help retain children in schools. They have a clear vision for their futures. There are a lot of talented sportspersons in Uganda. With the right training, infrastructure, and support, I am sure these talents will go on to become international players.
At present, the organization has a live GoFundMe campaign that SportsWorks International helped them set up and has made a sizable contribution to their cause. They have a target of $1000. Together we can help Golden Boots Uganda and its citizens gain a better and brighter future.