We caught up on-line with Mukasa Nassar and asked him to tell us what’s been happening in Uganda and his plans for the future
How did you start?
Streets Revolution Uganda is a brain child of Streets Revolution CIC, initiated in 2011 by Mukasa Nassar who had a similar vision of reaching out to the marginalized and less fortunate people in Uganda through the power of sports and edutainment activities. Through strategic multi partnership and networking with Jonathan Regler, It fully started operating on 3rd Oct 2011 and since then it has been progressing steadily on its mission of engaging, educating, empowering and making a positive lasting change in people’s lives.
What are you doing?
Streets Revolution Uganda is engaged in a number of activities which include mobilizing the hard to reach population to engage in positive activities which promote their wellbeing (music and playing football); planning, developing and sustaining drop in and training sessions; organizing friendly matches and lobbying for technical, logistical and financial support.
What is the impact of football?
Football has enhanced talent identification and Individual development; promoted physical fitness, health life styles & disease Prevention; torn apart the walls of social paradigm attached with homelessness; Social Integration and Social capital development; i.e. making new friends; healed scars of trauma and depression for those who had lost hope for the future; boosted discipline, leadership and teamwork skills of members engaged.
Hopes for the future?
To expand to other hard to reach population; To introduce more sports and edutainment programs; To organize youth health camps; To get volunteers with vast experience in sports coaching and refereeing; To introduce Social Inclusion Tournaments and engage in both national and international tournaments; and To create skills development centre and employment opportunities for self- reliance.
Participants in Uganda were asked a few questions and this is what they said (5 Ugandan Schillings is less than 10p) ~
Aphan Kibugo
He is 21 years old and one of our members from a vulnerable home. His guardians could not afford meeting his scholastic needs and fees for his secondary education. Because of his talents and passion for football, he was awarded a scholarship for his higher education and just recently finished his S.6 final exams for his Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE). He seeks going for further professional career in coaching. Because of his passion for coaching, we have partly assigned him the role of coaching the junior team of kids, he loves it so much.
Through our interactive conversations with him he had this to say
What have you got from playing with SR Uganda?
My playing with SRU has helped so much on improving my skills in football as well as coaching, he have been able to practice what we learn and teaching it to my fellow young brothers in the junior team; I have also been able to make more friends on the pitch and outside the pitch. The community has also started seeing and appreciating my coaching skills I pass on the young ones. I have also remained physically fit due to the daily training.
What do you hope to achieve?
I hope to continue with my career in football coaching and passing on skills to the young ones. I hope one day in future to become a professional player and a coach in a big team.
What is your daily life like for you?
I was always bored when I came back for holidays because I lacked friends to play organised football with but since I joined SRU, I have gained hope and my future seems brightened
How can we help you from outside Uganda?
You can help me by sponsoring my professional career of coaching; providing me with equipments and football kits, funds to facilitate team activities like paying subscription to participate in national tournaments and travelling and meeting other small needs of children for instance sometimes, children ask me for water during training. You can also support with first aid medical kits.
What would you do with 5 UG shillings? How would it help you?
I would save it, help me in buying my needs like football kits, and if I happen to save enough funds, I would use it for supporting me in continuing with education career.
2. Ojobie Joel 15yrs.
He is half orphan and dropped out of school because the mum could not afford paying for his scholastic needs. By the time we identified him he was at high risk of joining the street life due to being desperate and idle.
What have you got from playing with SR Uganda?
I have learned football skills, team work, discipline and I have also got many friends which I never used to have before.
What do you hope to achieve?
I hope one day to become a professional footballer and play for Uganda Cranes. I also hope to get more football skills and become a famous midfielder like Alex of
What is your daily life like for you?
I was bored, used to spend my day in the local cinema halls watching movies and their friends I had got who were on the street who were encouraging me to take drugs but I refused.
How can we help you from outside Uganda?
To support me in going back to school, to help me with football kits like balls, shoes, jerseys.
What would you do with 5 UG shillings? How would it help you?
I would save it and buy my needs like shoes, clothes, books.
Kagere Assuman 17 yrs. He is from a needy family and a school drop out because parent could afford to meet the school needs
What have got from playing with SR Uganda?
I have gained skills, I have become physically fit, I have also made many friends, I have also been taught discipline and team work
What do you hope to achieve?
To become a professional footballer and play for the Uganda cranes. I also hope to go outside Uganda and play international football. I also hope to make more friends.
What is your daily life like for you?
I was so lonely and spent most of time wandering aimless on streets, looking for what to do and earn a survival. Then I got a casual job to wash people’s cars which I do up to now.
How can we help you from outside Uganda?
To support me in continuing with education through giving school fees, scholastic materials, football kits like jerseys, shoes and also giving me more skills and tactics
What would you do with 5 UG shillings? How would it help you?
I would save it and buy my needs like clothes, food, training jersey and shoes.
I would also save it and buy my scholastic needs, pay tuition and start a small business to support me.
If you want to support any of our projects and the work we want to have to achieve then click on the link and make a donation Streets Revolution CIC and help us make a difference.
Thanks on Behalf of Mukasa
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