For my second Microfinance Project I travelled to Nakivale Refugee Settlement.
Around the time when my initial project with MACAFS wasn't working out I began to use Basketball as an outlet for my frustration. Little did I know it would lead me to this project. While playing basketball at local courts I met a group of people from Uganda and South Sudan who run a basketball foundation focused on helping refugees - Naath Basketball Foundation.
Naath Basketball Foundation use basketball as a tool for education, hope and peacebuilding in refugee communities around Uganda. Immediately I developed a good friendship with the people involved and over time I realised that collaborating with them would be a great use of my remaining Microfinance budget - to do something sustainable, impactful and enjoyable with refugee youth.
We travelled to Nakivale Refugee Settlement in May, to carry out a 4 day basketball outreach for the youth there. We brought with us lots of basketball equipment and refreshments.
The outreach was a huge success - over 150 people attended! The first 3 days consisted of morning basketball sessions, followed by afternoon holistic development sessions (speaking about the importance of education, sports as a means to stay out of trouble, success stories of refugees). In the evenings we played friendly basketball games and experienced what life was like for locals living in Nakivale. This insight was very interesting - the locals call the settlement Naki-City, since it has been around so long and is very self-sustaining, with plenty of businesses, places of worship and bars throughout the camp.
Aside from the basketball, we were able to connect the local coaches there to other NGOs which can help provide more equipment to the children in future (shoes, socks, jerseys). We also connected them with schools in Kampala, for children to receive scholarships to study for free if they show potential talent in basketball. We had ‘visibility sessions’ with them to discuss ideas of how they can promote the Nakivale Basketball Academy and receive more resources for youth development.
On the final day we held two tournaments, for boys and girls. Each team of refugees had their own Mondo/Naath coloured jerseys. The talent, competitiveness and enjoyment on show throughout the tournaments was amazing to see. We also held a dunk contest and 3-point contest, much to the excitement of the beneficiaries! The tournaments concluded as the sun was setting, yet players and coaches remained on court for the medals ceremony and to thank us for bringing joy to the Nakivale community over 4 days. This outreach was definitely the highlight of my deployment. It will remain in my memory, and the memories of the coaches and youth of Nakivale for a long time!
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