“Why did it have to be one week?” “Will you ever come back?” “Hey, coach Liz,” says one of the little girls holding a sweet which she hands over to me. “Thank you, and this is for you.”
Thunder Clap. Photo credit: kaptcha photography
Sports is a universal language. When I got to interview MacDoo, I learned that even before spreading the basketball game, he desired to spread the word of God. But how could he spread it without an audience or gain a larger audience? It’s then that Basketball came to his mind. Albeit, Coach Mavita Ali knew that the conventional way of just having the never-ending talks with girls would not create the impact she desired hence the birth of Score Beyond to use Basketball as a tool and teach life skills to girls.
To popularize the sport of basketball among girls across the globe, FIBA engineered a program, Her World Her Rules. Score Beyond through FUBA was the implementing partner in Uganda, and Kitgum was the select district for the five-day basketball boot camp.
On arrival in Kitgum, we were served a buffet prepared by the lovely chef Francis whose meals we would always look forward to each day of our being in Kitgum. The nasty humps in Kitgum were a summation of the long journey from Kampala. We were not sure how the whole project would turn out. Would we attract the desired number of girls? Who knew how to greet in Acholi? We had heard of the sun and how hot it got, but we had our gear ready; shades and caps. How would a life skill session roll without any knowledge about the language?
During a life skills session guided by the UNICEF Toolkit. Image credit: Kaptcha Photography
On day one of implementation, we arrived with a boxful of balls, which excited young boys and girls playing basketball using an American football ball. [Some top-bottom approach individuals may have gotten rid of these balls in this upcountry district without grounding root for the sport.] Nevertheless, we rolled out the balls on the court, and each kid excitedly picked a ball and, with minimum success, tried throwing the ball to the hoop. Oops, we came for the girl child. Soon we fished out our target group, and the journey began. Out of 10 girls, at most, two girls could try to speak to us or engage with us. One would conclude that the girls were taught to be silent or silenced; hence, creating a safe and free space seemed challenging for most girls. This wasn’t a worry since we were strangers and had to build rapport with these girls to open up. Almost all spoke English, so at least communication wasn’t a problem. And translators came in handy.
Each day came with its joy. The smiles on the courts as the coaches chorused, “Who killed the chicken?” and the girls screamed back in unison, “Us, Us, Us,” outshined the blazing rays of the sun. Each new hype song taught to the girls soon got one or two girls loosening up. The UNICEF toolkit model-focused sessions seemed dull at the start with minimal participation, but by day 5, the girls literally facilitated their sessions with just guidance from the coaches and trainers. Referee aspirants carried their Nice House of plastics chairs to the mango tree while the sun shone at its brightest to tap words of wisdom from Uganda’s finest female referees. No stone was left unturned.
Project implementers with some of the Coach and referee trainees. Photo credit: Ndani Africa Films
The burning desire to learn the sport and become a better version of themselves beamed on the girls’ faces in whatever activity they partook in. Gifty is just one of the girls that came on the first day and couldn’t even look straight in the eye with someone to say her name, but by the 3rd day, Gifty was leading her peers in dancing, and her outstanding character couldn’t be ignored. Like Gifty, we had so many girls raised to the challenge and could freely express themselves by the 3rd day.
Even with barriers to achieving what they desired, the girls showed resilience. Charity’s young brother couldn’t let her turn her head away from his presence, but Charity desired to play like any other girl without restrictions. She would carry her brother and play like nothing else mattered at that moment. It all got emotional. Some of the girls were the heads back home and were faced with doing chores and engaging with their peers and the sport. News flash; you will get amused by the fact that these girls who had a lot to balance were the outstanding individuals on the court. A few carried their babies and watched from a distance as they didn’t have anyone to babysit their offspring but tried as much to attend the life skills sessions.
Claire Lamunu joins in during the hype/warmup session. Photo credit: Kaptcha photography
We just couldn’t turn down the girls that kept coming through. We had come for the girl child. We had limited ourselves to 100, but each day came with more 10 girls. How could we tell them to go back home yet we had come for them? A little more 50 girls didn’t hurt. How can I describe the million little things that humanity is capable of? Let us talk about Clare Lamunu. Just the night she was crowned MVP Zone V in Dar es Salaam, she boarded the plane for Uganda, and without hesitation, she arrived in Kitgum a day later to spend a morning with the girls.
Alas, what is work without play? After the scorching sun tanning us, we visited the Aruu falls. This is a must-visit for anyone that goes to the North. The experience is breathtaking as you paddle your way above rocks in the streams of water flowing from the falls. At one point, I felt my tiny legs give way to the flow of the stream, but the chain of support kept me moving. I resound; this is a must-visit while in the North.
Score Beyond and FUBA team at Aruu falls in Kitgum.
What a week! By the last day of traveling back to Kampala, at least every team member had that body part that hurt from the effort they had applied during the week. Let it be loss of voice, buggy eyes, fatigue, or general body tiredness. The return journey was characterized by sleep as the body had given way to the hard work that it had done throughout the week.
Thank you, Kitgum, for welcoming us and, more so, the sport of basketball. Our host, who we referred to as the town itself, really made our stay worthwhile. We lacked nothing. Grateful to FIBA through FUBA that made the camp possible. The UNICEF toolkit is a must-add for any teenage girls’ engagement. Thank you, UNICEF Uganda, for supporting the project. What would the week have been without the implementers on the ground? Well done, Score Beyond and team.
Support the girl child. Let the girl child play—Her World Her Rules.
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