“Of all things, we thank God you got injured while in the USA.” I can't count the number of people who have told me this.
“Imagine you were in Uganda?” This always ties a knot in my stomach.
It reminds me of the young man from Kabale. In our upcountry districts, there are tournaments held yearly and for the case of Kabale, we always looked forward to the Emma Cup. The grand prize of winning the tournament was a goat which was a big deal to us. One evening, as I walked aimlessly in Kabale stadium during the tournament I met Josh, pushing a young man in a wheelchair - I guessed the young man must have been around twenty-five years. I was intrigued by an athletic-looking man seated in a wheelchair. I wanted to know his story but was scared to ask him. Josh was kind enough to tell me about the young man's story. The young man was a rising soccer star in Kabale a year ago. During a game, he was tackled and that was the last he ever got to stand again. He couldn't afford medical checkups to identify what the real problem was but it had to do with his lower body, particularly the knees. Periodically I think about the young man and wonder if he tore several ligaments in the knees at once - the MCL, ACL, and the LCL. His left leg muscles had shrunk and it was now folded under the wheelchair seat.
In recent weeks, I have found myself following up with stories of athletes or people from Uganda who are seeking help to undergo ACL surgery. I sometimes wonder if my sister isn't tired of me sharing posters in her inbox.
“Please contribute even if it's just 5,000 Ugx ($1.5). It will go a long way,” I always text her.
I find it hard to ignore any story of an athlete who is going through this. I look at these athletes who come out to seek help as courageous. Often society, especially in our Ugandan context where sports is a typical hustle bringing little or no gains to one’s financial well-being, the argument is, “Why do you keep playing even when you see no value in sports?”
I was shattered by the story of Pauline, a rugby player from the Nile Rapids in the Women's Rugby Premiership League who tore her ACL months ago in 2024. She now carries a tin/basket during games instead of a rugby ball and walks around the fans asking for money. It's been over five months of her waiting for donations to come through and get the surgery. I wish the tin was a success story but it has gathered nothing but cobwebs cut through by coins to accumulate to just over 1.5 million (less than $400) out of the 5 million (approximately $1500) she is seeking.
While in Kampala it's inevitable to use bodaboda as a means of transportation. Every time I got a boda, I would tell the rider, “Ride like you are riding a child or an elderly woman.” To make matters worse, I would hold the rider around the waist and often other passengers would look at me weirdly and some would laugh. I was on my journey to recovery from my first ACL surgery. One time I got this boda guy and he said, “Eh, the way you are careful and seem to be in pain, will you ever go back to playing sports?”
I also asked him, “How many accidents have you had while in the boda business?” He gave it thought before he responded, “Who will take care of me if I don't ride this boda?” He actually confirmed he had just recovered from a nasty accident.
“Even us athletes, sports is what opens doors for us to take care of our financial needs and for our families.”
I believe if anyone sat down with Pauline, she would have the same response. Despite leaping from person to person begging for bitano - 500 Ugx (less than $0.15), she still longs to return to the field and dreams big.
Interestingly, I can bet she probably earns less than 300,000 Ugx (less than $100) per month playing for a club in the Uganda Rugby Premiership League. Most athletes in Uganda earn on a pocket-to-mouth basis. Even the clubs they are playing for obtain resources for the game on the game day. They hold no guarantee that they will come through and support you in case anything happens to you. Correct me if I am wrong, but even at the national team level, a player’s welfare is a gamble. I recall a player who played at the national level and when he got injured he was dropped from the squad and now spent his time chewing mairungi in Kabale town; at the time I used to see him I had never imagined how much weight he carried on his mind. I always tell athletes who reach out to me that the hardest bit of an injury, especially if it's season-ending or career-threatening and in our African context financially-straining, is the mental aspect of taking in the reality - depression, anxiety, anger, and self-hate become your handbag.
Another athlete who I will respect by not mentioning his team nor his name recently texted me, “Sometimes I sit down and see at this age I am quitting. I really invested a lot of time in this game but people don't see the pain I am passing through.” For context, I played soccer with him as a kid in Kabale and he had one on to make it big in the Rwandan Premier League. For over a year now he has been saving every coin he comes across to afford just the scans and save for the ACL surgery. His whole life has been soccer and he managed to go to school because of soccer. Sports had opened doors for him to places he never imagined but he is now resigned to sideline. He is reluctant to seek donations and always says, “Who will help me for sure?” I feel his despair and pain every time we talk. He now spends his time in Kampala downtown looking for kikumi - kikumi (100 Ugx) through hustles.
My sister always says if she was born in a family where money wasn't a problem, maybe like Elon’s daughter but with the level of consciousness she has, she would dedicate her life to seeking and joining social justice movements across the world. I think I am not far from her reasoning, if I was born to such a rich family and had the same level of consciousness about the world, I would dedicate my time to improving the welfare of Ugandan athletes. Getting an ACL tear shouldn't be a crucifixion or the end of doing what someone loves.
Two nights ago, a friend from Mbarara sent me a TikTok video about a young girl, Favor Nambatya, who was playing in the Ugandan Premier League. She tore her ACL during a game and her life has since changed as she now has to beg and hope well-wishers can support her. How hefty is her pain for she played on the national team and was playing for a club at the time of injury but she now stands alone at the World's mercy? She is also seeking 5 million to have the surgery.
I can't get myself to be in their shoes because I have had two ACL tears in two years (back to back) and I have had surgery which itself has been a heavy burden and I don't know how I would have managed if I were in Uganda. Of course, they say, we can always figure it out, but at times the thought of some events can be scary.
Three things my mentor often says to me, “You can't solve every problem. You can't help people when you yourself are down. And lastly, you can still make change with the little you have.” These accurately remind me that I don't need to be Bill Gates to help someone but again I am not God to solve every problem but I can use whatever I have to help others. On that note, as I always tell my sister, I kindly call upon everyone to kindly contribute to these two athletes Pauline and Favor so that they can at least get the ACL surgery (Posters attached). At least they have the will and we can be their way. You will be shocked to learn that 1000 Ugx can be added to 9000 Ugx to make 10,000 Ugx. So don't underestimate whatever contribution you have to make.
For contributions to Pauline
For contributions to Favor
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