Buwate Sports Academy

In early 2013, RMF, the Mother Teresa Children’s Foundation in Italy (Devoti Madre Terese Per I Bambini) and World Children’s Fund started funding support of the Buwate Sports Academy. Buwate Sports Academy is a sports club and activity group for children living in Buwate village, Kira Town, Kampala District. The Buwate Sports Academy seeks develop the youth advancement component of our humanitarian work through games, sports training, vocational training and other educational opportunities.

Athletic Goals

• Provide funding to assist the operations and growth of Buwate Sports Academy
• Develop talent in boys and girls
• Promote gender equality in sports
• Increase self-esteem and ability to work together

Academic Goals

• Provide funding to allow children from surrounding slums to attend school
• Reduce illiteracy in Buwate and neighboring communities
• Reduce the number of children loitering in the area through school attendance
• High academic standards
• School fees paid on time
• Provide sufficient scholastic materials for the orphaned and vulnerable children under sponsorship

Vocational Training Goals

• Provide funding for vocational training opportunities
• Teach livelihood skills such as tailoring, hairdressing, and cosmetology

Social Improvement Goals

• Improve child-to-parent relationships through informative talks conducted with parents
• Educate students to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS
• Promote gender equality
• Promote children’s rights to education and the right to play
• Increase Buwate’s popularity in hopes of attracting social services from the government and other development partners
• Decrease low self-esteem and empower boys and girls to express their opinions by speaking out

School fees are a big challenge for impoverished parents and guardians. Though RMF pays half of the children’s fees, there’s still a big gap for the parents/guardians who cannot afford to raise the remaining balance. This is especially the case when a family is headed by a widow, an elderly or sickly person, or a child.

Additional challenges include,

• Some vulnerable and orphaned girls do not have enough money to purchase sanitary pads during their menstruation period which greatly affects their attendance at school
• Insufficient food for the number of children who attend the academy, especially during holidays
• Lack of a building to house all the sporting equipment
• Lack of proper changing rooms which greatly hinders full recognition for the academy
• In need of a van to transport the children safely and reliably
• The soccer field and playing area are not well leveled to meet the minimum standard of a sports facility
• It is difficult to access health care because the nearest (ill-equipped) government health facility is over 5 km away; this is long way to walk for health care

RMF continues to provide resources for Buwate Sports Academy in order to empower students to liberate their human potential through sports, academics, vocational training, and social improvements.