Tigers - Uganda News

Spotlight on the Tigers Football Club ...

What would Tigers be without its legendary football programme?!?! Football always has been and continues to be one of the main outreach tools of the Tigers Club Project, an ever- effective way of drawing boys into the programme, of building relationships and trust which can change the lives of homeless children!

A warm welcome to Dave Waters….
The entire Tigers team therefore extend a warm and excited “Welcome!” to Dave Waters from Hull who has joined the team for a few months and who will be working closely with Coach Steven Bogere to strengthen the football programme. Dave is settling in well and he and Coach have put in place some exciting changes which include prayer and worship prior to football matches, much welcomed by the boys, as well as practical measures such as the introduction of ‘football cones’ into sessions, and re-starting work on the ‘bobbly’ pitch at Tudabujja.

The team also visit the Kampiringisa Rehabilitation Centre on Fridays and join other NGOs in providing detained street children with football training and others forms of outreach, a crucial way of preparing them for their reintegration into the community and of making them feel loved and supported.

Dave Waters, Coach Steven Bogere during football training with boys
at the Kampiringisa National Rehabilitation Centre

Football can also be used to make the boys think of other aspects of their lives! The health training session
“How does David Beckham stay fit and healthy”, organised by Dave and nurse Juliana, has been a great success so far and is making the Tudabujja boys think about issues relating to fitness, food and diet, water and hygiene.

Another Tigers’ victory….!!
February witnessed the friendly match between the Tigers team and the team from Tackle Africa UK (20 players) who visited Tigers having travelled through Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali, Ethiopia, Kenya to promote HIV/AIDS awareness.

As they regularly attract crowds of 4000 or more, the Tigers team at first felt a little embarrassed at their spectatorship of 50 in Lubiri Palace!!! However, the match was a great success and the Tigers boys scored an incredible goal in the last five minutes, bringing them an amazing 1-0 victory! Dave Waters writes,
“ The TackleAfrica team gave us a bit of a bruising, but it was so encouraging to see the Tigers keep their discipline and eventually get a last minute winner!”

A big thank you to TackleAfrica for a wonderful match and…….

…………..ROAR ON TIGERS!
.

The Tigers Learning centre
- not just about the three R’s!

The classes and sessions which are offered at the Tigers Club Learning Centre go far beyond the teaching of reading, writing and maths! The boys also enjoy an opportunity to participate in events and debates around issues facing Africa and the world today.

Aware of the great problem that HIV/Aids and its crippling effects present to entire families and society, 15 boys from the Learning Centre took part in a march at the City Square to mark the World Aids Day. The President, Yoweri Museveni, was the guest of honour and the boys were clearly moved by the events of the day.

Christmas sales.... a Tiger’s perspective

All of us are aware of the joy or disappointment of the mega-stores in the West, when they take stock of their sales at the end of the Christmas season. But did you know that the Tigers S.T.A.R.T. boys share the same hopes and fears as them at the end of the season?

Thankfully, Peter Katumba*, who sells clothes in one of Kampala’s markets, can be proud of his Christmas sales! His earnings enabled him to make a much longed-for trip to visit his brother over Christmas.

Well done, Peter!

(* Name has been changed to protect his identity)

A break-through in the partnership with the government

The Inter-NGO Forum, which Tigers has hosted for some time now, has been recognised by the Ugandan government. Tigers and other NGOs working with homeless children in Uganda have formed the Kampiringisa Support Team which has been invited to launch a pilot phase at the detention centre (Kampiringisa National Rehabilitation Centre). This should pave the way for the Team to support efforts to effectively rehabilitate and resettle children being held there.

Cows and sustainability.... an unlikely link?

The two cows at Tudabujja, Bella and Theresa, are doing well. In fact, Bella is now producing milk for the boys to have with their porridge and tea. Thanks to this, the cost of feeding boys at Tudabujja is gradually becoming offset and the programme is becoming more self-sustainable.

The rabbit farm is nearing completion, thanks to faithful supporters like Tadworth and Walton Overseas Aid Trust (T.W.O.A.T), and eight more piglets were born at New Year.