Help Me Build a Road to My Future

If you’re reading this that means you clicked on the link to my GoFundMe and I thank you for reading my story.

Here’s a little bit about myself.

My name is Emmanuel Kabengele but you can call me Manny.

Im originally from Congo DR in the center if Africa. I’ve been living in the UK since 2006 where I lived in East London for 5 years before relocating to Manchester with my family and then individually to Preston for Basketball and later Newcastle to attend Northumbria University.

During my time in the UK I have had several achievements, including a bachelors in Applied Sport Science and a Masters of Psychology degree. I am now studying for a second masters degree in Theatre and Performance (I know different lol). Throughout this time I have been an active basketball player and won multiple national championships with Myerscough college and Northumbria University. I also represented the UK select team in an under 23 tournament in France in 2017 (anyone living in the UK was eligible to be selected).

During the process of my living in the UK, I’ve been fortunate enough to get involved in a lot things and develop on so many different levels. I’ve been the assistant support officer at my college, society President and later Student Union President at Northumbria SU for 2 years straight. I even broke the record for most votes!

This gave me scope to expand on the skills I was already developing. I became the Chair of Trustees, a university Governor and worked with Black Impact to run successful national campaigns.

Why do I want to become British Citizen?

I spent most of my life living in this country and have done my fair share of contributing towards the economy and betterment of this country. This includes during Covid, when my team and I navigated through the pandemic, and worked with the university to ensure policies were put in place to mitigate the negative impact the pandemic would have had on over 30,000 students and their academic careers.

I’ve missed out on a lot of opportunities because I didn’t have British citizenship. I was offered multiple basketball scholarships in America and professional contracts that I had to turn down because Congolese citizenship meant it would be harder for me to get the full scholarships I’d earned, as it would cost those schools more to have me. This meant some of those schools, had to withdraw their scholarship offers to me.

Additionally, the constant travels outside the country would have made it more difficult to attain this citizenship as you can’t be out of the country for longer than specific period. So I just didn’t want to risk the long term impacts, which is why I opted to study and play in England. I was also called up to the Great Britain Under 20 men’s basketball team but got cut before I could

attend the training camp because I didn’t have the UK citizenship.

I’ve been eligible to get my citizenship since 2019 and passed my citizenship test in 2021. I’ve since tried to cover the costs of it but have struggled, every time I save enough an emergency has popped up and I’ve had to spend it. I understand everyone is dealing with the impacts of this current economy and I don’t anticipate being able to raise everything, so anything you are willing to give is gratefully welcomed. If by any chance the money goes over the goal, any additional funds will be donated to Curious Monkey, which is a Theatre Company of Sanctuary, working with refugees and asylum seekers looking to do creative work.

I relate to it because they work with a lot of different people in Newcastle and have built an environment that works with and helps anyone with a creative vision.

I want this citizenship as it’ll help open doors for me that have previously been closed and give me the opportunities I may have missed otherwise.

It will also facilitate the process of me furthering the work I want to do and involvement I want to have for the betterment of both countries I call home.

Thank you for getting this far, even if it was just to hear my story!

Manny