Save the Kasubi Boxing Club of Uganda Africa
Donation protected
My name is Mark Jordan. I am an avid boxing fan from South Gardiner, Maine and I support and follow many amateur and professional boxers around the globe. Over the last ten months, I have had the pleasure of following Kitunzi Swamadu from Uganda (picture below). Kitunzi is the founder, director and head coach of the Kasubi Boxing Club and KS Children Ministries in Kampala, Uganda. This isn’t your average boxing club though. Kasubi is home to 13 Ugandan orphans. There are children and teens here who literally have no one and nothing else but their boxing family at Kasubi. Kitunzi and his brother Kabonge not only lead the coaching and training of the fighters but they are also the primary care takers of the young orphans here. I am merely a supporter of Kitunzi and his club/ministry from here in the United States as I believe greatly in what they are doing for the youth there in Kampala.
The majority of what Kasubi has to work with for equipment is second hand donations that are very worn. Their ring has a dirt floor and is outside. During competitions, they have to share mouthpieces among the competitors. But this isn’t the most pressing issue right now. The young men of the club have been able to get by training in rough conditions with poor gear. But now the very land that they have used for the last 6 years since the club’s creation in 2012 may be stripped from them.
The landlord of the property that is home to Kasubi has made a major decision to sell the land. He feels that it needs to be developed and that financially, he cannot continue to rent it to Kasubi. He plans on selling the property by March of 2019. This has put Kitunzi, Kabonge and the rest of the staff at Kasubi in a very tough position. If the landlord sells the property, not only will the club be shut down, but many of the orphaned children and teens that call this club home will be back out in the streets with very little to nothing. We cannot let this happen.
I have watched these children and teens for months now. This club has some unbelievable talent. The captain of the club is a teenage bantamweight named Masembe Isac (pictured below, far left). He won a gold medal in his weight class at the East African Games held in Burundi last summer (this is similar to the Golden Gloves here).
There is a beautiful little guy named Kalule (pictured below). He is nine years old and lost both of his parents to HIV/AIDS. He is very talented for his age. A good boxer with a strong stance and a great dancer to boot! His dream is to someday make his country proud and be a world champion like his favorite boxer Mike Tyson. If I had the money and time, I would adopt this little guy. He is a beautiful spirit with the heart of a warrior.
Kitunzi and his staff at the club met on US Thanksgiving to discuss the fate of the club and what could be done. The landlord said he would sell the land to them for 15,500 US dollars. The land becomes theirs with title. The landlord said that in order to make the land most profitable, it needs about 10K USD in developmental work. The ideal amount that the club would need to make this their eternal home would be 25,500 USD. But 15,500 USD would at least get the land secured with no future of someone taking it away from them (unless the Uganda government deemed otherwise). The landlord said that if they can't raise the money by March, he would sell it to someone else, so we do have time here.
Last month, I reached out to Jill Diamond Chastain. She is the head of the WBC (World Boxing Council) Cares program. The Ugandan constituents from WBC Cares came out to meet Kitunzi and to see what they can do to assist. The WBC cannot directly help fund the project, but they were able to witness the wonderful things being done there at the club. After hearing back from these gentlemen, Jill has graciously promised to help spread this GoFundMe project across her social media avenues!
Please consider donating to this great cause. You can help us secure this great club and ministry for years to come. Once the funds are raised, they will be withdrawn one time from a checking account I created and sent by Western Union to Kitunzi on behalf of the KS Children Ministries LTD/Kasubi Boxing Club. Kitunzi will use this money to pay the landlord $15,500 for the deed to the land the club rents making the land officially theirs. The remainder of the money ($14,500) will be used to make necessary upgrades to the land to make it more habitable and usable (irrigation updates, erosion control etc) and to support the boxing club and orphans (food and supplies). If we are not able to meet the minimum goal of $15.5K to purchase the land, the money raised will still go to the club in full (could be a downpayment towards a new location if they are forced to relocate). If you would like to follow the club and see many more pictures and videos please friend Kitunzi on Facebook. His Facebook name is Swazi KS. Even if you cannot donate, please share this page with everyone you know that may want to help make a difference,
Thank you all!
Mark
The majority of what Kasubi has to work with for equipment is second hand donations that are very worn. Their ring has a dirt floor and is outside. During competitions, they have to share mouthpieces among the competitors. But this isn’t the most pressing issue right now. The young men of the club have been able to get by training in rough conditions with poor gear. But now the very land that they have used for the last 6 years since the club’s creation in 2012 may be stripped from them.The landlord of the property that is home to Kasubi has made a major decision to sell the land. He feels that it needs to be developed and that financially, he cannot continue to rent it to Kasubi. He plans on selling the property by March of 2019. This has put Kitunzi, Kabonge and the rest of the staff at Kasubi in a very tough position. If the landlord sells the property, not only will the club be shut down, but many of the orphaned children and teens that call this club home will be back out in the streets with very little to nothing. We cannot let this happen.I have watched these children and teens for months now. This club has some unbelievable talent. The captain of the club is a teenage bantamweight named Masembe Isac (pictured below, far left). He won a gold medal in his weight class at the East African Games held in Burundi last summer (this is similar to the Golden Gloves here). There is a beautiful little guy named Kalule (pictured below). He is nine years old and lost both of his parents to HIV/AIDS. He is very talented for his age. A good boxer with a strong stance and a great dancer to boot! His dream is to someday make his country proud and be a world champion like his favorite boxer Mike Tyson. If I had the money and time, I would adopt this little guy. He is a beautiful spirit with the heart of a warrior.Kitunzi and his staff at the club met on US Thanksgiving to discuss the fate of the club and what could be done. The landlord said he would sell the land to them for 15,500 US dollars. The land becomes theirs with title. The landlord said that in order to make the land most profitable, it needs about 10K USD in developmental work. The ideal amount that the club would need to make this their eternal home would be 25,500 USD. But 15,500 USD would at least get the land secured with no future of someone taking it away from them (unless the Uganda government deemed otherwise). The landlord said that if they can't raise the money by March, he would sell it to someone else, so we do have time here.Last month, I reached out to Jill Diamond Chastain. She is the head of the WBC (World Boxing Council) Cares program. The Ugandan constituents from WBC Cares came out to meet Kitunzi and to see what they can do to assist. The WBC cannot directly help fund the project, but they were able to witness the wonderful things being done there at the club. After hearing back from these gentlemen, Jill has graciously promised to help spread this GoFundMe project across her social media avenues!
Please consider donating to this great cause. You can help us secure this great club and ministry for years to come. Once the funds are raised, they will be withdrawn one time from a checking account I created and sent by Western Union to Kitunzi on behalf of the KS Children Ministries LTD/Kasubi Boxing Club. Kitunzi will use this money to pay the landlord $15,500 for the deed to the land the club rents making the land officially theirs. The remainder of the money ($14,500) will be used to make necessary upgrades to the land to make it more habitable and usable (irrigation updates, erosion control etc) and to support the boxing club and orphans (food and supplies). If we are not able to meet the minimum goal of $15.5K to purchase the land, the money raised will still go to the club in full (could be a downpayment towards a new location if they are forced to relocate). If you would like to follow the club and see many more pictures and videos please friend Kitunzi on Facebook. His Facebook name is Swazi KS. Even if you cannot donate, please share this page with everyone you know that may want to help make a difference,Thank you all!
Mark
Fundraising team (2)
Mark Jordan
Organizer
Gardiner, ME
Swazi KS
Team member