Mbarara, Uganda

Mbarara, a district lying in the south-western regions of Uganda with a population of around 500,000. This was the destination of the first part of the project, sending Project Africa to partner with Salim Twaha, the founder of Mbarara Sports Academy. Project Africa chose this organisation after a few very productive chats with Salim, where he spoke about all about his work, the charity itself and where he sees them moving forward. Very quickly the team realised that he and his academy fit what they were looking for. Project Africa and MSA discussed the location of the field, his plans for the field and how long it will take to turn this undeveloped gravel area into a fully functional sustainable football pitch.

The pitch is called the 'Project Africa Arena’ and Salim has even changed the name of the team to be called Project Africa FC. This is a huge step for Project Africa, as our dreams and plans are to have Project Africa pitches all over Africa.

Project Africa also have a plan in place to help cater for the street kids of Mbarara by hosting training sessions for them, as well as having a street kid tournament. This will help the street kids learn valuable lessons they aren't getting whilst being homeless, helping Salim nurture talent that would also be unseen, but most importantly give the street kids something to look forward to. Homelessness is a huge issue in Mbarara and the kids deserve the chance to learn and grow and this project will help them find stability and give them a chance to thrive like every child should have. The photos in the gallery show our first street kids’ tournament and shows what it means to them all.

Thank you to Salim and the whole team for what was the best possible start to the project and charity ventures. This isn’t the end of our partnership with MSA and Salim as we plan to help build a fully functioning academy, fit with accommodation, training facilities and much more.

The pitch is called ‘The Project Africa Arena’ and Salim has even changed the name of the team to be called Project Africa FC. This is a huge step for Project Africa, as our dreams and plans are to have Project Africa pitches all over Africa.

Project Africa also have a plan in place to help cater for the street kids of Mbarara by hosting training sessions for them, as well as having a street kid tournament. This will help the street kids learn valuable lessons they aren't getting whilst being homeless, helping Salim nurture talent that would also be unseen, but most importantly give the street kids something to look forward to. Homelessness is a huge issue in Mbarara and the kids deserve the chance to learn and grow and this project will help them find stability and give them a chance to thrive like every child should have. The photos in the gallery show our first street kids’ tournament and shows what it means to them all.

Thank you to Salim and the whole team for what was the best possible start to the project and charity ventures. This isn’t the end of our partnership with MSA and Salim as we plan to help build a fully functioning academy, fit with accommodation, training facilities and much more.