The first ever taekwondo centre has been opened at the Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement in Kamwenge District, South Western Uganda.
The camp is home to nearly 70,000 refugees most of which are from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the albino people from Tanzania among others.
The initiative is a brain child of the Uganda Taekwondo Federation (UTF) spearheaded by General Secretary Badru Ntulage and President Hakim Kato.
It is dubbed the ‘Empowerment Program’ and seeks to give hope to under privileged communities. Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and United Nations (UN) refugee agency, UNHCR welcomed the idea little activities are offered in such settlements.
It is also aimed at combating Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV). A few weeks ago, Congolese youthful refugee Ahmed, who is a resident at the refugee settlement, was invited to Kampala by UTF for intensive taekwondo training.
He has since turned to be one of the opinion leaders and also a coach. “Ahmed is offering pro bono training at the youth centre in Rwamwanja. The biggest challenge he is facing is inadequate equipment and finance. However, talented practitioners will be included in national competitions and other activities,” Ntulage noted.
Five weekly seminars for about 30 practitioners each will be held regularly. The interested individuals will be taught taekwondo defensive skills to protect themselves in case of any physical assault.
Life skills, healthy living and hygiene especially amongst the females will also be taught. The baseline motive is to widen the sport’s base.
