Most notable for being the first Ugandan woman to win a bronze medal in boxing at the 2019 All-Africa Games, Hellen Baleke is now creating an empowered revolutionary movement for all. Through her non-profit organization, ‘Katanga Child Hope Restoration Organisation,’ sports and education rule in tandem.
“The main thing I teach is that I can’t change the past, but I can change the future. I didn’t go to school, so I have to make other children go to school.”
Hailing from the slums of Katanga, Baleke started her boxing career 15 years ago as a trainee with Rhino Club in Kampala. She was inspired to take on the sport as a self-defence mechanism after falling victim to an assault. Her career took a positive turn and she has since represented Uganda in both local and international tournaments, including the 2014 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Jeju, South Korea, the 2019 All Africa games where she won a bronze medal, and more.
“The biggest achievement for me is the fact that I can now speak for myself and other people and I can travel through boxing.”
Owing to the positive contribution sports has played in her life, Baleke is now paying it forward, uplifting the lives of the children in her neighbourhood of Katanga.
“There is many children here just sitting home and don’t go to school. They don’t know how to speak English, lack confidence and can’t express themselves. I know how that feels. I need these girls and boys to be at school.”
Katanga Slum is a settlement located in the valley between Mulago Hospital and Makerere University, in Uganda’s capital city, Kampala.
Home to approximately 20,000 people, living in wood, mud and brick houses, livelihood is generally hard. Having attained little education while growing up, Hellen’s desire to educate many crystalized with her experience living in Katanga
Three years ago, Baleke launched Katanga Child Hope Restoration Organisation, a non-profit that uses sports, education and skills training to keep the children in Katanga out of trouble and empower them to live decent lives. The organization also teaches young girls and women self-defence lessons through boxing to ensure they don’t fall victim of injustices such as rape and theft, that are rampant in the area.
She recruits children that reach out to her in the quest for food to eat and utilizes the opportunity to engage them in talks to determine what they can do to uplift their lives. She selects those that are still eligible to study and enrols them in different schools. While those that remain home are given skills training like tailoring, sanitary pads production and sports including netball, basketball and boxing.
“Some of them are learning both skills. They train mainly during holidays and evenings after school. We usually request some gyms to allow us to train since we don’t have a training centre yet.”
The organization has registered some success. It currently has 65 beneficiaries ranging from 3 years old. Out of the total, 36 are enrolled in different schools. While some of the children training in boxing have made it to the national boxing team.
Baleke says the organisation’s sustainability has thus far been heavily reliant on revenue generated from its different projects.
“We make bags and recruit women to move around and sell them. I use the profit to pay for the children’s school fees. We are also hired to stage boxing matches at parties where we are thereafter paid.”
However, funding still remains a glaring problem. “Mobilizing funds for school fees is not easy, it troubles me a lot. The other challenge I have is getting food; because when you eat, you feel comfortable. So I love to see that I get posho, and ensure the children get what to eat.”
Baleke recently launched a fundraising drive to scale the organization’s impact and operations. “Right now I am fundraising because I need to get some support for the kids to be at school and get the materials that will help them learn other skills. I need a big place too because the children need somewhere to sleep. I try to sleep with them but the house is too small.”
Her vision is to groom these children sharp and be successful.
“When a kid lacks confidence, he or she goes through a lot but can not share with you. For example, there was a girl who was raped, but she couldn’t tell anybody that so and so did this to me. But if she could fight back, nothing like that would have happened. You can never know what someone plans for you, so it’s better to die fighting. Then another is I love watching young children speak English, it gives me a lot of joy, seeing that they can express themselves.”
“Also I want to leave a good legacy, you never know what these children will become tomorrow.”
You can reach out to Katanga Child Hope Restoration through the organization’s social media pages
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Or via mobile: +256708577295
The Boxing Champion Rewriting The Future Of A Ugandan Slum
