September 2021 - The Queen of Katwe - Five Years Later
It may be hard to believe, but five years have passed since Queen of Katwe was released into theaters by Walt Disney Pictures. The movie can still be streamed on Disney Plus and Prime Video, and if you haven’t seen it yet, it will show life in the slums of Kampala, Uganda, and how Phiona Mutesi’s life is transformed through sports ministry—in this case chess—and a loving Sports Outreach community. What began in 2004 as a vision of Coach Robert Katende in Katwe slum in Kampala with a handful of children who didn’t want to play soccer, has spread to multiple slums and cities around the world, and serves thousands of children annually. The chess ministry has launched programs in Kenya, Rwanda, and El Salvador, and has even reached the disabled community. Coach Julius trains several children at the Kampala School for the Physically Handicapped and Robert Katende, now Sports Outreach Ministry (SOM) Executive Director, says, “The children have gotten a chance to represent Uganda at the World Chess Competition for the Disabled, three times for Wasswa Mbuziira Sharif and twice for John Mwesigye, where they emerged third, and second in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Four of the children also represented the country in the first Online Chess Olympiad for the Disabled in 2020.”
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Phiona Mutesi graduated in May 2021 from Northwest University near Seattle, WA with a Bachelor of Arts and Management. She has a job with Microsoft and plans to work there for one to two years while she assesses future options.
Robert Katende is SOM Executive Director and has recently been named a World Chess Federation (FIDE) Certified Lecturer for Chess in Education, the only person in central and east Africa.
Benjamin Mukumbya also graduated last May from Northwest University with a degree in Biology/Pre-Med. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Global Health from Duke University, NC and plans to practice medicine back in Uganda.
Harriet (Phiona’s mother) lives in her new home with her extended family. She operates a flourishing business from a storefront section of her house selling produce for people in the area ,which provides sustainable income for her family.
Since the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic the game of chess has soared, especially online. According to a May 5, 2021 article by Michael Gutnick of Cronkite News, “Chess.com received 1.5 million new subscribers in April 2020, compared to 670,000 in January 2021, according to Forbes.” The introduction of the Netflix miniseries, “The Queen’s Gambit” in the fall of 2020 saw another wave in interest in learning the game of chess. Sports Outreach has been riding this wave as well in the form of inaugurating a Chess Advisory Board in the winter of 2021 and through arranging to host a couple upcoming chess tournaments, one near Baltimore, MD, and one in Winston-Salem, NC. You can learn more about them and also register at www.sportsoutreach.net/chessevents.
There has never been a better time to get involved with the Sports Outreach chess ministry. The pandemic has left many children hungering for more opportunities to play, and when in-person tournaments start up again there will be fees, travel expenses and accommodations to pay for. Robert Katende informs us that there are 1,641 children regularly involved in the Sports Outreach chess programs, with most being fed at least one meal a day and many going to school because of Sports Outreach’s LEAD education program. Some of these children possess a God given talent for the game of chess, and who knows, but another “Queen of Katwe” may one day be crowned!
Still making moves,
The Sports Outreach Ministry Team
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
By the way, did you know that each chess program participant is registered in the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and that skill and performance levels are tracked? As a result, there are many expenses associated with registrations and tournament fees, travel, and accommodations. Funds are also needed for coaches, education, and equipment for vocational training for those who come from families that are unable to support them.