Run Side by Side: 30 km in November for 700+ young players in Kaberamaido

Every child gets a place: on the pitch, in the story, and in the plans we’re building for Kaberamaido.

 

The Pamoja Youth Tournament is our biggest event of the year, and this year all of it goes to Kaberamaido. It’s the only youth tournament in the region. When school closes in December for the two-month break, this is what young people here train for, talk about and wait for.

This year we’re opening it to 12 clubs, with U10, U14 and U17 squads per club: at least 700 young people in all.

The players run it. Before kickoff, they mark the lines and fix the goals. Once the whistle blows, they referee the matches and record every goal on the stat sheet. We set the fixtures and watch over them. They do the rest.

Girls' program

We’re also building a girls’ tournament, its own event, smaller and over fewer days, so girls have a place on the pitch too.

Our goal: $2,300 USD across three funds, starting with at least 700 players.

No one goes home empty-handed. Every player receives a certificate with their own name on it. Winning teams take home a trophy, and winning players and all girls receive a medal. Every team plays in Pamoja kit: jerseys for U17, vests for U10 and U14. Water is waiting on the sideline every matchday.

Two ways to help

Give now. Click Contribute and give any amount. $10 puts water on the sideline for a team’s matchday.

Run Side by Side. Click Register, register for $30, then run or walk 30 km in November, wherever you live. You’ll get your own page so friends and family can back you.

Your gift supports three things

Fund 1 - The Pitch $1,500

Six weeks of dedicated focus, a goal to work toward, belonging and learning for at least 700 young people, boys and girls. This covers certificates, medals, trophies, match balls and water.

Fund 2 - The Big Screen $300

Kaberamaido is underserved and economically disadvantaged, and the equipment we need to present our work isn’t available locally. We’re building toward a community center, and to pitch it to government bodies and business leaders we need to show our results on a large screen. A projector makes that possible. Over time it will also be used with the kids for learning and activities, though at first its main job is helping us win backing for the center.

Fund 3 - The Story $500

We already have a donated camera and our phones, and they got us started. An Insta360 camera captures the fast motion and everything happening around the field, so we can show supporters what we really deliver: the people who come together, how it keeps young people off the street, and the difference Pamoja makes, in Kaberamaido, Entebbe and wherever we travel in Uganda. We film with consent and care for the children and families involved. No child is filmed or photographed without a parent or guardian’s permission.

 

Three ways to be part of it

1. Run Side by Side $30

Pay $30, then run or walk 30 km in November, wherever you live. Your friends can back you on your own page. Register here. 

2. Sponsor a team $75

Sponsor a team $75. Fund one team, choose the name it plays under, and get photos and results from its matches. Choose Sponsor and name a team under Perks.  

3. Give what you can

Give a specific gift. $15 puts water on the sideline for a team’s matchday. $20 buys a match ball that keeps training going for four months. $40 gives a whole team its medals. Choose one under Perks, or give any amount with Contribute.

What we’ll report back

• The Pitch: how many players took part, boys and girls, and how many teams finished all their matches.
• The Big Screen: how many presentations we gave to local leaders, and what came of them.
• The Story: the stories and videos we published from the tournament.

 

We’ll post these in an update after the tournament.

If donations fall short, Fund 1 will be funded first, then Fund 2, and lastly Fund 3.

If donations exceed the goal, the extra goes to our next step: land and a community center in Kaberamaido.

 

Run Side by Side. Sponsor a team. Give what you can. Share this page.