Dr Mukanga builds recreation  park out of Covid-19 blues

There is a story behind every name, be it for a person or a place. 
Dr David Mukanga the proprietor of Hamilton Recreation Park in Kira, Wakiso District explains that he named his facility after Lewis Hamilton, a black icon.

“We wanted to celebrate that black successful man. He is someone that I follow closely. He is the first black man to dominate a white-dominated sport. We thought we should name this place after him. 

He is worth emulating in terms of success. That is where the name comes from. We want to celebrate greatness and excellence within the black culture,” Dr. Mukanga, a public health professional, explains.
  
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes, having previously driven for McLaren.

 The 35-year-old has won a joint-record seven World Drivers’ Championship titles (tied with the legendary Michael Schumacher), while he holds the outright records for the most wins (95), pole positions (98), podium finishes (165), points finishes (229), career points (3778) and points in a season (413).

Further to backend story, the place was born out of the inspiration to bring and celebrate family cohesion. In June this year, covid-19 was at its worst and Dr Mukanga turned to friends for advice on whether his dream of setting up a park was still relevant. 

“Who was going to enjoy the facilities?” he thought to himself. “People were in quarantine, and not allowed to freely move let alone visit places.” His friends encouraged him on, observing that a new normal would come with a different lifestyle that would accommodate businesses too.

He carried on first setting up a basketball court, lawn tennis court, cycling lanes, swimming pool, sauna and steam facilities, kitchens, restaurants and open space where families and corporate companies would mix and mingle as they interacted and bonded.

On Saturday last weekend, the park was opened to the public with full adherence to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as stipulated and set out by the Ministry of Health. 

“Our vision is to create a safe space for families to relax and celebrate events,” the proprietor told guests, adding that his core motivation was to see people happy.

Of course, for sustenance, he needs the happy people to spend. “I am driven by passion. I used to play basketball at school and my father used to play tennis so I enjoy seeing people happy. When I see people happy, I am happy,” he explains. 

The park sits on two acres of land which the public practitioner initially lived on with his family. The idea to turn it into a commercial space was born out of observation of failure to find a place to walk in the neighbourhood “If I had to take my children out, I had to drive distances. I decided to create a space where families could come and be comfortable. Even if one is an elderly person, they have enough space to walk and exercise to keep healthy,” the public health expert explains. 

Besides family, the park provides a space for corporate meetings. He adds that when the mind is jammed, you can choose to take your boss out for a lawn tennis game and have some small or big talk. 
If it is not at the tennis court, it can be over a meal and Dr. Mukanga says that he has invested money but also his soul in the kitchen from which he says he is endeavouring to prepare good nyama choma. 

“I describe myself as carnivorous. I love meat. I have tasted meat around the world. We don’t know how to roast goat. I want to serve good goat that iswell marinated in the evening and then a process I won’t go into because it is our secret but I can tell you that it is slowly roasted over 12 hours on wood. When you taste it, you will appreciate the seasoning and think twice about eating chicken. These are picked cooking styles from around the world,” he further explains. 

Pork is served at the facility but the proprietor says that they are sensitive and accommodative to those who do not eat it. 

He adds, “We are trying to accommodate the whole community. We separated kitchens in order to have halal standards adhered to as well so that when our Muslim brothers and sisters come, they are comfortable that their meals have been prepared to good standards.” 

He says that his park also offers accommodation facilities. It has five rooms that vary in sizes and prices too. They range from Shs200,000 to Shs300,000 which he adds, are favourable to couples who consider taking weekends away from their homes or even those who hold weddings at the venue. 

Some of the other amenities the Kira based facility offer, include a saloon, sauna and steam bath for Shs10, 000, swimming that goes for Shs6, 000 for children and Shs10, 000 for adults.

To play lawn tennis, you will part with Shs10,000, bicycle cycling goes for Shs5,000 for children and basketball is Shs10,000. A meal at the restaurant will cost you between Shs30,000 and Shs100,000. 

A beer goes for Shs5, 000 while a soda costs Shs3, 000. “We would like to develop a members’ club too.” Officiating at the launch of the Hamilton Recreation Park, the deputy town clerk of Kira, Geoffrey Muganga said that in his experience as an urban manager for the last 20 years, he rarely meets proprietors who dedicate space to recreation but rather commercial buildings that do not contribute to environmental sustenance and protection. 

“I like the trees here. When we go to recreation centres we see the guest wing, the bar and restaurant but this befits being called a one-stop sports arena because it encompasses all local sports and has given employment to the local people and market to local producers of farm food items,” Muganga observed.

He advised the 47-year-old public health professional to handle employees with a professional hand. “Training is important. As you make money, train and retrain staff,” he added. 

Dr. Mukanga noted that Covid-19 is a big challenge in the sense that the business cannot open certain services yet. “When the children come to cycle, you have to invest in sanitation. When people are in the swimming pool, you have to limit numbers in order to maintain social distance. Identifying good staff takes time. It is an ongoing process,” he further observes.