Mbarara Youth find peace in volleyball

It is 5pm and the sun is setting in Lugazi, Mbarara City. A set of youths are going through their paces at the Lugazi Youth Centre.

Some are running attack drills on the net while a group of about six ladies are ball handling on the sidelines. Volleyball runs in their systems.

Preparations are in high gear as Mbarara Youth Volleyball Club (men and women) and SquadX get ready for Serie C action.

It is quite unique that two different teams, playing in the same division, not only use the same facility for training but actually run drills as one. All that for the growth of the game of volleyball in Mbarara and the Western region at large.

“It is hard to tell who is on which side, we are mixed up,” Mbarara Youth Volleyball Club President Michael Nimanyanta told Daily Monitor at the practice venue in Mbarara.

“We have a good relationship and the goal is to grow the sport of volleyball in the region,” he added.

Reaching out

While it is inevitable that every team takes part in sports to be successful, MYVC is mostly about reaching out to the youths in the region and volleyball is a good entry point. Reproductive Health Uganda is one of the club’s partners and through MYVC, uses volleyball to deliver important messages to the youth.

RHU is a volunteer owned and led organisation affiliated to the International Planned Parenthood Federation with focus on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights.

“Volleyball is the entry point and it helps us bring together these youths,” Nimanyanta, one of the 14 club founders, revealed.

Some of the services the youth have accessed include family planning, HIV care and treatment and general health talk education. The MYVC ladies have also recently had cancer screening.

The club has also engaged in activities like the campaign to save River Rwizi, cleaning in the community as well as visiting refugee camps to support in one way or another.

“RHU being a young people serving organisation, encourages young people to form groups so that they are easily served,” RHU Youth Officer Denis Mugambagye told this paper.

The organisation has leveraged on the game of volleyball as the starting point to serve the young people of the region with the necessary information.

Dominate Uganda

At the moment, there is no top flight team from the Western region. The two MYVC clubs and SquadX are in Serie C after opting out of the Western Volleyball League to focus on getting up to the National Volleyball League.

Whereas clubs are still finding it hard to rub shoulders with the big sides of Ugandan volleyball, schools from the region are on course and doing well in the schools’ competitions. St. Elizabeth are the champions of the Schools Championship in the Girls’ category.

But that doesn’t come with no challenges and the first challenge teams from the regions face is having to travel for league games every weekend. With action largely concentrated in the central region -Kampala to be exact, teams from Mbarara are on the road for all their games.

“We would have loved to have our home ground and host games. That would also help us create awareness of the club, as it is we play away from home the whole season,” Nimanyanta said.

Both MYVC and SquadX also struggle to have proper competition before facing teams from central mainly because they have no chance of playing friendly games. The options are limited.

“There is limited competition around us and that makes it hard when you face teams that are prepared well.

“We try to our best to play National Club Championship and Aporu Okol but we need more teams around us.”

The idea, now, is for the club to revive the Western Open Tournament and have it consistently running on the UVF calendar. That will help in creating more awareness of the club and volleyball in the region.

“We hope to have the tournament back as an annual event. We have submitted our proposal and we badly want it back.”

Sport-S help

Most of the balls being used by the club at training are labelled with Sport-S and you will not miss seeing a t-shirt or cap with the same labelling. This is because of the relationship the club has created with National Club Championship holders over the years.

The top flight club has come to the team’s rescue once in a while, something Nimanyanta cannot take for granted.

“We are very grateful to Sport-S. They have supported us in different ways,”

“They have given us balls, nets and other things.

“Actually, Warren (Muhangi) bout us the computer we use in our office as we as the printer.

“Sometimes we reach Kampala and Sport-S take care of our accommodation and feeding.”

While promotion to the top flight remains a target for the club, the idea of bringing together youth from different walks of life to enjoy the game and teach them other life skills is as important.

Mbarara Youth Volleyball Club 

Founded: October 2012

Founders: Michael Nimanyanta, Innocent Bigira, Racheal Naturinda, Naboth Nahurira, Innocent Byamazima, Dickson Muhumuza, Boaz Turyajuna, Charles Twinemukama, Alex Mbiine, Emiriana Nabahinda, Arthur Kamugasha, Ambrose Izaara, Eustance Akakyimpa, Ronald Tumuhimbise.

Main Objective: Reaching out to youths