Tokyo titbits: Youngest Ugandan Paralympian only wants a soda
Uganda's Husnah Kukundakwe competes during a heat in the women's 100m breaststroke at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo on August 26, 2021. PHOTO/AFP
What you need to know:
- The youngest Paralympian in Tokyo took to the pool on Thursday looking to change attitudes to disability, as more world records were smashed on the second day of competition.
Do you know any 14-year olds? What are the things they love? List them. Uganda Para-swimmer Husnah Kukundakwe is just like one of them. At that age, beverages are sweeter than everything else. She is no different.
However, such are the sacrifices that athletes make to make this far that Kukundakwe, as of yesterday, had not had a coke in a year.
“First thing, I want to try out all those other foods because I have been on a strict diet,” the 14-year old told journalists in the mixed zone when asked about what she wanted post-race. “I want a soda. I want a bottle of coke because I haven’t had that in a year. And bread.” In the moment, we all burst out laughing about how life’s desires are never really the big thing. When you see her compete, it’s easy to forget that she’s just 14. We got the reminder quickly.
The centre we need
Makindye West MP Allan Ssewanyana is here as part of the Uganda delegation. He came to watch Husnah Kukundakwe’s race at the National Aquatic centre looking different from the rest. Ssewanyana, an ex-footballer and journalist, wore the official team suit, complete with a tie. The rest wore black tracks and yellow T-shirts.
Being a National Unity Platform (NUP) leaning MP, it called for friendly jabs with Hamson Denis, the state minister for sports. As we all celebrated the teenager’s race, Ssewanyana was quick to remind Obua that the magnificent aquatic centre is the kind that we need. “Part of our policy since 2001 was to build something like this,” Ssewanyana said. Over to you, Obua.
Homeless Japanese
Japan’s economy is the third largest in the world by total wealth. But we have come to see some homeless people who live under the architecture of the city. They look as desperate as all homeless in any part of the world, riddled with filth, emptiness and only living off the mercy of passers-by.
This provoked a search engine craze only to find out that between 2018 and 2020, the number of homeless Japanese has dropped by 12%, going from 4,555 to 3,992 people. This is a country with a population of over 125 million people. In terms of percentages, it’s a small number but it still felt weird for us all. This is a rich country by any measure.
COMPILED BY ISMAIL DHAKABA KIGONGO
