Gulu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Every night, the rhythmic thud of gloved fists against punching bags echoes from a modest and substantial boxing ring in Layibi Centre in Gulu Metropolis.
But this isn’t any longer only a normal sports actions membership, but a lifeline for dozens of street-associated youths, a host of whom as soon as lived on the metropolis’s fringes, begging, scavenging, or falling prey to crime and substance abuse.
Basically based in 2012, Gulu Boxing Club (GBC) has speedy grown into a extremely efficient platform for empowerment, self-discipline, and hope. The initiative, which depends on funding and toughen from the community, targets to transform the lives of inclined youth through sport, mentorship, and lifestyles skills coaching.
Denis Abitek, the Frequent Secretary of the membership, told Uganda Radio Network in an interview that since the origin of 2022, the membership has pulled higher than 250 out of the streets motivate home.
Abitek explained that the membership has helped just a few dilapidated street-associated youngsters craft a career path, because the membership conducts speaking sessions with them earlier than or after their coaching. The speaking sessions, similar to career pattern, motivate the membership leaders title the odd challenges and abilities of every of the kids and reply to them accordingly.
Though the boxing membership didn’t open up with an agenda of saving the road-associated youngsters, Abitek explained that since the were many street youngsters on the time, the community perceived that all americans who trained on the membership went to make muscle groups to assault and rob of us at night.
Kizito Khemis Ojok, a 17-year-worn who joined the membership in 2022, dreams of fixing into a middleweight boxing champion.
Ojok, who dropped out of college in Kampala and came to Gulu to produce a living, talked about he started working as a security guard when he fair came to Gulu in 2022.
“My employer also loves boxing. He continuously tells me to let him know after we now rep got an in-membership competition and he involves toughen me morally,” he talked about.
In 2024, Ojok competed among the beginners and became as soon as outcompeted within the quarterfinals.
“That competition gave me the inspiration to work more challenging, and I do know with time, exhausting work, and spine, I might lift out higher,” Ojok talked about.
Ojok appreciates the speaking sessions that the membership conducts, announcing it has helped him see the value of self-discipline.
“In any sport, if you don’t rep self-discipline, your efforts will be in vain. At GBC, we were told no longer to make our muscle groups to waylay of us, but to punch challenges and steal alternatives with both hands,” Ojok talked about.
Ojok dreams of coaching until he can compete with reliable boxers exterior the nation, fair respect Ronald Okello, who trained at Gulu Boxing Club.
Immaculate Agenorwot, 18 years worn, started going to the membership in 2024, simply to really feel the atmosphere and win systems on the sport.
In February 2025, Agenorwrot, who is studying at Gospel Outburn Tailoring College, started exercising and doing aerobics on the boxing membership.
She plans to make certain she is bodily fit enough to open up coaching to turn out to be a reliable boxer.
Agenorwot is impressed by female boxers whose lives rep changed for the upper as a result of the sport.
For now, she testifies that by fair staring at of us discover, and taking note of the coaches, she has realized the importance of self-defend watch over and self-discipline.
Many of the youths who join GBC are referred by chums, and just a few others walk there on their bear after listening to about the membership on native radio stations in Gulu Metropolis. But other folks that defend shut to its location walk into the membership on their bear, drawn by the sound of sparring gloves.
One amongst the road-associated persons, who bought counselling from the membership, is 23-year-worn Kenneth Opiro, who spent three years living on the streets after escaping an abusive home.
Opiro talked about he didn’t join the boxing membership for the like of the sport, but to win a capacity of belonging and direction, which is why he left the membership after a year. Nowadays, he is a cell fruit vendor.
“I former to steal utensils left exterior of us’s compounds and promote them to scrap sellers. After being on the boxing membership for a year, I realized the value of decency. Now I legally execute my money. I don’t must discover over my shoulders,” Opiro talked about.
Despite its influence, GBC faces important challenges, such as miniature funding, because it depends on toughen from the community.
Monica Lanyero, who joined the membership in 2015 and is a treasurer on the membership, talked about the predominant advise going throughout the boxing membership is the miniature influx of funds to trot all programs on the membership.
At recount, the membership is interesting to community members to make a contribution money to toughen them in files superhighway hosting the Kayole Royal Boxing Team in Kenya, that would additionally fair be in Gulu Metropolis to compete with GBC on July nineteenth, 2025.
****
URN
