When Isaiah Mwesige was a small boy he walked many miles every day as he heard that he could earn a few Ugandan Schillings as a caddy at the strange place where rich people hit little balls around a big field.
In a country that had suffered more than its fair share of civil unrest this was a great opportunity to help his family.
As time went on Isaiah noticed that the time away from the challenges of the outside world gave him far more than money. The harsh realities of life were forgotten for just a few hours and he was able to recharge his own mental batteries. Slowly, he fell in love with the game and the whole golfing experience. He made himself a promise: “One day he would make sure ALL the children could experience this too!”
Fast forward through time and that young boy had matured and was now on the executive of the golf club he had first approached as a youngster. He had never forgotten what golf had given him and the promise he made as a young boy.
In 2019 that dream came to fruition when he founded The Afriyea Golf Academy with a mission to “Challenge underserved youth and children with special needs to prosper in life by instilling character development, life skills, and values through education and the game of golf”
In just a couple of years the academy has:
· Delivered golf lessons to hundreds of local children
· Started a programme of golf in local schools
· Developed a couple of National team players
· Started work on a second site in a far more challenging area of Uganda
Isaiah has noted the wide-ranging impact that golf has had on children and the wider communities – particularly those that have suffered the most due to the long term physical and mental scars that war and civil unrest can leave. It is now the vision of Afriyea to extend the programmes to the whole community old and young and everyone in between. In the future Afriyea wishes to set up academies across East Africa with particular focus on regions that have suffered the most impact due to war/civil unrest.
PSYenz (the specialist Neuroscience Division of Sport Psychology Ltd) are delighted to partner with Afriyea to supply specialist knowledge and support in the areas of performance science , resilience psychology and the design of sports environments for psychological success. Chief Psychologist Stephen Smith said “ I have been incredibly impressed with Afriyea and especially the personal drive, determination and commitment of their CEO Isaiah. We would be delighted to help him achieve his personal dream of supporting the first East African golfer onto the world’s leading golf tours and we are passionate about his inclusive approach that enables children abilities to access golf. We are committed to supporting him roll out this incredible programme to the areas that have been most blighted in the past so whole communities can benefit from the scientifically proven mental and physical wellbeing recovery impact golf can effect.”
Both Afriyea and PSYenz will be delighted to hear from any entity or individual that wishes to sponsor this wonderful work
To get involved or for media comments please contact Chief Psychologist Stephen Smith in the first place on: