The Canada Uganda Baseball Challenge is counting on your support. They are close to hitting a $155,000 target to support the growth and sustainability of little league in Uganda. A portion of that money will also send 10 Langley little leaguers to Kampala and rural Uganda to play baseball, participate in clinics and, in all likelihood, make friends they will remember for their lifetime.
Ruth Hoffman is accepting donations on behalf of the fundraising drive, which is administered by Right to Play. She is also shipping equipment to Uganda and encourages all of us to donate shoes and gloves, which are especially scarce, as well as other baseball and sports equipment.
The Vancouver Giants hockey club is also stepping in. Equipment donations and financial contributions can be made at home games this month. Sportsnet donated $10,000 and MLB players have also made substantial contributions.
Uganda Little League Baseball was founded in August 2002 and, as detailed on their website, "Is a story of overcoming obstacles and doing things that people said could not be done."
When the Ugandan all-stars qualified for the Little League World Series this summer, they could not unstick themselves from the red tape of paperwork, passports and visas. They write that it cost $40,000 US to travel to Poland for the regional qualifier tournament, but the Ugandans are asking why that competition can't be hosted in Africa. The organizers believe Saudia Arabia, a team of mostly American players, thwarts a trip outside Europe. "Little League has made $40,000 the cost to enter the - regional tournaments for each African Little League team, and then wonders why no African teams come to play."
Uganda has paid to travel and play. When they won, they weren't able to play at the higher level.
