No women should die giving life
by Majken Gilmartin
The teams on the playing field this fine afternoon, was playing for four of the 17 Global Goals: Goal 2, 3, 11 and two teams was playing for Goal 5.
I arrived in Uganda Wednesday March 4rd and went straight from the airport to the neighbourhood Bulele in Kampala, where Team Abigail’s Grandmaz (Goal 8) had invited the team from the FUFA.org to play. Also playing at the field was Team Sport For Social Change TZ from Tanzania (they had arrived Sunday), and Team The Mothers Against Hunger playing for Goal 2 was taken a break. They are a team of women who have seen their mothers get together on the field to practise and decided to set their own team and play in the GGWCup.
98 % chance her children will be active too
On the sideline a group of young women was cheering on their mothers and grandmothers. And today after seeing their grandmothers and mothers training, we suddenly saw a new team being made and choosing Global Goal 3 to play for. The coach of the grandmothers volunteered to coach them as well.
A million times I have told the world why we do a World Cup for amateur women all ages: because when a women is active, there is a 98 % chance her children will be active too. A statistic played out right in front of my eyes in Bulele in the outskirts of Kampala - and I dont think they are planning to stop anytime soon.
It was buzzing with support around the field. How the husbands, friends, and kids was showing their support to each other and to the team was so brilliant.
50 % chance of surviving giving birth
When the FUFA Team explained why they play for Goal 5, about their donate blod campaign, and how people on match day can donate blod, I also learned that woman here only have a 50 % chance of surviving while giving birth, because of blood loss.
In this very moment it became so obvious to all of us, that someone today had lost a mother and maybe a child because not having blood available. We all left the field with huge respect and love for each other - and the young team from the 'next' generation was taking it all in while looking from their mothers, grandmothers, businesswomen, and the travel team right there in their backyard playing, activating, talking, and supporting each other.
Day one in Uganda.
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