A few days back, Punjab FC’s new addition to the forward line, Norwegian striker Mushaga Bakenga was bestowed with the Marcus Rashford award at the World Football Summit. Notably, the award is presented to athletes who promote initiatives in their communities to bring about a change.
Bakenga, has started a school in DR Congo, namely College Namugunga. Currently there are around 1400 students studying in the school and around 90 have achieved university scholarships. The next ambition the school holds is to introduce programmes with higher education institutes and get more children admitted to the school.
Speaking exclusively to Field Vision post the win against Odisha FC in the Indian Super League, Mushaga Bakenga revealed how he received messages from top athletes and clubs around the globe.
He said, “Proud, very proud. It is a big award for the work I have been doing in the last 6-7 years. For me, life is about helping others and giving back and to be recognized like this at such a level is fantastic. I even received personal thank you messages from the President of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Marcus Rashford himself. It’s a huge honour and I feel motivated to build more schools for those in need.”
It’s notable to mention that when he started out this initiative, Bakenga seeked advice from his grandfather. The striker was curious of how to make a difference as a footballer and his grandfather held discussions with him and they came to a conclusion that education will be the best way! Bakenga’s family is from DR Congo and found a village nearby which was devastated due to war and poverty. There were numerous kids who had lost their parents, had no food and had to look after their younger siblings. It was here that the journey of College Namugunga started.
Speaking about his late grandfather’s influence, Bakenga mentioned, “I wanted to do something, I come from a family who wants to help others. I feel too lucky to be earning money playing football. I want to give back, so, I wanted to build a football academy but the process there was very difficult due to the corruption in Congo and we found that education is better. Especially for the kids with no parents, those who lost their parents in the war or poverty.”
Now apart from College Namugunga, Mushaga Bakenga also has an organisation called Divided World. This organisation helps in raising the funds so that proper facilities can be provided to the children at the school. However, the Norwegian forward doesn’t want to stop here and wants to take some big steps in the future.
He shed light on the broader vision and outline his plans, “Now I am talking to big companies and influential persons in Norway and I hope in the next 10 years, I get to build 1 school each year in different places. I always want to help, in Norway, I am doing things and if I see something in Punjab where I can help, I want to help. I want to leave this world knowing that I did my best in helping as many as I could.“
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