Godfridah Kasangula.

Hi I am Godfridah Kasangula, a 36-year-old lady who started being involved in sports when I was in primary school in 2000, despite my mothers disapproval. I joined athletics without her consent so I used to sneak out,  but the moment she found out, I was seriously beaten.  Her beatings however did not stop me from participating in sports. In 2003 she unfortunately passed away, so I stayed with my Aunt who supported my participation in sports. 

At last without intimidation I used to do athletics and then started cricket because I was not allowed to represent my class or school.  The same happened in cricket, so I went to join netball, but I would only be part of the team when they were short of players. I didn’t give up and I joined the Cadets, although it was not allowed for a primary pupil.

In 2002 I was chosen to attend a peer-coaching workshop, which is how I became known at school and they started putting me on the teams to represent my school. During the workshop I met girls of my age who played football in the Norway cup, which is how I became the goalkeeper for the team. Since I used to play netball in primary school I thought it was easy to be in goal, which proved me and my sports teacher right.  When I completed High  School I became the Central Action Team goalkeeper when I completed high school. After saving 4 penalty kicks and just a few games for the Central action team,  I was called for the under 17 National Team Trials. Unfortunately, I wasn’t used to the National Team standard goalkeeper gloves, so I was dropped, but since I was confident to stand in front of my fellow peers this is where I started to find my other skills and inspirations.  I met other peers who were more confident  than I, including Kelvin Chasauka, Ireen Lupiya, Morgan Chibwe, Bright Lengwe, James Banda, Sarah Chungu and Carol Chibamba.  These peers became my inspirations that I loved to be around, and I learnt so many other personal skills.

In 2011 they gave me the courage to apply as an intern in Mufulira for 4 months. As I completed my internship, Zambia was hosting the 2021 Zone six games/ All Southern African games, so I applied and worked as a Volunteer there. I also applied for a leadership program in 2013 at the United Nations Office on Sports for Development and Peace (UNOSDP). From 2014 I was employed as a Copperbelt Provincial Coordinator to 2019 when I resigned and came back to Lusaka.

In the process, I became a mother which was unplanned, which made me look at life differently, and I had to take responsibility for my child. Being a single mum when Covid-19 came made it worse as I became bored doing nothing at home. Slowly I was badly affected by depression, I lost weight and felt completely hopeless. This was when I called Mr. Chasauka to ask if there was anything for me to lend my services to, especially with the restrictions on physical activities during Covid-19.  The Mental health Mondays sessions by AOTB and WEEP that supported the volunteers and athletes to help overcome depression and other mental health issues, thankfully were a huge game changer for me. Thereafter, I assisted as an administrator for AOTB, which is how I became aware that the FAZ were hosting D-license training, in conjunction with the CAF/COSAFA. So I was added to the list with four other coaches to be trained under AOTB, and this is how I started helping to mentor the young girls.  I took part in promoting and donating things to help with COVID-19 prevention, self-hygiene and menstrual hygiene management.

Finally last year the CAF/COSAFA D-License, funded by AOTB, meant I qualified for the Youth Sports Exchange Program (YSEP).  This was the highest and most influential certificate, where I spent 9 months in Norway coaching a team for people living with disabilities, and the squad of 12 girls. This was a great experience where I learnt a new Language, how parents are involved in sports, Time Management, unnecessary complaints as well as anger and frustration management.  I also gained a deeper understanding of myself and the people around me, most importantly valuing someone’s time and privacy with the importance of obeying rules and regulations of the country. I am now able to apply what I learnt back home in Lusaka because I have more understanding and saw another side of life.