What a crazy few months it has been for Robert and Phiona with the filming of Queen of Katwe and their extra time needed there to the growth of the chess program in Uganda and Kenya and the nearing completion of the future Chess Academy and Mentoring Center!! It’s all so exciting, so we will just get to it:

 

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We will start with the movie filming, since I know that naturally stirs instant jitters in all of us!  The Queen of Katwe filming has wrapped as far as know and is now in the editing phase!  Check out the Disney link for the movie.  We are still not positive on a release date, that is something that they like to keep close until they know for sure!  But, all news from Robert, who was on set probably 75% of the time helping and answering any questions, everything went really well and he seems very excited for the movie!

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Now lets talk some chess, it is incredible how this program just continues to grow month to month.  More and more children become interested and more and more doors and opportunities seem to open and become available.  It is such a blessing the way this program helps so many children!  In Nairobi, Kenya where this program is barely a year old, they already have numerous chess programs.  They have even begun a special chess program for those with physical or mental handicap with the objective always being to share the gospel of Christ and also encourage the handicapped on the values of self esteem and to nurture talents as one way of solving our problems.

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It’s also very exciting that a dear friend of the chess ministry, Beatrize Marinelli, who works with the World Chess Federation, FIDE, is traveling to Uganda this week.  She will be visiting and training for four days in Gulu, Uganda and four days in Kampala, Uganda.  Beatrize has a team with her of coaches so that they can help answer, train and coach the current coaches and teachers while also delivering 40 chess sets to each location! WOW!   It will also be an awesome experience for her to see the Chess Academy and Mentoring Center which is part of the Kampala Ministry Center in person!  The Kampala Ministry Center will in addition to having a Chess Academy and Mentoring center, will have eight children’s homes, a school, public health facility, chapel, soccer field, basketball court, and much more.  If you would like to know more about this center or how you can get involved with this, please email us at, info@sportsoutreach.net.

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Make sure you check back next month for more updates on the growth of the chess program, the building of the Chess Center and the movie!