Monthly Archives: October 2025

🌍 Leadership Isn’t About Comfort — It’s About Commitment

When we talk about leadership, we often imagine conference rooms, strategy meetings, or polished speeches. But sometimes, the greatest lessons in leadership aren’t taught in air-conditioned offices — they’re learned on dusty football fields, under the hot Ugandan sun.

At Fecane Child Foundation, where we use football and mentorship to transform the lives of vulnerable children, I’ve had the privilege of meeting leaders whose stories rarely make headlines — but whose impact echoes quietly across generations.

One of them is Coach Haruna. And his story reshaped my entire understanding of what it means to lead.

⚽ The Man Who Stayed — Even When It Hurt

A few months ago, Coach Haruna’s health began to decline. The doctors advised rest. His friends insisted he take time off. But every morning, before the first light touched the dusty field in Kawala, Haruna was there — whistle around his neck, slow steps, steady smile.

He didn’t come because he had to. He came because the children were waiting — and he didn’t want them to lose hope.

I remember asking him one morning, “Coach, why not take a break until you’re better?” He smiled faintly and said,

“If I stay home, who will remind these kids that someone believes in them?”

That answer stayed with me. Because that’s not just passion — that’s service. That’s leadership in its purest, most selfless form.

💡 The Leadership Lesson Hidden in the Dust

Watching him on that pitch changed how I think about leadership — not just in nonprofits, but in life and business.

Leadership is often confused with visibility, authority, or control. But real leadership is presence. It’s showing up when it’s hard, when no one’s clapping, when no one will notice — but the mission depends on you.

Haruna doesn’t lead with words; he leads with consistency. He doesn’t inspire through speeches; he inspires through sacrifice.

And that’s when it hit me: Leadership isn’t comfort. It’s commitment.

Whether you’re leading a company, a team, or a community — the principle is the same: True service means putting others before yourself, especially when it’s inconvenient.

💬 The Broader Truth: Leadership at Every Level

In Uganda and across Africa, thousands of quiet leaders like Haruna hold communities together — teachers, coaches, volunteers, parents. They rarely receive recognition, but they build the foundations of tomorrow.

At Fecane Child Foundation, I see this spirit every day. When a volunteer mentors a child. When a coach shares a single pair of football boots among five players. When a mother sacrifices her meal to pay for her son’s school transport.

Leadership doesn’t require power — it requires heart. And in the dust of Kawala, leadership is being redefined by the people who have the least, yet give the most.

🌱 Reflections for Every Professional

For leaders reading this — in business, government, or social sectors — here’s what Coach Haruna’s example taught me:

1. Presence is more powerful than perfection. You don’t need ideal conditions to make a difference — you just need to show up.
2. Sacrifice builds credibility. People don’t follow titles; they follow those who serve.
3. Purpose sustains you when comfort disappears. When the “why” is strong enough, the “how” will follow.
4. Empathy is strategy. The most effective leaders are those who lead with compassion, not command.

🤝 A Call to Honor the Heroes Behind Change

Today, I’m writing not just to tell Haruna’s story — but to honor every unsung hero working in the background of progress.

If you lead a company, a CSR department, or an NGO, I invite you to look beyond metrics and budgets for a moment — and see the human stories that make impact real.

At Fecane Child Foundation, we’re working to expand our reach to more communities, train more volunteer coaches, and rebuild hope for hundreds of children through football and mentorship.

Behind every program, there’s a Haruna — someone quietly carrying the mission on their shoulders.

Let’s support them. Let’s celebrate them. Because sustainable change starts with leaders who stay — even when no one’s watching.

💚 Final Thoughts

Leadership is not a position. It’s a posture. It’s waking up every day and saying, “I will show up — not for recognition, but for transformation.”

So, to everyone out there leading in silence, serving in hardship, and building in the dust — We see you. We honor you. And you are changing the world.

📣 Join the Movement

If this story moved you — take one small action today: ✔️ Share this newsletter to inspire others about what real leadership looks like. ✔️ Connect or partner with Fecane Child Foundation to empower more community leaders like Coach Haruna. ✔️ Or simply leave a comment — telling us who your “Haruna” is in your own life.

Together, we can redefine leadership — not as power, but as purpose.

Kalanzi Shafic Founder | Fecane Child Foundation

🌍 Empowering vulnerable children and youth through football, mentorship, and community transformation.

The Joy of Return vs. The Pain of Exclusion

The start of a school term is always a season of excitement. In Uganda and across the world, you can see children walking to school in fresh uniforms, holding new books, carrying dreams of what they might become—a teacher, a doctor, a footballer, a leader.

But beneath this hopeful image lies another truth, often hidden from view: millions of children are not going back to school at all. Their classrooms remain empty, their seats unfilled, their futures uncertain. While some celebrate the chance to learn, others watch from the sidelines—trapped not by a lack of ambition, but by systemic barriers they did not create.

The Scale of the Crisis

Globally, UNESCO estimates that over 250 million children are still out of school. In Uganda, despite progress, more than 4 out of every 10 children do not complete primary school. For those in informal settlements or rural areas, the odds are even worse.

This is not a small problem—it is a generational emergency. And it stems from multiple, interconnected causes.

Root Causes: Why Children Are Left Behind

1. Poverty as the First Barrier For many families living on less than $2 a day, education is a luxury. School fees, uniforms, exercise books—costs that may seem small—become impossible burdens. A child’s right to learn is weighed against food on the table, and survival usually wins.
2. Crumbling Infrastructure Some schools operate without proper classrooms, leaving children to study under trees or in dilapidated structures. Sanitation facilities are either absent or unsafe, particularly for girls. In slum areas, floods can destroy school compounds, turning them into unusable spaces.
3. Overcrowded Classrooms and Teacher Shortages It is not uncommon for one teacher to manage 80–100 pupils in a single class. This leaves no room for individual attention, weakens learning outcomes, and demoralizes both children and teachers.
4. Social and Cultural Pressures

• Girls are disproportionately affected—pulled out of school for early marriage or household lab or.
• Boys are sometimes forced into child labour to support their families.
• Refugee children and those displaced by conflict face even greater challenges, as education becomes secondary to survival.

1. The Hidden Psychological Cost When children watch their peers go to school while they stay behind, the damage is not only academic. It instils a deep sense of inferiority and hopelessness. This invisible wound is just as damaging as the loss of classroom learning.

Why This Matters for All of Us

The consequences of children missing school are not confined to their households—they ripple outward into communities, nations, and the global economy.

• Economic cost: A single year of schooling can increase an individual’s earnings by 10%. Communities with low education access remain trapped in cycles of poverty.
• Health outcomes: Educated mothers are twice as likely to vaccinate their children, reducing preventable diseases.
• Social impact: Education reduces early marriages, lowers crime rates, and promotes civic engagement.

Every child excluded from school today is not just a personal tragedy—it is a lost opportunity for society as a whole.

What Needs to Change

1. Affordability & Access Education should not depend on a family’s income. Subsidized models, government investment, and innovative financing are crucial to ensure that the poorest children are not left behind.
2. Infrastructure Investment Children cannot learn in unsafe or undignified spaces. Investment in classrooms, toilets, clean water, and basic facilities is non-negotiable.
3. Empowering Teachers Teachers are the backbone of education. They need training, fair pay, and resources to manage classrooms effectively. An underpaid, unsupported teacher cannot deliver quality learning.
4. Community-Centered Solutions Local leaders, parents, and grassroots organizations must be engaged as co-owners of education solutions. Schools thrive when the community sees them as an extension of their own future.
5. Global Solidarity Education inequality is not just a Ugandan or African issue—it is a human issue. In an interconnected world, every child denied education today reduces the collective potential of tomorrow.

A Call to Reflection

This week, as many children return to school with smiles and anticipation, let us not forget the silent millions who are left behind. Their absence is not just a statistic—it is a wound on our shared future.

👉 Imagine a Uganda—and a world—where every child could walk proudly through a school gate this week.

👉 Imagine the ripple effect: healthier families, stronger communities, more innovative economies, and societies rooted in dignity.

👉 Now ask yourself: What role can you, your organization, or your network play in making this vision real?

Education is more than a classroom. It is the foundation of opportunity, dignity, and freedom. When children are denied education, it is not just their dreams that die—it is ours too.

The challenge is great, but so is the opportunity. We must not settle for a world where going back to school is a privilege. It must be a universal right.

✍🏾 This piece is part of my weekly reflections on social impact, education, and community transformation. If you believe every child deserves a future, subscribe to this newsletter and share it with your network. Together, we can keep education at the centre of the global conversation