Uganda Community Gymnastics Club

Mustafa Yiga is a self-taught acrobat and a product of M-LISADA Children’s home and resource center in Kampala. He lived just a few meters away from the M-LISADA home and used to do all kinds of odd jobs including selling snacks to the children living in the home, creating a bond of the kids living there. After learning that M-LISADA was supporting these children to stay in school, he desired for the same opportunity, and it was granted. He became a child member of M-LISADA and started going to school again.

Mustafa realized that many children at the M-LISADA center showcased their talents in music and dance so he decided to pursue acrobats, an art that he had developed naturally as a child even though it has never been revealed to so many. This excited many children living at M-LISADA and they started to join him, eventually unofficially making him a mentor/coach. The program started to grow and many children from within the surrounding community started to join. Music was then incorporated into the acrobats and gymnastics activities and M-LISADA started to give official presentations with it.

Mustafa and the M-LISADA acrobats and gymnastics team members started to get noticed around the county, and they received increased media coverage participating in many state and local events, turning a talent and passion into a career.

In 2021 Mustafa and M-LISADA launched the Uganda Community Gymnastics program in partnership with M-LISADA to fulfil the passion of introducing acrobats and gymnastic activities to children within the surrounding communities and country at large. This program will help many children advance their talents and lift them to greater platforms for opportunities.