Phiona Mutesi was nine years old when she was first introduced to the game of chess.
But it wasn’t the love of the game that attracted her to it at first — it was the chance to enjoy a meal.
“When my brother told me about the chess program and there is a meal everyday, after playing chess they serve you a meal,” she told Global News.
“And I kept going back because I wanted something to eat.”
Growing up in Katwe, Uganda, Phiona lived in the slums with her mother and brothers. She lost her father at the age of three.
The family struggled for years, living on the streets of Katwe, desperate for food and making money by selling maize on the side of the road.
For years, Phiona’s mother could not afford to send her to school and eventually they lost their home, leaving them to sleep on the streets.
“At that time we had nothing to eat, nothing to drink … We are just there, sleeping in the streets … We had become just hopeless,” she said.
But her life changed the day she walked into a chess club.
READ MORE: ‘Queen of Katwe’ review: Underdog chess story resonates
There she met Robert Katende, founder of the Som Chess Academy.
Robert said he saw a spark and determination in Phiona that was unlike anything he had encountered before.
“Her spirit and her determination was so high,” Robert said.
Phiona said she wasn’t interested in chess until she won a match against another boy.
“There was a boy who always beat me… Within five moves the game was over. I went to Robert and asked him how do I defeat him. He told me and when I went back I managed to play against this guy and I beat him,” Phiona said.
“He cried and went away, but I was so happy. It was then I really became interested in chess and I thought I could be anybody.”
Robert became Phiona’s mentor and one of her biggest champions.
In Uganda, women and girls are not regarded as strong or equal to men, he told Global News.
But Phiona was going to change that and show the world just how strong girls can be.
“It was pretty outstanding for a girl especially from the slums to be so bold and be ready to fight for her cause,” Robert said.
Robert taught her that the game of chess is more than just moving pieces on a board – it’s a game of life.
“It’s beyond the game itself. Because most of the things we do within the daily life, what we are using, everything we are using is all about chess. The calculations, planning your daily life is chess,” she says.
Her determination to win made her Uganda’s chess champion — or, as many call her, the “Queen of Katwe.” Her ultimate goal is to become a chess grand master.
READ MORE: From refugee to Canadian citizen: a Ugandan tells the story of his 1972 journey to Winnipeg
Phiona’s story has been shared around the world — first as a book, and now as a Disney movie.
Her success has taken her family out of the slums and given them a future.
Phiona bought her mother a home outside the slums where she has her own farm and her brothers are both going to school.
Phiona has just finished high school and the 21-year-old plans to start university in September.
Her story and her talents at chess are also inspiring girls around the world to go to school and to learn the game.
“I have right now a club, I am teaching chess and most of the girls like it, they want to come and learn chess, they want to be strong,” Phiona said.
Phiona plans on studying sociology so she can work with children in Uganda and help them get out of poverty and give them a future.
“I just want to save them, care for them, be with them,” she said.
Comments