Search Results for: kibomango

Goma, Nord Kivu January 25th Rounding a corner in the Cirque Sportif informal settlement in Goma there is a rumble up ahead, with some kind of fight going on. A crowd has formed a circle, just like a schoolyard fight … Continue reading →

Club des Amitiés boxing club, Goma, Nord-Kivu November 2011   I am an orphan and am alone in the world. I work with the mechanics here in the Kibabie market in Goma, which is what feeds me, but it is … Continue reading →

October 2011 If things happen for a purpose then the obstacles encountered getting the staff of my child soldiers NGO from war torn eastern Congo to Brazil were a test—obstacles in our path every step of the way, from one … Continue reading →

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo July 2011 The lives of professional boxers are inextricably linked with suffering—success tending to be fleeting and short lived, brought short by defeat, self-destructive behaviour or injustice. Hurricane Carter endured years of wrongful imprisonment, Mike … Continue reading →

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo April 11th A late night phone call from an aggrieved professional boxer asking to see you may not be the kind of request anyone would wish to receive. But I’ve been kind of hoping for … Continue reading →

Goma April 10th 2011 Truth is a slippery commodity—we can know it only to the extent revealed and on this day when there is a near riot in the town of Goma, eastern Congo, based on half truth and rumour … Continue reading →

Goma DRC April 9th 2011 The easiest route to the public’s attention in a country without a lot of modern media is to do it the traditional way—you take your message directly to the streets. That is what is happening … Continue reading →

On boxing promoters in the Congo, Goma April 8th 2011 Fight promoter may not be the top of any list of the most reputable vocations. There is a sleazy underside to the world of boxing in whatever country it takes … Continue reading →

Stade des Volcans, Goma DRC April 5th There is a universal appeal to professional wrestling—you will find it in any corner of the world, the combination of faux combat, gymnastic ability and pure acting and theatre finding resonance for audiences … Continue reading →

Goma, DRC March 12th 2011 When the Angolan Army intervened we were quite unprepared. They, and the Zimbabweans, had tanks, heavy weaponry and aircraft. We were lightly armed. I lost many friends that day in Kitona; I saw people killed … Continue reading →

If someone were to tell you that a city was the worst in the world you could either be horrified or fascinated by it. Some people spend time compiling such lists—generally as part of a corporate HR exercise to determine … Continue reading →

Goma, Nord-Kivu March 3rd With less than a week to go to Kibomango’s Fight Day the training is on in earnest and the early morning sessions now proceed to plan like a military operation. I am inside the training camp … Continue reading →

Goma, Nord-Kivu March 1st 2011 Jab-jab, droit! Jab-jab, droit! It is the day after a failed coup in the DRC but no one is paying much attention, and not here this morning either, where our boxing drills have been going … Continue reading →

Goma, Nord-Kivu February 20th 2011 Congolese videos have an endearing home made quality to them, all jerky hand held shots and awkward camera angles. But this one is something entirely different—whether inadvertent or not, it feels like film noir. I … Continue reading →

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo February 3rd 2011 In 1961 when US writer George Plimpton stepped into the ring and sparred three rounds with then boxing champion Sugar Ray Robinson as part of an assignment for Sports Illustrated, he both … Continue reading →

Goma, Nord-Kivu January 28th “Club des amités!” “Les combatants de Jungle!” “Club des amités!” “Les combatants de Jungle!” It is 6:30 AM with the sun beginning to light the dusty, dirty, urine smelling Stade des Volcans (Volcanos) football ground in … Continue reading →