“I actually had to teach myself how to cook when I got here, you know.” Freedom said with a little bit of an embarrassed smile. “I lived with my parents since the day I was born, so I never cooked a day in my life!”
(Posho.)
Freedom was born in the capital city of Kampala in Uganda. His father worked as an engineer and his mother stayed at home to take care of him and the home. He has no siblings. He is single.
“Life in Uganda was very simple, but I always wished it could be better,” Freedom told us candidly, “I wanted to live somewhere peaceful and stable. When I was 25, I took the risk and decided to move to the United States." He worked as an auto mechanic for many years, but he always felt like something was missing. “As a child, I’d played in youth football teams and my coaches had always urged me to go professional. But ultimately I had decided against it. That possibility had always stayed in the back of my mind.”
(Kampala, Uganda.)
"One day, I was riding my bicycle and listening to music peacefully until suddenly…. BANG! I fell sideways and onto the hard sidewalk. Lucky for me I was wearing my helmet! My face wasn't as lucky though, and I got a huge scar on my left cheek that you can still see now! When I somewhat got to my senses, I saw another man on his bike on the ground. He was also riding his bike and had crashed into me! He was incredibly embarrassed and was profusely apologizing. I laughed it off and asked him if he’d be open to having some burgers at the fast-food place nearby. We ended up spending hours there! And that’s how I met 元気さん!” Freedom could hardly contain himself with his laughter.
“After we had gotten to know each other some more, I had told him about my backstory and my experience with football as a young lad. He then interrupted me and excitedly told me that he had actually been given the job of manager for a new football club recently and offered me a place on the roster right then and there. I was very skeptical at first! I was 36 at the time, wasn’t I a little too old to start playing? But 元気さん inspired me to give it a shot. That’s how I ended up at Union Omaha.”
Now 38, Freedom has truly been enjoying his time at the club. “If I was 36 when I joined, who knows when I might retire!” he laughed. He served me posho and we sat down to have our tasty meal.
That’ll be all for this week’s issue of The Roost. We hope you enjoyed catching a glimpse into Freedom’s life!
Take care,
--T