She was 14 and her nine teammates were all in their 20s. In the fall of 2010, Phiona was selected to represent Africa at the World Chess Olympiad in Siberia, Russia as the second-seeded player for the Ugandan Team. Actress Madina Nalwanga (right) as Phiona in the movie.ĭid she play in the World Chess Olympiad in Russia? The real Phiona Mutesi (left) around the time of the Queen of Katwe movie's release in 2016. He first worked as a missionary soccer coach before deciding to also teach chess. Having personally gone through such hard life, I realized that it was by the grace of God to be who I am, so I decided to just invest in the children who are facing the same tragedies I had faced" ( NTV). "I taught myself to be a sports missionary," says Robert, "because I use sports to mend and transform lives, mainly of children who are facing some tragedies in life. His coach told him about a job with the Sports Outreach Institute, a Christian mission. His skill at soccer helped him to receive an education and make a little money as a player after he graduated. A bastard child born in the village of Kiboga, just outside Kampala, Uganda, Robert had worked his way out of the slums and made it to the university.
Early on he hoped to find better paying work in one of those fields, but unlike the movie, by the time he met Phiona he had already realized his calling was to be a missionary/coach. His educational background was in engineering, specializing in civil, IT, and computer engineering. Was Robert Katende really only planning to coach until he found more lucrative work as an engineer? Every day Coach Robert and I train to make me a better chess player." -Silent Images Documentary "I'm so happy to have Coach Robert as my coach," Phiona said in 2010 at age 15. ESPN The Magazineĭid her chess coach, Robert Katende, really play as big of a roll in her life? She and her family had moved to different locations in Katwe six times in four years, once because they were robbed of everything and another time because their hut was crumbling. Most days consisted of searching for food and usually a meal of rice and tea. each morning to embark on a two-hour trek to fill a jug with water that was safe to drink. Like in the movie, Phiona had to wake up at 5 a.m. Drug use, prostitution, robbery and murder are prevalent, making Katwe one of the worst crime-ridden areas in the capital city of Kampala, Uganda. Garbage litters the slums and flies are everywhere. There is no sewage or sanitation, the stench is appalling.
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The Disney Queen of Katwe movie understandably tones down the realities of life in the slums, details that can be found in Tim Crothers' nonfiction book of the same name, on which the movie is based. Yes, it's actually much harsher than what's seen in the film. Is life in the slums of Katwe as harsh as what's shown in the movie? Silent Images DocumentaryĬoach Robert Katende and Phiona Mutesi (top) and actors David Oyelowo and Madina Nalwanga (bottom). The real Phiona Mutesi drew such parallels to her own life as well. One example is Phiona (Madina Nalwanga) liking the act of "Queening" because a pawn survives and makes it all the way across the board, becoming a Queen. The movie goes on to draw parallels to how the game reflects Phiona's life. "I started playing against girls and boys," says Phiona, "then I started beating the boys." The program had grown to 25 kids when Phiona joined. Class, income and education didn't matter. The lessons took place inside of Agape Sanctuary, a loosely put together church with a listing roof and crumbling walls. Realizing the kids he was working with weren't all going to play soccer (partially because the parents couldn't afford medical bills for injuries), Katende taught them chess, which he had mastered when he was younger.
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Missionary Robert Katende, portrayed by David Oyelowo in the movie, welcomed her and taught her how to play. Like in the movie, Phiona was introduced to chess at age 9 after secretly following her brother Brian to a meeting of the Sports Outreach Institute, a Christian mission where she observed him playing chess. Two days later she was awake and began to recover. After begging for money from her sister, Harriet took Phiona to the hospital and doctors removed fluid from Phiona's spine after she lost consciousness. Her mother Harriet believes that she had malaria. The Queen of Katwe true story confirms that Phiona nearly died when she was 8 years old.