The strength of Dennis | What Balls!

Dennis he ties plastic bottles filled with water to his ankles. He puts car tires over his shoulder. Or if he fastens them around his waist, he holds them up with iron bars used instead of rockers. It slides into water-filled bins and tries to jump out, to improve responsiveness and elevation. There are no tools in Gayaza, so he does what he can.

Gayaza is about fifteen miles from Kampala, in Uganda. Where Dennis Kasumba until recently slaughtered cattle.

Then it came Paul Wafula, former baseball player, coach, 28 years old. And begins this story told by Kevin Baxter on the Los Angeles Times, with photos, beautiful, of Wally Skalij.

Paul Wafula has mysteriously played in an independent league in Japan and has made up his mind to give Dennis, who is 18, a chance, try and be a catcher in a team where more than half of the players are orphans, like him . Dennis lives with his grandmother, Edith Nantenze, and 7 other people. In three rooms.

So in this story is Paul and his assistant coach who has a great name, Ssempa Johnbosco. AND Allan Kabenge, launcher to starboard at 90 miles, also experienced in Japan. And then Dennis’ teammates, Ibrahim Bukenya, 15, homeless; Ryond Kasasa, 17, a refugee from Rwanda; Johnatha Osinde, 10 years old, alone in the world.

There are many cows and other cattle as we do not see. Because Dennis continues to work, but part-time. Paul promised him a bowl of rice or some other food for every workout. But he still has some work to do. And so he goes, barefoot, in the mud mixed with manure. For 4,000 shillings a day, 1 euro is right.

And then there’s Esther, Esther Nassali, Dennis’ cousin. She that she has an iPhone. And she makes the videos, she puts them on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, especially TikTok.
To make someone notice. Because since Ben Serunkuma, 22, pitcher, and Umar Male, 21 outfield, signed for the Dodgers Minors and David Matoma, 17 pitcher, for the Pirates, Dennis too dreams of America.

Joshua Williams, an Atlanta lawyer who works for a humanitarian organization, got busy. He would like him to arrive for the Draft League, the new league with teams between New jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland: they have set it up on purpose, to give the boys the opportunity to show off for the draft, in fact.

Only Dennis couldn’t get a visa. We need documents and information about the parents (it happens to us too, and it doesn’t count if the parents are deceased: has anyone had an Esta recently?).
The problem is that he doesn’t have parents. He doesn’t know if they are alive, or where they are. So no seen

Until the day before yesterday, the report in the LA Times and the decision of the Embassy in Kampala. The visa is there now. Dennis Kasumbatraining like this, will play in the Draft League