Super Select Corporates has donated essential supplies to mothers and newborns at the maternity ward of Lira Regional Referral Hospital as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative aimed at supporting maternal health and giving back to the community.
The football-based corporate team donated soap, detergents, milk, sugar, drinking water and other basic necessities to new mothers, expectant mothers and families receiving care at the facility.
Speaking during the handover, Super Select Corporates Manager Mate Owen Asaba said the team chose the maternity ward because it is where life begins and deserves special care and support.
“We came back to visit the maternity ward to give back to the mothers of this nation because we believe this is one of the most amazing places. It gives life, and a place that gives life needs to be held with all due respect,” Asaba said.
He explained that Super Select Corporates was founded in July 2022 by a group of working professionals brought together by their shared passion for football but has since expanded its mission to include community service.
The team has established leadership structures, including an executive committee, team manager, CSR representative, community liaison officer and team captains, to coordinate both sporting and community outreach activities.
“Aside from football, we believe we need to engage with the communities where we live. The money we collect through subscriptions is not only used to support the team, buy training equipment and facilitate games, but also to support communities,” Asaba said.
He noted that the team had previously undertaken community outreach in Arua, where it donated cleaning materials, and plans to roll out similar initiatives in other areas.
Team member Chris Oluge said the donation reflected the group's belief that sport can be used to positively impact communities.
“Football brings us together and we become one family. We no longer call ourselves just footballers; we are brothers and sisters,” Oluge said.
He added that all the donated items were purchased through members' personal contributions rather than external sponsorship.
“Whatever you see here are the small contributions that we picked from our small wallets and pockets. It is a giving that we are bringing from our hearts,” he said.
Oluge also revealed that the team plans to visit Adele Primary School to mentor pupils and encourage them to embrace sports as a potential career pathway.
Receiving the donation, the Officer-in-Charge of the Lira Regional Referral Hospital maternity ward, Sr Betty Apio, commended the initiative, noting that maternal healthcare extends beyond clinical treatment.
“Not only medical care can solve all the problems of mothers. We offer the medical care, but there are other forms of care that medical providers may not give 100 percent,” Apio said.
She said the donated items would help mothers maintain hygiene, reduce the risk of infections and provide energy, particularly for women who are still in labour.
Apio also encouraged expectant mothers to attend antenatal care, deliver at health facilities and return for postnatal care to reduce maternal and newborn complications.
One of the beneficiaries, Sandra Angom, welcomed the donation, saying it would ease the burden on new mothers.
“The sugar you have given us is going to help us and give us strength and energy. The detergents will help us wash our babies' clothes so that they don't get infections,” Angom said.
Super Select Corporates said it intends to continue using football as a platform for community engagement and social support across the region.
