John Ngurugwe, the Kenyan in Qatar Who Unites a Community Through His Love of Football
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Community Community Qatar Majlis-e- Philharmonic Frogh-e-Urdu P6Orchestra P16 Arab all set performs at United to organise its silver Nations Assembly Hall jubilee mushaira in New York as part of (poetry symposium) UN Day celebrations. this Friday. Tuesday, October 29, 2019 Rabia I 1, 1441 AH Doha today: 280 - 350 COVER STORY HIGH PROFILE: FC Kenya has raised John Ngurugwe’s profile to such an extent that he was asked to be the focal point for the local Kenyan community in dealings with the SC. A sporting chance John Ngurugwe, the Kenyan in Qatar who unites a community through his love of football. P4-5 POP SPOT SHOWBIZ I sound better live OTT redefi nes success than on record: Jorja. for new-age actors. Page 14 Page 15 2 GULF TIMES Tuesday, October 29, 2019 COMMUNITY ROUND & ABOUT PRAYER TIME Fajr 4.21am Shorooq (sunrise) 5.41am Zuhr (noon) 11.19am Asr (afternoon) 2.32pm Maghreb (sunset) 4.57pm Isha (night) 6.27pm USEFUL NUMBERS Dark Encounter home from her memorial service in their small town. Later DIRECTION: Carl Strathie that evening, strange lights appear in the nearby forest and CAST: Laura Fraser, Mel Raido, Sid Phoenix the family is exposed to an inexplicably strange phenomenon SYNOPSIS: A year after the mysterious disappearance of that rattles them to the core. an 8-year-old girl, we meet her grieving family as they return THEATRE: Royal Plaza Emergency 999 Worldwide Emergency Number 112 Kahramaa – Electricity and Water 991 Local Directory 180 International Calls Enquires 150 Hamad International Airport 40106666 Labor Department 44508111, 44406537 Mowasalat Taxi 44588888 Qatar Airways 44496000 Hamad Medical Corporation 44392222, 44393333 Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation 44845555, 44845464 Primary Health Care Corporation 44593333 44593363 Qatar Assistive Technology Centre 44594050 Qatar News Agency 44450205 44450333 Q-Post – General Postal Corporation 44464444 Humanitarian Services Offi ce (Single window facility for the repatriation of bodies) Ministry of Interior 40253371, 40253372, 40253369 Ministry of Health 40253370, 40253364 Hamad Medical Corporation 40253368, 40253365 Qatar Airways 40253374 Princess Emmy a secret talent, she can speak to horses. The young princess DIRECTION: Piet De Rycker uses her gift to help maintain peace in the land when her CAST: Ruby Barnhill, Kenny Blyth, Tyler Collins scheming cousin attempts to cause trouble. SYNOPSIS: Princess Emmy of the Kingdom of Kandis has THEATRES: Royal Plaza, Landmark te Unqu uo ot Q “I never e knew how to worship until I knew how to love.” — Henry Ward Beeche Community Editor For movie timings and Kamran Rehmat further details please scan e-mail: [email protected] the QR code above with your Telephone: 44466405 mobile phone camera or visit qatarcinemas.com Fax: 44350474 Tuesday, October 29, 2019 GULF TIMES 3 ROUND & ABOUT COMMUNITY TIME: 10am - 10pm Ballet Lessons The festival off ers other benefi ts to WHERE: Music and Arts Atelier participants, including the promotion of WHEN: Ongoing their work, interaction with print, electronic, TIME: 4pm – 8pm digital, and social media, interaction with For more info e-mail at registration@ selected art collectors, art investors, and atelierqatar.com or call on 33003839. potential buyers. QIAF, one of the largest art festivals in Qatar, is organised every year. For further details, [email protected], [email protected] Hobby Classes After School Activities WHERE: Mamangam Performing Art WHERE: Atelier Centre WHEN: Ongoing WHEN: Saturday – Friday Music and arts activities for students Mamangam is an art and performance Gems and Jewels Exhibition hierarchies and health systems of the local taking place after they fi nish their day in centre started with a vision of spreading WHERE: Museum of Islamic Art Tanzanian communities. school includes Group Music lessons, Hip- our knowledge, interests and experience in WHEN: Ongoing till January 18 A collection of photographs of the wildlife, hop, Ballet, Drawing and Painting, Drama various disciplines in arts across diff erent TIME: 9am onwards landscapes and people of Tanzania taken by Theatre & Taekwondo. Ages between 5 and 10 countries for children and adults. The exhibition comes in celebration of WCM-Q professor Dr Dietrich Büsselberg years old after school hours. Mamangam has become the favourite the 2019 Year of Culture Qatar-India and will be exhibited. centre for learning. We off er regular classes presents a look at magnifi cent gems and in the following disciplines like traditional jewellery from India. Set in Stone: Gems and classical and folk dance forms, art and Jewels from Royal Indian Courts showcases craft, drawing and painting, personality more than 100 pieces from across Qatar development and public speaking, Bollywood Museums’ (QM) collections, including many dance, contemporary, hip hop styles, music masterpieces that have never been displayed both vocals and instrumentals. To develop before. health consciousness, we train them karate, yoga with special sessions for kids and adults. Mamangam has also come up with chess and robotics in regular batches in an attempt to give a better learning experience, as they sharpen their minds and brains too. For those who wish to register for more details, visit www.mamangamqatar.in Artistic Gymnastic Classes WHERE: Qatar Academy Msheireb WHEN: Ongoing TIME: 3:15pm – 4:15pm The olympic sport using horizontal bar, rings and fl oor exercises on mats for the children from age 4 till 16. Career Guidance Photo Exhibition: ‘Experience WHERE: Right Track Consultants, Al Tanzania’ Sadd WHERE: Multaqa (Student Center) Art WHEN: Sunday – Thursday Gallery at Education City TIME: 6pm – 8pm WHEN: Ongoing until December 1 Career guidance for course, country, ISC Yoga Championship 2019 TIME: 4pm college and entrance for students of Grade WHERE: MES Indian School, Abu ‘Experience Tanzania’ is a yearly project IX-XII, of all curriculum. Career assessments Hamour supported by Student Aff airs Division of administered for stream preference, career WHEN: November 1 Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar that allows test, branch preference, personality, TIME: 1pm onwards students and faculty to explore and immerse multiple intelligence and learning styles ISC Inter-School Team and Individual themselves in Tanzanian urban and rural and productivity. For more information, championship is open to all schools in Qatar cultures. During their trip, WCM-Q’s 55448835. in U-12 & U-19 Boys and Girls categories. aspiring physicians off er basic healthcare Yoga Championship is also open for Men services to the locals as a way of giving Qatar International Art Festival 2019 and Women category separately. back to the community and learn about WHERE: Katara Cultural Village Entry is free. For further details, 55956008, the lifestyles, traditions, socioeconomic WHEN: 30 October - 5 November 77353255, 55005964 Compiled by Nausheen Shaikh. E-mail: [email protected], Events and timings subject to change 4 GULF TIMES Tuesday, October 29, 2019 COMMUNITY COVER STORY When love of sport is harbinger of good John Ngurugwe, founder of FC Kenya, tells the inspirational story of his team. His dream is to one day see FC Kenya compete in the professional ranks of Qatari football What I want is for this football team to carry on and grow into something even bigger. You never know, one day it ‘might be part of the Qatar Stars League — John Ngurugwe, FC Kenya goalkeeper and HSSE Officer at UCL Qatar C Kenya’s humble origins can be traced back to Friday kickabouts in the park. The players gathered simply to catch up with friends and enjoy Ftheir day off . A decade later, however, and thanks to the stirring drive and passion of one man in particular, the club now boasts a fanbase, along with founder member status of Qatar’s leading amateur football league. ’ And if John Ngurugwe gets his way, this is only the start. His dream is to one day see FC Kenya compete in the professional ranks of Qatari football. “What I want is for this football team to carry on and grow into something even bigger,” said Ngurugwe, who plays as the team’s goalkeeper. “You never know, one day it might be part of the Qatar Stars League.” Thanks to his involvement with FC Tuesday, October 29, 2019 GULF TIMES 5 COVER STORY COMMUNITY Kenya, Ngurugwe has become a popular and well-known member of the Kenyan community in Qatar. And one of the main reasons for his status is the unifying power of football. “I am a person who likes reaching out to people,” said Ngurugwe, who works as an Health, Safety, Security and Environmental (HSSE) Offi cer at UCL Qatar. “When I fi rst came to Qatar, I thought football was the best way to reach out to other Kenyans in the country.” Those Friday kickabouts were given a new lease of life when Ngurugwe joined them in 2009, as team captain Eric Otwal recalls. “About six of us used to play every week,” said Otwal. “It was a way to enjoy our day off and we’d discuss family and work issues, sharing what’s going on in the world.” Otwal continued: “We used to play friendlies until John came. When he joined the team, he came up with new ideas. At fi rst, nobody knew much about Kenyans here, but now this club has a fan base and people come to cheer us on.” The club’s chairman, Athman Hamis, remembers Ngurugwe’s liveliness during those early games. “He would get changed and put on his gloves, ready to play his heart out between the posts.” Very soon, the weekly Kenyan kickabout began to be taken more seriously. “We started growing and getting more people involved,” said GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH : FC Kenya now has 60 players on its database, with a core squad of 30 training every week at UCL Qatar facilities, Ngurugwe.