Young judoka Rasul Samadzade brings glory to Azerbaijan in the heart of Africa - PHOTO - VIDEO
A student of Baku Oxford School and member of Judo Club 2012, 14-year-old Rasul Samadzade traveled to Uganda and returned, leaving behind not only good deeds but also warm memories of Azerbaijan.
In the village of Chepuskinia, Rasul organized the installation of a water pipeline with clean drinking water, a project that took 20 days. Three villages and a local school gained access to water, providing hundreds of people with a resource they previously lacked. Alongside this, food assistance was also provided to the residents.
“I know that children in Uganda spend hours every day just to carry water to their homes. This is time they could spend in school, learning and developing. The water pipeline I helped install is not just pipes; it’s an opportunity for the children of Uganda to choose education over exhausting labor,” says Rasul Samadzade.
In the village of Nomalo, Rasul Samadzade donated a computer and numerous stationery supplies to the local school, and also conducted judo masterclasses for the children. For this purpose, he brought 30 kimonos from Azerbaijan and distributed them to the young athletes, many of whom were experiencing this martial art for the first time.
“Judo teaches more than just fighting—it teaches respect for your opponent, how to take a hit, and to believe in yourself. I wanted these children to feel the same thing I felt when I first put on a kimono. Maybe there’s a future champion among them, and now they have a chance,” shares the young Azerbaijani judoka.
The work done did not go unnoticed by the Ugandan government. Rasul met with the president of the Uganda Judo Federation, George William, as well as the General Secretary of the Ministry of Sports, Bernard Patrick Ogwel. Following these meetings, he was awarded certificates of honor and official gratitude for implementing infrastructure projects, providing food assistance to local residents, and actively promoting the development of judo in the country.
“I didn’t go to Uganda for awards—I just wanted to help people in need. But it was very important to me that wherever I went, people knew: this is an Azerbaijani. I wanted people in a distant African village to hear the word ‘Azerbaijan’ and associate it with kindness, care, and respect. Azerbaijan is a country with a big heart, and I hope I was able to show that,” notes Rasul Samadzade.
