I laughed. I told her about something most people don’t know about me. I had no offer for university (local and international) after senior six. I was among the worst performers at my school. More so, I attended one of the best schools in the country. I think that was my first experience of depression and stress. What killed me most was the 60 rejection letters I read from universities and colleges in the USA. You read that right. 60 REJECTION LETTERS. If the theory that the more we get rejected, the more we get used to rejection is correct, I shouldn’t even have any emotions for rejection at this point in my life.

A little detour, I think one of the best pieces of advice I have received time and again has been, “Invest in yourself.”

Rose dreams of setting up infrastructure and systems to support, mentor, and equip girls with skill sets to thrive in the basketball world. “I want to get as many girls involved in basketball as I can.” With every minute Rose spends on the court, she wears the South Sudanese jersey with pride.

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When I got a short playing stint with Makerere University, I was equally shocked about the challenges we had to shoulder as athletes. First, we had one basketball court used for practice and game day. The University has two outdoor basketball courts, but one (pool court) was “kidnapped” by the community and turned into a pickup spot.