“We Understand That Language”: African refugees in the Midlands use soccer to build better life

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The game of soccer has a language all its own. At Columbia High School, it’s one of many spoken by the team.

The majority of the players for the Capitals come from various countries in East Africa — from Tanzania to Uganda and Rwanda. But for most of these players, their birth countries aren’t their true homes.

They were born in refugee camps, as their parents fled from their home nation of the Congo to escape the war and unrest in the region. They spent their entire lives in these camps, and soccer soon became a way of life for them growing up.

When the boys became teenagers, they immigrated to America and settled in Columbia to start a new life. In a new country with a new language and a new culture, they found each other through the game of soccer.

Most of the players only spoke Swahili when they moved to America, so they enrolled at Columbia High because it was one of the few schools in the Midlands that offered English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.

This fall, two players — Zawadi Kashindi and Hodari Twishime — will be attending Bob Jones University on full soccer scholarships. They will be the first in their families to attend college. Twishime plans to major in Sport Management, and Kashindi will study Business Administration.

Cam Gaskins has more on the journey of this team.