US-based charity boosts heart surgery dream for Ugandan baby
Nakigga has expressed profound gratitude for the intervention, saying: This support is giving my child a second chance to live. She has described her hope that Ayram would grow up to fulfil dreams any parent holds.
A second Chance of Life donates sh7m to heart treatment of Ayram Mubiru. (Photo by Nelson Kiva)
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Aisha Nakigga is on cloud nine after a Texas-based Ugandan charity spearheaded efforts to save her child, Ayram Mubiru.
Nakigga has expressed profound gratitude for the intervention, saying: This support is giving my child a second chance to live. She has described her hope that Ayram would grow up to fulfil dreams any parent holds.
Mubiru is among a host of Ugandan children battling life-threatening heart conditions needing surgeries abroad.
Now, the charity: Second Chance of Life's initiative, driven by former American footballer Peter Mpagi Junior, says it has injected critical resources into Uganda’s paediatric heart care, offering hope to families like Ayram’s who face insurmountable medical costs.
Mpagi, a former defensive player for the Texas Longhorns, says he was inspired to launch his mission after surviving a heart transplant in 2020. Born to Ugandan parents: businessman Peter Kasule Mpagi and nurse Ruth Kaitesi Katto, who runs a disability-focused charity, Mpagi’s own health struggles led him to found “Mpagi’s Heart”, a nonprofit dedicated to funding heart disease research and surgeries.
By 2024, Mpagi says he had donated over $240,000 (about shillings 856 million) to Ugandan heart institutions, including a $5,000 pledge this year (2025) to support two Ugandans with cardiac complications. The charity’s latest beneficiary, Mubiru, a baby born with severe heart defects, will undergo surgery in India thanks to a shillings seven million donation channelled through the Action for Disadvantaged People (ACDIPE).
ACDIPE’s executive director George Ntambi last week emphasised the urgency of addressing paediatric heart issues.
“We’ve supported over 600 babies through heart surgeries, but the need is vast,” Ntambi said.
Partnering with Madina Foundation, led by National Resistance Movement (NRM) party parliamentary candidate Hajjat Madina Nsereko, ACDIPE is amplifying efforts to save lives. Nsereko highlighted the overwhelming demand: Many children with heart problems come to us. We urge A Second Chance of Life to contribute more so we can save more lives.
16,000 children born with heart defects
The Uganda Heart Institute says cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain a huge public health challenge in Uganda, accounting for over 10% of all deaths. Like many developing nations, Uganda faces an increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), with congenital heart defects, rheumatic heart disease, and hypertension leading the statistics.
The institute adds that approximately 16,000 children in Uganda are born with congenital heart defects each year, which calls for increased access to specialised heart care.
"PDA is a congenital heart defect in which a connection between the two blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart fails to close after birth. If left untreated, it can lead to complications such as heart failure, recurrent respiratory infections, and delayed growth. The successful completion of these procedures at Lira RRH highlights UHI’s commitment to addressing this critical health challenge".
The institute has conducted closed-heart surgery camps at regional referral hospitals as part of its efforts to decentralise cardiac services; however, some of the extremely complicated cases are referred abroad.
A dream beyond football
Mpagi says his journey from the gridiron to philanthropy is deeply personal. A gifted athlete, his career was cut short by an enlarged heart, but his resolve led to advocacy. Beyond donations, he says he organises American football camps in Uganda, using proceeds to fund health initiatives.