UNFPA staff play memorial football match in honor of their fallen colleague

By Simon Deng

The staff of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Saturday played a football match to honor their long serving colleague, Omari Lukadi who died last week in a motor crash in Arua, Uganda. 

 “We gather here today with heavy hearts, a void palpable in our UNFPA family. We are here to remember and celebrate the life of our dear colleague, Omar Lukadi. We will deeply miss him and his contributions. The UNFPA office will not be the same without him,” Suzanne Mandong, the UNFPA Officer-in- Charge said prior to the match held at Rock City Playground in Juba.

 The Omari Lukadi was a driver to the UNFPA country representative.

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Mandong said Lukadi was more than just a colleague, mentor but also a source of inspiration to those around him, adding that he was always striving to make a tangible difference in the lives of women, girls and young people of South Sudan.

“Lukadi’s unwavering optimism and dedication to serve for the women and girls of South Sudan was immense. These are the moments that are etched in our minds, moments that speak volumes about the kind of person he was,” she said. 

Alfred Lofoga, the Finance Assistant for UNFPA and a close friend of Lukadi said the deceased was very instrumental during his life time while serving UNFPA.

“We get together as a team to commemorate his lifetime and wish him to rest in peace, when it comes to work related tasks, he was the most disciplined and he was on the dot in terms of work,” Lofoga said.

He disclosed that Lukadi was passionate about football which he often played over the weekend.

Victor Arkangelo, who played alongside Lukadi for Yei Legends football team said he has been staying together with the deceased for 10 years in Arua, Uganda.

 “Lukadi was a fellow football player with us at Yei Legends, he was having a sense of humor, he was a very humane person, he understood humanity and what he wanted to give and this is what we remember him for,” Arkangelo said.

 UNFPA team lost 5-3 in a penalty shoot out to Giant Killers of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

Overall, four teams participated in the memorial mini-tournament.