There was a definite air of excitement on the day the World Cup opened in South Africa. People in Kenya were tweeting about wearing football jerseys to work and that some offices were closing early to allow staff to go and watch the opening match.
For us at Vision Africa, this day seemed the perfect opportunity to celebrate the work of one of our projects, Kibera Mpira Mtaani, which uses football as a tool to reach out to youths in Kibera. It was decided that we would host a small event with some of the people who have helped Kibera Mpira Mtaani on its journey from a football project to one that really demonstrates what sports development is all about.
Kibera Mpira Mtaani spent several years running football tournaments for children in the 13 villages of Kenya. Over the years, this has helped relations between the villages as players and coaches walk freely between them and often see familiar faces from the tournaments. The number of teams participating in Kibera Mpira Mtaani tournaments has increased significantly over the years from around 50 three years ago to 119 in the latest tournament meaning that over 2,000 youths are involved in the tournaments.
Having built up this base, Kibera Mpira Mtaani expanded its activities and now works with partner organisations such as MSF and CARE Kenya to promote health education amongst the youths taking part in the tournaments. In February 2009 they also set up a library and resource centre at their office allowing free after-school tuition and safe study space for the children in the surrounding area who were not performing well in school due to the lack of resources found in informal schools that do not enjoy government support. This program has been running without any secure funding but proved successful in its first year with a number of students getting the grades and sponsorship to attend secondary school.
Guests watch South Africa vs. Mexico
Guests at our World Cup launch included some of those students along with “Seeds for Hope” who have sponsored a number of them and the Kenyan National Library who have donated school syllabus books to Kibera Mpira Mtaani’s library. Other guests included staff from Intellisoftplus who created Kibera Mpira Mtaani’s website and the British High Commission who have been very supportive of Kibera Mpira Mtaani. In fact, the whole event wouldn’t have been possible if it hadn’t been for a quiz run by the staff of the British High Commission!
Electricity supply in Kibera is generally unstable and there had been no power for one month leading up to the launch of the World Cup. The day before the opening match, the transformer was removed by the power company resulting in a total blackout. Thankfully, the quiz run by the British High Commission staff had raised funds to buy Kibera Mpira Mtaani a generator to power their TV so that they can charge residents a fee to watch football matches and the funds will then support their education program.
Before the opening match Kibera Mpira Mtaani’s chairman, Vincent Kegode, told guests about the various activities organised by the organisation and a local school performed a poem. It was then time for kick-off! The whole crowd was backing South Africa and there was a lot of noise as they dominated the first half, with shouts and screams when they scored and clear disappointment when chances were missed.
British High Commission staff make presentation to performers
At half-time, a group the Kibera Mpira Mtaani after school classes performed a choral verse entitled “Africa Africa” and were rewarded with football shirts donated by the British High Commission staff. When asked which team they were supporting in the World Cup the replies included Argentina, England, Spain, Italy and France with only one young boy supporting an African team, Nigeria. Their volunteer teacher also received a football shirt which he put on over his shirt and tie and proudly wore for the whole of the second half. Unfortunately the excitement was short-lived as Mexico scored their equalising goal but overall the match was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone who attended and we are all looking forward to an exciting World Cup and using it to raise funds to support the education program which is truly making a difference to the lives of children in Kibera.
Kibera Mpira Mtaani’s work has been selected as one of the projects being promoted by GlobalGiving during the World Cup. You can make a donation to their work through the GlobalGiving website and if you do it on June 16th, International Day of the African Child, GlobalGiving will match your donation with 50%! For more information about Kibera Mpira Mtaani please use our contact form to get in touch.