Drama, Dance, Music, & Sport for Kisumu Youth

As the year presses forward, so do the youth and adult leaders at the Manyatta Youth Resource Center in Kisumu, Kenya. The MYRC is not a seasonal program-- its activities run year round. Since our founding it has been our goal to keep youth active in a safe and nurturing environment. The slums of Manyatta are a difficult place to grow up and youth need positive outlets and opportunities to build on their talents.

The MYRC gives youth a place to gain exposure to new ideas and new methods for approaching their challenges. We continue to host international interns and guests, and most recently ten people visited from Iceland while working on a documentary. Our general manager, Oballah, hosted them during their tour and also accompanied them to the town of Butere to assist them in their mission. While in Kisumu, they offered advice to our Performing Arts Group about film production and provided business ideas that might help boost our ability to fund projects and become more self-reliant.

The Performing Arts Group also recently had the opportunity to meet with the Kenya Film Classification Board Regional Manager at our resource center to discuss projects and explore new opportunities. The Regional Manager wants to work in partnership with the group to help make projects that promote Kenya and emphasize the positives that exist.

The Performing Arts Group continues to make new episodes of their miniseries, “Anita,” and is currently working on the tenth episode. Though the topics of this miniseries are often not cheerful, the group hopes to show some of the difficult realities many of them face everyday. They did take the Regional Manager’s advice though, and have started a project called UWEZO, which will be an informative and educational film that highlights talent in the Manyatta slum and how the community can embrace and support that talent’s growth.

Our young soccer players were excited by the recent visit of Patrick O, a former Manyatta United player, currently playing for Kenyan Premier League side Sony Sugar FC. Our former players always stop by the training ground to motivate our young players and they often suit up and practice with their former team. Patrick brought a new pair of boots with him and donated them to the captain of our junior team. As our younger teams prepare to start their season in the Kisumu Youth Football League, they were inspired to train their hardest for Patrick and show off their skills. It is motivating for our youth to see success stories and Patrick feels great to be able to give back to his community.

Our Senior Team continues to demonstrate that the Manyatta United training system helps develop strong soccer players who can compete at high levels of competition. The ManU Senior Team recently won top position in their semi-professional league. Now, this team has won first place at the Safaricom Chapa Dimba tournament and our Senior Ladies team won runner-up in their competitions. This was the largest competition either team had played and well over 1,000 people attended most matches at the Moi Stadium throughout the tournament!

Our players were also recognized for their skills and feats on the playing field. In the semi-finals, Manyatta Ladies forward, Cynthia, scored a hat-trick (three goals) and was named Player of the Match. Manyatta Ladies cruised to the finals after winning their semi-finals 6-0, but were defeated by a strong side there, taking home the second place title. After the tournament’s final, in which Manyatta United Men beat Nyamira Springs FC by 5-0, our striker Benson won the Golden Boot, an award for the top overall scorer of the tournament. Benchidi was given the award for Most Valuable Player, and Ibrahim O won the award for Best Goalkeeper of the tournament. Each player was given a trophy and a check for KSH 30,000. This was not only a huge motivating moment for our players, but it will also have a huge impact on their ability to support themselves and their families.

Chapa Dimba is a series of tournaments in which the top teams win a trip to Spain to play there. Having taken the Nyanza region championship, our Senior Team has the opportunity to participate in the next level of the tournament in Nairobi. This is a major challenge for our group. Even though we are highly successful on the pitch, funding transportation to Nairobi and costs, including meals and accommodation, is extremely difficult. We need your support to help take our teams to the next level!

When our youth are given the opportunity to show off their skills they are highly successful and favorably recognized. It is only the financial restrictions that hold back our achievements. You can be the person to help ensure that our Youth Teams finish their seasons this year without any hold-ups. You can be the reason our Senior Team gets to travel to the next level of the Chapa Dimba tournament and eventually win a trip to Spain. Your support can mean so much to our youth and their futures. We thank you now for the support you have given and ask that you continue to give so that our programs will continue to thrive.

The new year brings us into Year Ten for Equip Manyatta and the Manyatta Youth Resource Centre (MYRC). The programs and activities of the MYRC and its commitment to their community has made a huge difference in the lives of many of Kisumu’s youth, who have learned to work hard, have fun, and reach for their goals.

Players brought up through MYRC’s Manyatta United teams are now playing in advanced leagues and even abroad. Six former ManU players are now playing with National Super League teams. An additional five players are with Kenyan Premier League teams, including Tusker and Sony Sugar. Another young man is playing in Dubai and a second is with Seville, on loan to Malaysia. We have also been honored to have Grace, a player with Bordeaux Ladies in France, join our ladies team for an extended period of time. Grace had seen our program and our ladies playing and she wanted to get involved. Her participation gave our girls experience and motivation. None of these outstanding young people would have had these opportunities without their training on the MYRC teams. Sports Department head Simon, Coach Carina, Coach Opiyo, and General Manager Oballah have been key leaders to these success stories.

And here is how it is done: Manyatta United acts as a soccer academy, by staying with the same players and teams year after year. As our players age out of one youth team, there is already a place for them in our next age group. This continues all the way to our adult aged team, which is playing semi-professional soccer. For example, the same team that won the Kisumu Youth Football Association (KYFA) U-12 championship three years ago has now gone on to win the U-16 championship. When these players get old enough they will then join our senior team.

Our senior team is the result of years of nurturing and building the skills of our players. Coached by Opiyo, the team members have trained hard and honed their personal and team skills. This is the reason they were recently declared champions of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Division 1. This means they earned the right to play in FKF Division 2. Our team has finished in the top three of Division 1 for the past 3 years and now we have finally been crowned champions. Captain Ochieng has been with the team since before it registered with the county league. Manyatta United’s senior team has been playing home matches at Shauri Moyo Primary since the beginning but will now be able to move to Moi Stadium as regulations get more rigorous as they progress.

Costs are going to be the main obstacle in playing in the more advanced league, and have prevented us from advancing into higher leagues in the past. The team is planning a harambee, which is a Kenyan tradition of community self-help events, e.g. a fundraiser. Harambee literally means "all pull together" in Swahili, and is also the official motto of Kenya and appears on its coat of arms. The team presented their trophy to their parents to thank them for their support over the years. Their coaches and leaders were also honored. Though we are optimistic that we will gain some funds from this harambee, we know that we will also need additional sources of money. This is one reason that your donations are so important. Your support could ensure that our senior players continue to advance into more challenging levels of play and find more opportunities to play internationally.

Both our U-20 boys and girls have qualified for the regional level of the chapa dimba Nyanza Safaricom tournament. The girls will continue to play friendly matches as they prepare to represent Kisumu County at the regional finals in February. The MYRC fielded among the first girls teams in Kisumu, giving girls the opportunity to build skills, play hard, and gain self confidence.

Across the world, Equip Manyatta held another successful arts and crafts show fundraiser thanks to Lauren and Natalie at Lauren’s Restaurant in Boonville. Paintings by artists Nikomambo, Coster, and Vavik were displayed, and crafts such as jewelry and cards from Heshima Crafts and fabric goods from Rosemary’s Garden of Hope brought a taste of Kisumu to Mendocino County in Northern California. Photo posters showing the activities, projects, and people of the MYRC highlighted why we continue our commitment.

Your support through the years has been very appreciated and has brought a better future for so many young people in Kisumu. Please help us start off the new year on solid financial ground! Thanks!