Social Change through Sport for 5000 Kibera Youth

Thank you for supporting the Youth Sports Program of Carolina for Kibera (CFK) in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya. Below is a quarterly report submitted by the CFK staff on the ground in Kibera.

I hope you'll keep our friends in Kibera in your thoughts and prayers during the holiday season.

-ERP

In the last quarter, the CFK boy’s tournament was ongoing, with a recruitment of U-16 and U-20 teams. The girl’s teams attended the a tournament in another Nairobi slum, Mathare, and the U-12 team returned home with a 1st place trophy. The Kicking AIDS Out! project underwent a recruitment of 10 new members, traveled to Naivasha for a refresher training, was divided into two groups to better reach out to a diversity of villages, and underwent a graduation strategy to give more responsibilities to senior members. Monthly life skills training sessions for the girl’s sports members were also introduced to create a safe space for the girls to address the unique challenges and questions faced, which are not adequately addressed through sports.

CFK Tournament

Sports Council and Fair Play Code members continued their weekly meetings to discuss the challenges and achievements experienced throughout the week. While the U-12 and U-14 teams in the ongoing boys' tournament concluded their preliminary matches and now await the second round, the Sports Council registered 25 new U-16 and 22 U-20 teams to begin the upper level matches of the tournament.

As compulsory for all teams, the under- 12 and 14 categories conducted four community clean up exercises in Makina, Kianda, Silanga and Lindi villages, with a total of 470 youth participating, and one cleanup in Kianda village for the U-16 and U-20 teams with 160 youth participating.

Girls' Program

New members were recruited into the girls program, and home visits began in order to involve parents in their child’s progress at CFK. Two members are visited weekly and the parental response to this new program has been positive. The girls participated in a tournament in the Mathare slum of Nairobi, Kenya at the end of August and were very successful with the U-12 team winning 1st place and the U-16 team coming home with a 3rd place medal. This was CFK’s first 1st place medal won at the Mathare tournament. Training uniforms and socks were received from Schools Without Borders Canada and 22 balls were received from SportsEndeavors.

Life Skills Training

The Life Skills Training Program for the girls sports members kicked off in August and five trainings have so far been held. Divided into two groups, the U-12 and U-14 teams have undergone two trainings on HIV/AIDS and Boy-Girl Relationships, with 25 and 28 members respectively present. The U-16 and U-20 teams have undergone three trainings on Peer Pressure, Sex and Sexuality and Boy-Girl Relationships with an attendance ranging from 11 – 14 members. These trainings have contributed to the creation of a safe space for the girls to discuss the challenges they face. The gender specific approach to the trainings has helped to increase their understanding of socially constructed gender roles, to empower them to see their futures as their own to define. The senior female Kicking AIDS Out! members, who have been facilitating the trainings, have demonstrated strengthened confidence, facilitation and workshop creation skills.