Empowering girls through footbal

By Nkatha Mwongera



Daily awarding Judith Muhonja, the best player for the day

“Empowering girls through football and other life defense activities is the best thing that can be done to control the spread of HIV/Aids in the low income earning families in the Districts, Nation and the World at large.” Said Tausi Mohamed, District Sports Officer in Langata/Dagoretti.

*Kanungu lived with her mother and had twenty-three brothers and sisters. Some of her siblings had completed school and others were still in school. Her father had four wives and he passed away in 1999. He was sick but many of her children didn’t know what was ailing him but Kanungu knew that her dad had HIV/Aids.

Her mother was the fourth wife and other wives each had fife children but her mother had eight children, all of whom were married. Three of Kanungu’s sisters had moved to their husband’s home but two of them had a disagreement with their husbands and had returned.

They had four mad and grass thatched whereby every wife would put up with her children. Kanungu had to walk for two hours to the tap to fetch water. They had two caws, sheep and four goats. Kanungu did the normal domestic chores at home, like collecting firewood, cooking, washing clothes and looking after her elderly mother.

She baked half cakes sold for one shilling and hides them in between her books just to sell them at break so that she would get money to buy her school uniforms, sanitary towels, books, pens, food for her mother and her self. Her mother sold the local brew and it was Kanungu who would go to buy it from where it was brewed and bring it home to her mother who sold it to her customers at home.

When it rains in Kyeni, it pours. But the long rains in 2008 were particularly heavy. During those rains three of the houses in Kanungu’s home were destroyed by the pounding rainfall and al the families were forced to stay in the other two houses.

One brother whose house fell down left the home altogether to go to Nairobi to stay with another relative.

Kanungu finished primary education in 2009 and her brother supported her to train in suit and dress making. She was planning to buy a sewing machine after the training and set up her own tailoring business to earn a living.

Eight years after Kanungu’s father passed away, the relatives quarreled with them and they were asked to vacate the compound. The elder brothers tried to plead with step siblings but it was in vain. The mother and the three daughters moved to Kanungu’s elder brother rental house in Nairobi who sheltered them for only three weeks after which his wife threw them out.

Having nowhere to go and with no form of income, they moved to slums in Nairobi and both the mother and the two sisters remarried out of destitution.  

Life for Kanungu was too hard since she could not follow her mother’s example or sisters’ decisions to cling to any man for a plate of ugali. Her sister -in-law made it had for her brother to continue paying her fees.

Kanungu’s home gives a snapshot of the kind of situation a girl in any hardship or remote area in Kenya might find herself growing up in. It involves heavy domestic duties, helping to bring income to the family, parents surviving through tilling the land, brewing changaa or others involving themselves in prostitution and relying on older siblings who may have found employment away from the rural home in a town such as Meru, Embu or Nairobi.

While I am saying Kanungu’s story is  representative of rural and slum girls who hail from low income earning homes, many live in a complex World where circumstances within the homestead of each girl are contrasting and unique. *Mary living with her brother, away from her dad; *Lucy with both parents, who eventually broke up; * Jeniffer moves from one parent to the other and back again, away from her home in quest for an education; *Clementine and *Evelyn both having had to cope with the loss of their mother, Lilian looking after her elderly parents; *Sylvia’s close relationship with her mother; and Judith heading the household while her mother, a grocer works in town.

There is no typical family set-up in all poor families especially amongst the urban poor, all girls have universal experiences. Domestic work, work in their land and assisting to bring income into the family, all jobs that girls are expected to do including selling their bodies off to any man who has money just to make sure that there is food on the table for their siblings or elderly parents in spite of high prevalence of HIV/Aids.

Most of these girls who have taken on football as a sport activity to keep them busy, as a networking place, as a talent nurturing activity and as an opener to greater or a decent lifestyle to earn a living through this activity come from families that are fragmented, crumbling under the strain of poverty and illness.

In the light of the above facts about girls, Anthony Daily, formed an alliance called The Bravilian Queens Association (BQA) to reduce the vulnerability of adolescent girls in Nairobi slums through football.

Daily who is the BQA Chairperson said, “Playing football challenges stereotypes, increases self confidence, and creates a social network.  Importantly, integrated into BQA football activities is the teaching of life skills which includes assertiveness, knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and rights, financial planning, and entrepreneurship to these vulnerable girls.”

According to him, BQA was launched in November 2008 and it began as a football club for girls.  He said, “Our members come from Kibera and Dagoretti in the west, and Muthare and Kariobangi in the east.  We train at State House Girls High School field as it is centrally located and accessible from all areas of Nairobi.  Majority of players come from disadvantaged backgrounds.”

 He further added that empowerment of their members is their uppermost goal among their objectives and football and central to their activities, football has become an entry point to support poor teenage girls.

“The kind support of our sponsors, Safaricom, GTZ and VIHDA, has enabled us to start scaling up.  Eight existing girls’ football teams in Dagoretti have affiliated with BQA.  Selected members from each team have been trained on first aid, refereeing, coaching and peer education for life skills.” BQA Chairperson said.

 Daily further brought to light that each affiliated team plays in a BQA league, and with time, would run junior teams, creating opportunities for older girls to develop leadership skills, and providing younger girls with mentors and role models within their community.

He said that there are about 200 girls currently benefiting from Bravilian Queens activities and community service will be mainstreamed into their activities.

“Adolescent girls in Nairobi slums face numerous challenges including unwanted pregnancy, HIV and STI infection, malnutrition, and gender based violence.  In the Nairobi slums and low income earning families in rural areas, nearly 40% of girls under 15 say their best friend is sexually active.  Age of sexual debut is 3 years younger than the average in Kenya and the number of multiple sexual partners in Nairobi slums is 3 times higher than rural girls. HIV prevalence in Nairobi is above the estimated 7.4% national average, with young women being 4 times as likely as young men to be infected.” Daily, the founder and Director of BQA stated.

He said that girls also have to cope with traditionally deep rooted gender inequalities linked to gender based violence and financial disempowerment, hence, they need to be helped to overcome this inequalities.

 “Financial transactions relating to sex are common.  43% of adolescent girls in Nairobi slums say their first sexual encounter was coerced, 24% say it was forced.  Among 15-17 year olds, 19% have begun childbearing, more than twice the national average.  Research has identified unwanted pregnancies and the associated problems of abortion and infanticide as critical in Nairobi and in poor setups. But, data are scarce as abortion is illegal except to save the mother’s life.  Data suggests limited parental success in modeling positive life styles for their children due to poverty.  Unfortunately broken homes are the norm for many adolescents who increase vulnerability and high spread of HIV/Aids amongst young girls.” He emphasized.

To address these vulnerabilities, he said, “girls need access to formal education and additional knowledge and skills to create livelihood strategies and avoid high risk sexual behaviours; they need realistic life objectives to give purpose and direction, as well as opportunities to access resources. As the Bravilian Queens programme develops, it will include: Provide scholarships, both football scholarships to the US and scholarships to local schools; Life skills education involving reproductive health and rights, goal setting, assertiveness, critical thinking, financial and savings education and entrepreneurship; work experience and access to microfinance.”

According to Anthony Daly, Chairperson, BQA partner with specialist organizations when needed. For example, AMREF supports our life skills activities in order to maximize comparative advantage and promote and improve the lives of girls who are vulnerable.

According to Ms. Josephine Mwangi from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, “Girls and boys are equally created by God and any sport activity that they feel like participating to boost their self esteem and reduce vulnerability to all sorts of vices in the society, the ministry will and would always support them as we have been doing in the past.”

*Not their real names