**The Stawisha Jamii foundation helps children and young people in Kenya get a better start in life. The pandemic has left its mark on everyday life there, but thanks to the work being done, there are still bright spots. **

Stawisha Jamii

The past year has been especially demanding for many of us at home. Sporting events have had to take place in front of closed stands, and for many children and young people, everyday life has changed dramatically.

In Africa too, life has been affected by the pandemic that hit the country in March. In Kenya it is now the dry season, when it can go up to three months without rain. At the training facility in Nakuru, about 150 kilometers outside the capital Nairobi, 200 children and young people take part in football training several times a week. The facility is run and led by the Stawisha Jamii foundation, which also creates opportunities for learning and development so the children get the best possible chance of building a future for themselves.

Stawisha Jamii's managing director, Øyvind Haugen Wingan, is very pleased with where they stand today with the football project. At the same time, he is clear that they face financial challenges, and that they depend entirely on financial support to continue the work they do.

Stawisha Jamii's managing director, Øyvind Haugen Wingan, is very pleased with where they stand today with the football project. At the same time, he is clear that they face financial challenges, and that they depend entirely on financial support to continue the work they do.

– Support from Superinvite and their customers, one of our biggest sponsors, has really helped. In many ways it has saved much of the operation through a tough 2020, says Wingan.

Join us in supporting Stawisha Jamii

As a customer, you can help support children and young people in Kenya with education and the joy of sport every time you use Superinvite as a payment solution. Superinvite is a solution for all clubs and associations that want a simpler everyday life around payments and member management. For Superinvite, supporting those who are less fortunate than us is an important mission. Contributing is of course entirely voluntary, but we know there are many people like us out there who would gladly make a small extra effort in their everyday lives.

Every cent helps

Wingan explains that everything they receive helps improve everyday life for hundreds of children and young people in Nakuru. The contributions mean, among other things, that the children get a meal before and after every training session, the football equipment they need, and what they need for school.

– I believe a place like this offers the best possible foundation for the future, and for developing further as a responsible person. Having somewhere to go is very important, and makes it easier to stay focused and stay away from crime, Wingan explains.

So there is both physical and mental nourishment to be found for the young people taking part in the program. Still, there is much that could be better. The lighting conditions on the pitch are far too poor today, and they hope to have it upgraded as soon as possible. Wingan says it already gets too dark to play football by 7 p.m., so new floodlights on the pitch would extend the offering by several hours in the evening. Such an upgrade would benefit the whole local community, since the area would feel much safer for everyone who lives there.

The team from the slum

Football tournaments held in Kenya are mainly for the wealthy; the entry fee is often far too high for teams from poor areas. So for most people, taking part in bigger tournaments and competing against the best teams is just a distant dream. But Stawisha Jamii is one of the few teams that does it anyway, making it possible even for the poorest of the poor to take part in international tournaments.

– One of the tournaments we took part in had several hundred teams from Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya, including teams with ambitions of traveling to Europe. We came in 2nd place there. So it's pretty fun to see that we do that well, he admits.

A long-term dream is to one day take part in the Norway Cup. Being able to give that opportunity to some of the talents they have in the area would be great.

– A trip like that is of course expensive, and not a priority right now, for several obvious reasons, he continues.

Status quo

But the most important and decisive goal now is still to keep normal operations running through 2021.

– Because of tougher economic times, the biggest pressure right now is whether we can secure enough financial support to keep operating the way we had planned through 2021. No one had foreseen that this pandemic would show up, with all the challenges it has brought along, says Wingan.

How has the coronavirus pandemic affected sport in Africa?

The coronavirus pandemic has really left its mark in Kenya, and the restrictions there are far stricter than back home. Among other things, a curfew from 10 p.m. every day has been introduced, while all schools were shut down in March and stayed closed for the rest of the year. The strict measures have had major consequences for businesses, especially for the lower middle class and the poorer part of the population, but have kept infection rates low compared to other parts of the world. The country's tourism industry has for the most part come to a complete stop. Very strict flight restrictions have meant that industries where air transport is essential, such as the export of agricultural products and perishables, are also facing major challenges.

But Stawisha Jamii too has felt the effects of a locked-down society. The pandemic has hit several of the family businesses run by parents in the area, leaving many of the children at Stawisha Jamii with a tougher situation at home. When the schools closed, a great many lost their only daytime activity, and crime rose among young people. This made Stawisha Jamii even more active in the children's everyday lives, stepping in as an organization to help.

– We got a chance to spend more time with the kids, giving them activity and follow-up at football training and practice matches, Wingan says.

Stawisha Jamii is approved by the Norwegian Fundraising Control (Innsamlingskontrollen)**, which acts as a guarantor that the organization is run responsibly and that the money goes to the stated purpose. **

You can follow what's happening in Nakuru on Snapchat: stawishajamii, or read more about the project at StawishaJamii.org

Also remember that you can contact Superinvite at any time for help with automatic administration of payments and member management.

**Get in touch today at 41 45 31 51 / support(at)superinvite.no for a no-obligation chat. **