1000 Kibera slum girls empowered to excel

It is 10 years of Sports for Social Change! Polycom Development Project initiated GPENDE (Kiswahili word meaning Love Yourself) sports in the 2008 to reduce tension within a community that had been divided so much along tribal lines after a post-election violence. Women from different communities would form teams and play soccer. There was no playground a part from an open space where a few children played and would as well be used to relieve themselves. It was a messed-up ground, the women would however go early cover all the messes with soil to enable them plan. The games grew in time and the space was attracting more people including children who wanted to play in the space, the women decided to start playing Volleyball, which has attracted many people including school girls. There are more than 2000 adults playing Volleyball in Kibera today and over 50 schools. Polycom decided to celebrate this success, by organizing women to match in the streets of Kibera with their sports gear. They walked through the community while holding smaller meetings to share their success stories of sports as many cheered. The women got to the Administration Office in style, singing and dancing to their own songs. They were received by the administration who accepted to support the women and to promote sports. A cake was later served after a lot of dances and celebrations to mark the day. Both the women and girls have used sports to create a safe space for themselves where they can play and share without fear. The women use the space to discuss issues affecting them in the community, and to develop strategies on how to engage different actors to solve these problems. They also share about the welfare of their children, what they should do to promote safety among their girls, and with whom they can work to create more impact. We appreciate your support that brought us this long, 10 years of the Slum SHE Sports it is!