Improving lives of 1000 girls in Nairobi's slums

Africa’s first female 2018 winter Olympics skeleton athlete, Semi A from Nigeria had a stopover at VAP offices on her way to the UN conference in Nairobi. The athlete, whose passion is driven to motivate and inspire girls through sports, had an opportunity to meet some of VAP’s girls participating in the Employment and Entrepreneurship project taking various vocational training courses. The meeting touched on her development journey, focusing more on leadership, building self -esteem and confidence amongst girls and how to become a goal getter.

 VAP Speaks At The ‘Education That Pays’ conference

For the first time the annual ‘Education That Pays’ conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya on 29-30^th October. Organized by Teach A Man To Fish Network, the conference focused on exploring opportunities, challenges and lessons around the theme ‘Skills for All: Education for Employability, Entrepreneurship and Employment. With ground works surrounding the focused topics, VAP was invited to share its experiences on working with girls and young women on Employment and Entrepreneurship with the drive of football as a catalyst. Amongst the network members in attendance were institutions from East Africa that included: BRAC, British Council, Unicef, Ashoka, Save The Children etc.

After spending 2 weeks of intense training of football refereeing, that included theories and practicals, the first batch of female referees under ‘Breaking The Barriers’ initiative which falls under Employment and Entrepreneurship project were officially handed over their refereeing licenses. The trainings organized by VAP and conducted by Football Kenya Federation’s accredited instructors with experiences from CAF and FIFA drew female participants from all the walks of Nairobi. “I have gained lots of skills and I can confidently officiate any football ball match without any fear.” Said 20 years old Nyokami.

Ready For Coaching

Joining their counter parts in the ‘Breaking The Barriers’ initiative, graduates of football coaching course, during their graduation ceremony. Similar to the refereeing course, the football coaching trainings included both theoretical and practical sessions were also conducted by Football Kenya Federation’s accredited instructors.” Am happy to be a certified football coach and am looking forward to implement the skills that I have gained with my football team that plays in the Nairobi football league.” Said coach, Amina. Continuation of recruitment of girls and young women for other courses including: sports management and sports physiology under ‘Breaking The Barriers’ initiative is still underway with courses set to begin in the not- too- distant future.

Getting Practical

No sooner had she finished her graduation than she got her first job assignment to officiate a local Nairobi Football Kenya Federation’s organized Nairobi football league. Being a former graduate of VAP’s programs and a current Skillz coach, referee Mary has officially been endorsed by the Football Kenya Federation as an accredited football referee and will be assigned various local matches around Nairobi. “Inclusion of women in male dominated career especially football refereeing and other sectors is very crucial to us as a football federation and as a nation.” Said Onyango, FKF Nairobi branch secretary general.

Teaming Up For Good

VAP together with RefuSHE conducted a GOAL event at Muthangari primary school with an aim of sensitizing the young unaccompanied refugee minor girls.The interventions focused on the most crucial life and business skills for an independent and successful life using the unique Goal activities.RefuSHE specializes in identifying and protecting unaccompanied and separated refugee children and youth, especially girls, young women, and their children living in Kenya. Their shelter, education, and community outreach services, coupled with local resources and the refugee community, empower this population to live healthy lives.