Shoot to Score for 500 Children in Northern Kenya

At only 25, Mumina was brought up by her mother alongside her four sisters. Mumina completed her high school in 2011 but was not in a position to further her studies due to poverty. As with most of the community in this part of Kenya, her father had taken up three wives and was not able pay for her college. Mumina was forced to stay at home after completion of her secondary education.

In 2013, HODI had an advert for volunteer coaches and somehow she came across the post. Considering her love for children she did not hesitate to apply. When the list came out she was among the selected and interviewed for the position. The project was to help adolescent girls break the silence on issues that affect them through football. Mumina had never played football before and this presented a challenge in the beginning but like many struggles in her life she was able to overcome. A year down the line she was listed among the few to be retained and given a chance as field officers but they had to go through an interview process. Again, with her determination she was able to make it through and crashing her friends and peers in the process. This presented another challenge which she had to overcome and used the chance to further her studies and support her mother.

“I have always felt that my community has favoured the boys and neglected the rights of girl child that's why I felt the need to prove my worth and show that as a girl I can do better!”,
Mumina said.

In 2016, Mumina was promoted to be the Football Officer. This marked a big milestone for her; imagine being in charge of the entire program when you did not even know how to play the game in the beginning. Making her rise above her peers and be a leader who has a following with many younger people looking up to her for guidance and support. Her dream was personal growth while ensuring the target beneficiaries got the very best out of the program. But her dreams were cut short when most of the HODI staffs were sent home in January of 2017 due to unavailability of funds and she was not prepared personally for this turn of events. The 5 months she was home were the toughest, it was boring being home and doing nothing. The salary was not forthcoming and she even moved from town to one of the villages in the outskirts. Then there was a ray of hope with another opportunity to volunteer with HODI and she jumped up and down just to live her dreams of supporting other young girls and boys. 

She is at the top of her game and the sky the limit for this young lady. Starting off with no skills but today she stands tall and says she is a successful woman not because she is a millionaire or owns a bungalow. It is because she knows she has made a positive impact in the lives of young girls and boys in schools. She has worked in villages moving them from dependency to resilience and also among her peers and the community as a whole and above all she has proved to her father that a girl can do it even better than boys. Determination and commitment and HODI leading the way for her, Mumina notes that,

“HODI opened a new chapter of my life. I don't know what turn my life would have taken 5 years ago. I would probably be a housewife just like most of my schoolmates who are stay at home mothers and now look at me with admiration all thanks to HODI. Today I am a career woman and I am a young woman leader. My father is busy looking for a son to inherit him so nobody would have given me a chance to grow this much, I am forever grateful to HODI for seeing my potential”.