Kids' Joy Sports Programme

Chris Bunei is Project Manager of the Kids' Joy Sport Centre in Kenya which is supported by the Johari Foundation. The Centre gives children from under-privileged backgrounds an opportunity to play their favourite sport!

Kids' Joy runs two centres; one in Nairobi and another in Nakuru which is 160km from Nairobi. The Centre caters for children 18 years and under who come from the slums and low costs housing estates. They also run an outreach programme which supports orphanages and community youth centres. They do so by providing sports equipments e.g. balls strips, bibs etc. The outreach programme also organises junior league sports tournaments, and provides basic coaching courses for youth coaches drawn from orphanages, schools and community youth clubs.

In Kenya most children come from poor families and are disadvantaged in many ways. They lack many things and their parents/guardians cannot provide for all their basic needs. As a result of this children can be affected negatively and this compromises many aspects of their lives. At Kids Joy they seek to alleviate this through sports using it as a vehicle by which to deliver development and long lasting change to improve their lives. Sport has a positive impact on child education for it is the tool to teach important values like team work, communication, inclusion, discipline, respect and fair play. It also reduces depression improves concentration and raises self-esteem.

At Kids' Joy centre there is a weekly training programme where the children are taken through the programme by youth coaches. The coaches are also charged with the responsibility of teaching important values. They are encouraged to work hard in school and be good children. Currently there are 4 categories i.e. under 16, under 14, under 12, and under 10 teams. They provide children with training gear, boots and refreshments among other things during the sessions. The teams also participate in youth tournaments for various age groups and junior leagues.

So far, the story is one of success! In the past five years there has been considerable progress with great achievements along the way. The children at the centres have grown and improved in many ways. School attendance and performance has increased and discipline, respect, self confidence and self esteem have all improved immensely. Sports-wise the children have improved from mere amateurs to international players. For example Robert Onyango and Samuel Ochieng who represented the country in the under 20 soccer team.

Kids' Joy boasts a number of trophies and awards but the game that stands out is when the under 17 team finished second in the East African International Youth Tournament. They have also been involved in UNESCO and UNEP programmes. The future plan is to continue, but hopefully with more partners who will help with the growing number of children who enroll daily.

To keep up to date with what is happening on the Sports Development Programmes follow the blogs on Sports Development in our 'Latest News' section.