Mfangano Foundation Academy Fundraiser

ABOUT THE PROJECT

 

The Mfangano Foundation was started in 2011 by Nicholas Olambo, who had the vision to develop a football program on Mfangano Island which is situated on Lake Victoria, Kenya. It took him months to find the resources and organise the logistics to find just one football which to all of us may seem a bit unreal as we have become so used to having everything at our doorstep. When the training started it was basic and often just meant that Nicholas and the kids would run around the pitch with him trying to help educate them a little on the benefits of health and fitness.

 

After years of perseverance the foundation has grown at a steady pace. At the end of 2021 a football coach from the UK called Tom Martin joined the team as he was taking some time out to travel in bother Africa and elsewhere. After just one month on the island Tom was impressed with the talent and love for the game that he saw. He also saw how football could help empower the young people on the island especially with the community he was living, also known as Wakinga.

After booking to stay another month during which he coached the kids daily, both boys and girls and even played the team played in various tournaments and friendly matches. His impact was clear. Kids from all parts of the island would show up to the sessions and after eventually returning to the UK he would start this fundraiser. Tom soon returned to Kenya where he would get up to 100 children coming to each training session. Nicholas hosted Tom and their friendship and passion for the game was only rivalled by the enthusiasm of the children to enjoy themselves with this new coach.

Tom stayed for almost two years in Kenya and helped fundraise through various means and channels including this one. Our fundraising continues as our network grows. This is fundraiser is part of a bigger team that all works to bring more hope and enjoyment to young lives on Mfangano Island.

 

OUR FUNDRAISER

 

Our ambitions are big and we strongly believe in the talents of these players who require facilities and funding to realise their dreams of finding a better life through football. We have already helped many kids who were part of our programme to find sports and football scholarships to better schools in Kenya.

 

The fundraiser would not only provide footballing equipment but also basic living materials that often hold these girls and boys back from being able to attend training sessions and compete in tournaments. Specifically, the girls often miss sessions because they lack access to sanitary towels which allow them to engage with the activities provided by the academy. Providing them with access to these $1 towels would allow them to attend sessions and matches which previously could have forced them to risk severe embarrassment.

 

Our program aligns itself not just with footballing activities but plenty of other initiatives on the island that promotes sustainability, agriculture, clean water and tackling the global issues that we all face due to global waste and climate change. Mfangano Island certainly embodies the spirit of a community. The feeling here is most definitely one of "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine". The background Nicholas has in farming and as a man that leads a life that is entirely self sufficient. He grows almost all his own food and has invested in solar powered water pumps which can transport water from the lake for both his farm and house. We are also working with a school in the community developing plans to integrate some of these pipelines with clean water treatment systems that the children would have free access to at school. 

 

Basic logistics on the island can be more complicated than you'd imagine. There are very limited public services. This forces some of the kids to walk miles barefoot in order to be able to play. Our academy aims to help provide funds for things like motorbikes or buses that would help to run the kids to and from practices and games. One of our objectives is to reach children across the island which has a population of 50,000 people. This can only be achieved by enhancing our ability to transport the kids to our day to day activities. These are all services that we may take for granted but can be the difference between reaching a child or not.

 

We understand that some of our objectives will take years to accomplish but during my first month living on Mfangano Island I want to at least start some sort of initial funding that can keep the academy afloat and growing.

 

ABOUT ME

 

As most of you already now my name is Tom Martin and I live and work in London as a football coach. I decided to come out to the island after various conversations with Nicholas and from what I have seen from my short time here is that the kids don't need much motivation to come and take part in the academy's sessions each day. The reaction has been extraordinary since I arrived and with the holidays recently starting we have up to, and sometimes over 100 kids at each session (although unfortunately only 3 coaches). The enthusiasm they show for football is insane. However, these kids cannot participate in matches without boots and we cannot play games without a kit, balls or paying the general fees for match officials that all football clubs require.

 

Having worked at a private football academy in London and having been a part of many different teams for many years at school, university and club level in both the UK and Spain I have never seen conditions such challenging conditions to develop players.

 

I honestly had no idea what target I should have set for this fundraiser but have gained some insight from one other charitable project on the island started by Angela Yuan which also looks to provide more of the population with clean water. Any money that you would be able to donate during this Christmas break is some of the only funding we will receive in the near future. The government shows an incredibly small amount of initiative and interest in providing basic services for the community which has encouraged me to put this page out to almost everyone I know or any football club or project I have ever been involved with.

 

The ability of some of these young players is actually very good. If one or two of our players were ever able to play at a professional level either within Kenya or abroad I believe this would have a life changing effect on thousands of kids who live on Mfanagno. That may well be way off from now and is definitely not our only goal. We are looking to help give these kids an education and chance to even have an opportunity to play football and better themselves through out academy and education.