Public transport strike still going on today which meant a very early start.  I was dropped at Olympic School in Kibera at 7am and met by Kaemas (Maureen's brother).  We walked back to their place along the railway line and there was quite a crowd waiting to get a free lift into town by jumping on the train as it goes past!  After taking tea and bread and singing a few songs with the local children we headed off to Kisumu Ndogo (little Kisumu) an area in Kibera where Eunice (Samba Girls goalkeeper) lives with her aunt, uncle and cousins.  It's been raining on and off over the last few days and getting around in Kibera when raining isn't that easy due to the mud, slopes and uneven ground, not to mention the mix of sewage in with the mud.  I managed to make it without falling over though and bought 4kg of sugar on the way, 2kg for Eunice and 2kg for Vienda who we would be visiting afterwards.  We have been supporting both Eunice and Vienda with their school fees over the last school year which has just finished (the academic year runs from January to November in Kenya) and we wanted to get some feedback from them and their families on both their school and football progress.  They have both just finished Form 3 and so will go to Form 4 in January which is the last year of secondary school.  Eunice is keen to be a football coach and to be a peer mentor in the community when she finishes school and the suggestion is that she should become a boarder at the school in this final year so that she can focus more on her studies and not be too distracted by household chores.

Eunice with Maureen outside her aunt's house where she lives

Eunice inside with some of her school books

Without her parents to support her financially and not being able to depend on her aunt we are the main source of her being able to pay her fees which will be around £200 for the next year including the boarding.  After a good discussion on school issues and discovering that football is an enjoyable outlet for any stress she may be having we headed off to meet up with Vienda at her home in another part of Kibera.

Vienda inside her home where she lives with her mother

Vienda outside the house with her mum and Maureen

Vienda has been at school in Machakos this year which is quite a way from Nairobi on the road to Mombasa.  As a result she has only played one match in the league this season but is keen to be involved in future as a coach of our under-10s girls and her mum has seen a real change in her attitude over the last year.  Vienda said how her dream is to be a psychiatric doctor to help people with mental health issues, so her final year will be important for her to do well so that she can hopefully get a scholorship to university.  We will continue to pay a contribution to her school fees which was much appreciated by both her and her mum.  After some photos we headed back to Maureen's for some lunch before going for a youth session in the afternoon which Maureen was leading on reproductive health called Healthy Choices.  This was being held at the Fruitful Women Group centre and Jane from the project, which caters for young orphaned children and promotes women's development, showed us around and explained how they had been doing beadwork and craftwork with young women to try to sustain the work.

Jane who leads the Frutiful Women Group

Jane showing me some of the craftwork

I also managed to meet up with Nelly and Atieno who we originally met through the Kibera Girls Soccer Association.  I met them first in 2003 when leading a football training session and they were with us at our summer camp in Naivasha in 2008.  They've both now finished school but haven't been able to get work on move on to further education as yet.  They're both still playing football though, Atieno still with KGSA and Nelly with the Bravillian Queens who won the provincial league last season and will move up to the national Premier League.  It was really good to see them again and see how they're trying to move forward and how their involvement in football does continue to support them.

With Atieno and Nelly