To say that sport is one of the industries that has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic will be just an understatement.
The unprecedented lockdowns and restrictions has affected sports disciplines, regions and countries, though differently, as each governing body and authority remain wary that any wrong move could mean a rise in infections among their populations.
Mega sporting events have been cancelled/closed or postponed and fitness as well as rehabilitation centres and sport clubs have all been negatively impacted.
For events whose governing body have managed to manouvre the virus means hosting their events behind closed doors.
In Kenya, the restrictions have seen almost all sporting activities take a backseat and this has affected even the grassroot level — school games — following the closure of learning institutions with talk of a return centering around January next year.
This has seen pupils and students, who would be in these institutions studying and playing their favourite sports, being sent either to the streets in the urban centres or villages upcountry.
And despite there being training options, online as well as individually, among the elite athletes, the youth have more often than not been left on their own since no institutionalised training is allowed and parents are busy chasing their families’ next meal.
Among those that have been affected by these challenges that have been brought up by the pandemic are school-going girls.
Since the closure of learning institutions in March, crimes against children, including sexual abuse, abduction and murder, have shot up.
Child marriage and early pregnancies have escalated with data released about a month ago showing 4,000 girls in machakos had been impregnated since mid-March. And with the government planning to reopen schools next year, there is fear that the situation could get worse.
In Funyula, Busia County, despite efforts within family setups to prevent girls from going down this road, a group of women has teamed up to start up a netball program that seeks to keep the pupils and students pre-occupied and away from pregnancies and other social vices.
The program creates a safe place where adolescent girls — who are now out of school — learn netball basics, organise matches and at the same time have a forum to open up about the challenges they are facing individually.
Caroline Taaka, a retired netball player, is among those working with the girls.
She says: “Child marriage is driven by poverty and has many effects on a girls’ health. Sport makes a girl conscious physically and mentally and a physically and mentally conscious girl cannot be exposed to child marriage and teen pregnancy.”
“Sport also raises a girl’s confidence and makes her aware of her future. Moreover, when a girl is engaged in sports, she manages to overcome barriers and therefore will no longer be a target. People who target underage girls to marry children do not want those who are open-minded and who have already tasted freedom,” Taaka adds.
Taaka began coaching immediately after retiring from the sport three years ago when she was put in charge of various schools in the county including Nambomboto Secondary School, Nangina and Lwanya Girls.
It’s from her experience coaching in those schools and seeing a number of them get into early marriages and pregnancies that led her into assembling a group of girls in the constituency to continue with the game outside the schools premises.
Every evening a group of girls aged between 12 and 20 years assemble at the Burudu Primary School to train. Among the girls who turn up for the daily sessions is Sharon Atieno, who commutes for over 10km daily to attend the sessions.
“I fell in love with netball when I was a pupil at Namboboto Girls four years ago and since then, I have never looked back. When I joined secondary school in Nakuru, I made sure that I joined the netball team. But when I got back home for holiday, I would struggle to get a team until when Taaka came calling asking me to join her program,” Atieno says.
“The program has been good for me and other girls because it has allowed us to concentrate on important issues as opposed to being idle. It has saved a lot of girls from early marriages and pregnancies because our minds are fully occupied with netball and so by the time you get home you are tired you just need to rest.”
Emily Achieng, whose ambition to break into the Bumala AC netball team was cut short by the Covid-19 outbreak a week into her first tournament with the school, says she is glad the program has given her hope of being a good player in future.
“The coach (Taaka) gives me support like a mother when I practice. She said that I could be a good player, I would get honour from both society and my family. She also inspires me by saying I can make a brighter future for myself through sports,” says Achieng, who also began her netball while at Namboboto Girls.
Just like any other program involving teenagers, Taaka has faced numerous challenge especially from parents unwilling to release their children.
“A number of families have taken away their girls from our program. Most of the girls come from poor families and so parents tend to give them a lot of responsibilities at home and when they are found training, they are in trouble. The parents are also less interested in allowing their daughters into any sport,” Taaka says.
“I convince the parents to allow their daughters to play, assuring them that it will make their children physically and mentally stronger. And a mentally and physically strong girl can make a decision on her own.”
Despite the dwindling standards of netball in the country, Taaka is confident that her program will bear fruits and that a number of players will go on to don the national team colours.
“It’s obvious there is nothing much to talk about on the standards of the netball in this country. Things have been going from bad to worse for the last 20 years but I don’t want to believe that these girls will face the same situation. It’s my prayer that things will change for the better and these players could even put on national team colours,” Taaka said.
Apart from playing on the dusty courts of Burudu Primary School, the girls are also taken through life skills which has been reflected well back in their families.
Celestine Alubala, one of the oldest girls in the program says: “Through playing netball, I have gained the trust of my family as well as the community. Now they know that I can lead my team and solve my problems on my own. I can talk freely about many other issues with many people and can encourage other girls to do the same.”
Funyula Constituency Sports coordinator Seraphine Okuku said the program was a good avenue to boost the development of netball in the county considering that the sport is only active in the county during the festive seasons.
“We only see interest in December when we have a number of tournaments. It’s our hope that this program will open up new avenues that will see netball fighting for its space like football,” Okuku says.
“This program is ensuring the adolescents are fully equipped to face life and its challenges through its multiple and comprehensive interventions. Participating in sport empowers adolescents, especially girls. It builds their self-confidence, independence and the ability to take decisions that affect their lives.”
Through Funyula Constituency, the country has well been represented in the annual Samia Cultural Festive between Kenya and Uganda where a number of sports, including netball take place.
“We have players who have been taking part in the annual Samia Cultural Festival. They go there and come back with a lot of exposure that they take to their schools. Now that these girls are expected to be out of school for the next four months, we expect that a number of them will make the cut come December when we host the event,” says Taaka.
Despite the gains they have had so far, they have had their fair share of challenges too and Taaka is appealing to well-wishers to provide the girls with kit and equipments. At the moment they are using only one ball.