Empowerment Through Soccer

This new video from Deutsche Welle News (DW News) explores the role of sports and education diplomacy in empowering communities. In Mathare, Kenya, a town located to the north of the country’s capital in Nairobi, local soccer star Doreen Nabwire Omondi runs a soccer camp for the community’s youth. Through a combination of drills and activities on the field, Omondi teaches children not only how to play soccer, but also the importance of hand-washing, good hygiene and the proper disposal of waste. Omondi, who is also from Mathare and participated in youth soccer leagues before being discovered by a community NGO, now runs her own NGO, Girls Unlimited, which seeks to empower the next generation of athletes, activists and community leaders both on and off the soccer field. As this video reveals, Omondi has turned soccer into more than just a game, harnessing the combined power of sports and education diplomacy to teach youth vital lessons about health, self-worth and cooperation.