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#FootballChangesLives
@Footballerlife @Pumafootball @FootballCoach @r1football @Soccergrandma @MccainClarke @Mancity17 @ManUnitedFan
4 months ago
Air Morgan 💛
#FootballChangesLives
@Mancity17 @Pumafootball @Soccergrandma @Footballerlife @r1football @FootballCoach @MccainClarke @Soccergrandma @Footballerlife
4 months ago
U15
#FootballChangesLives
@Footballerlife @Pumafootball @FootballCoach @r1football @Mancity17 @MccainClarke @Soccergrandma
4 months ago
#FootballChangesLives
@Footballerlife @Pumafootball @FootballCoach @r1football @Mancity17 @Soccergrandma @MccainClarke
4 months ago
GRAND SUPPORT
So Ive been telling football stories since 2002, and I must confess, this has to be the saddest I have ever had to pen down in my pseudo career as an untrained football journalist. I will try my best not to make it a Sob Story.
Just so you know, I have express documented and signed authority and consent from the family to both use the picture and tell the story and it is my hope that It will catch the eye of a good Samaritan because this family desperately needs intervention.
As you all know, I recently founded a football academy in my current place of residence named Gilgil Football Academy and we have been in operation for the past 49 days and counting. It is an idea that has gestated in my head for the past six years having been conceptualised in the year 2020. As a passionate football enthusiast, I would naturally be drawn towards the grounds where the beautiful game is played, no matter where I go.
Here in Gilgil sub county I have observed since 2009, the abundance of talent, the lack of communal support, the inexistent transition apparatus and its eventual premature mortality. Hence my determination to do something about it. However, one elderly woman changed this perspective for Me
The Elderly woman pictured below is the Grandmother to one of our Pioneer players by the name Samuel Gitige. She is roughly 80 years Old, plus or minus, as I came to learn later. She told me that She was born in the early 1940s and She cant remember the exact date. I couldnt pressure Her to give me the exact date for obvious reasons despite my persistent OCD nagging Me to get the facts right.
I first met Her during a Parents day Meeting we had organised in our quest to seek parental approval and support for our activities and plans. We had scheduled the meeting to kick off around 2 PM and my team had everything ready by 1230 HRS. I had spent the previous two nights perfecting the Powerpoint presentation I had prepared for them and testing my flow of spoken English as I rehearsed infront of the mirror, So I was ready for them. Knowing Africans and their version of punctuality I was not expecting anyone this early Until, at around 1330 Hrs, in came strolling an Elderly woman. She could barely walk, I thought She was lost or looking for someone else until I saw Samuel running towards Her and guiding Her into the room. I had to panic because now I knew that there was no way I could flow with my English. Everything I had prepared for two nights I couldnt use. I had to find a way to translate. Luckily for Me, the other parents did not disappoint they came late, Which gave Me enough time to reorganise my thoughts.
Anyway the presentation went extremely well as you would expect from Me 😂. . I loved the last part where the parents, after taking tea, strolled to the field and watched their sons training then took a picture with them. Lovely scenes, Like the Picture below dont you agree?
The next day, a Sunday, Training as usual after Church. Guess who joins us for training with a Big smile on Her radiant face. I run towards Her to embrace and welcome Her as I noticed She was taking breaks between steps and it would be forever before She reached where we were. A few other parents were already with us so I had organised a Chair for Her and She Sat down and I continued supervising what was going on then.
A few minutes later I was summoned and told that Samuels Grandmother wanted to speak to Me so I heeded Her call. Still beaming with pride and joy from yesterdays impressive presentation, there was no telling that I would be crying tears in a few minutes. I cant tell but I think I got emotive as a combination of what She told me and How She was saying it.
In a nutshell it turns out that at Her age, She was the sole breadwinner to a family of Six. Seven if you count Herself.
Her daughter, Samuels mother, and Her five children. The daughter suffered a stroke and She is paralysed on one side which has rendered Her terminally bedridden. They live in Ngomongo Village, which is an informal settlement. All the villagers therein are classified as Squatters, I came to learn that that land belongs to The National Youth Service. To support Her daughter and Her family, Samuels Grandmother runs a small kibanda selling vegetables in Soko Mjinga market. She cant get employed as She is thirty plus years past the Kenyan retirement age. From what She tells me The family has no one else but Herself. From the way She walks you can tell that She is trying to look strong, However, from the way She talks, you can tell that Her mind is still Young and upto the task,.No sign of dementia whatsoever..But a woman who knows What She has to do and She is up to the task.
I say this because, She remembered everything I talked about. The sparkle in Her eyes was giving a Woman who has seen light at the end of the tunnel. "My Son, I have come here to plead with you,. I love what you told us yesterday. Please dont chase my grandson away. Thank you for buying Him Uniform and boots, He really loves soccer, I cant afford to pay for Him to go to Naivasha, but please take Him , I know He will make you proud".
This part brought Me to tears. I told Her not to worry. For five days straight I couldnt keep this encounter out of my head. As much as I had reassured Her that we would admit Him on a full scholarship, I couldnt help but think about the situation at their home. So I instructed my team to pay Her a Visit. We went to Her market stall at soko mjinga market and my heart sank even deeper. What She had as stock could be bought with a single one thousand shillings note and there would be change. I couldnt help but wonder how She was handling the bills and the medication especially at Her age. I now believed Her story of how the family sometimes goes Hungry for days.
Grandma is not physically and mentally fit to be handling this responsibility, yet She cant stop smiling. She must be the strong type,. The type that embraces all their predicaments with Alhamdulillah and a big smile on their face. The type that believes that everything good or bad comes from God. The type that never asks for help from Mankind.
I am sure that is the case, I am sure She has chosen not to beg. I am sure She doesnt feel sorry for Herself. Which is why She wakes up daily to hustle in the market place, Ignoring Her tired aching body and still finding time to support Her grandsons soccer career.
Which is Why I am pleading on Her behalf, may not be my place, But I am sure someone will read this and lend this strong old woman a hand.
At Gilgil Football Academy, we will train, nurture and develop Her grandson for free As per Her request. We will go even further than that by linking Him up with the partners that we have so He can get a scholarship,.. A Background vetting exercise has revealed that Gitige is "Meeting Expectations" academically, the fact that He is also talented in football and comes from a destitute background, makes Him a viable candidate for Scholarship. This will sort His education bill.
What remains is treatment for His Mother, And His grandmother, , Support for His Siblings and some benefactor who will find a way to uplift the living situation of that family. Any Samaritan kindly reach out.
4 months ago
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