Gor Mahia midfield, Francis Kahata, is well known for his skills on the football and was at it again during the derby against AFC Leopards on Sunday.
However, what may often escape many of Kahata’s supporters is his humble background, growing up in Ruiru township under the care of his grandmother.
His mother, then, worked with Kenya Railways’ Mombasa station but could not live with him because her low pay could not be enough. She had to leave the talented boy to grow in Ruiru slums with his grandma.
He honed his football skills at the then dusty Ruiru Stadium (now laid with artificial turf, only a few metres away from his shanty dwelling.
Kahata, now a star of Kenyan football and selected in Kenya’s provisional squad for the AFCON, has not forgotten where he came from and always scouts for every simple chance to impact on the community that made him.
One such chance came through the Kits for Africa initiative, and unknown to many, he was distributing training kits to teams in his backyard just before the derby in which he helped Gor Mahia to a 3-1 victory.
The presentation took place at the Ruiru stadium on Thursday, the kits donated by SportPesa’s partner clubs in Europe to his homebase.
“I appreciate Kits for Africa administrators for sharing the donations in Ruiru. I remember playing with no boots and sometime bare-chested as I was growing up here. This is a good way to motivate the young talents and I hope they will work hard in return,” said Kahata, who was recently named to the Kenyan National Football team for AFCON.
The Kits for Africa donations were distributed to 30 teams from Ruiru, 20 from Thika and 10 from Dandora.
The initiative, launched three years ago, encourages football players and fans to donate their old kit to communities across Africa.
“Football in the neighborhood is faced by a lot of challenges. Some players give up mainly because they lack proper gear and opt to do other things instead,”added Posta Rangers player Simon Mbugua, who also grew up in the same neighbourhood as Kahata.
Coach William Muluya of Kariobangi Sharks helped distribute the Kits for Africa donations in Dandora, saying the initiative was a good way of nurturing football talent from the early stages within the local neighborhoods and would help keep the youngsters focused.
