Abakunta St. James Community Football

St. James is a community in Mfangano Island. Mfangano is a beautiful remote island in the Lake Victoria region of Kenya. One of the numerous challenges for the St. James community is the HIV/AIDS epidemic that destroyed many families. Many of the children in the community are poor and orphans. They live with generous villagers who provide them with shelter and food.

The Abakunta Community-Based Organization (CBO) supports an ecosystem of diverse community health initiatives on Mfangano Island, Lake Victoria, Kenya.

With help from Ekipi, Abakunta CBO runs a community football program that includes:
1. Coaching and development of boys' Football (Soccer) team.
2. Coaching and development of girls' Football (Soccer) team.

Ekipi started the program at St. James as its first program in 2020 within the limited scope of St. James Community School. Mfangano Initiative for Sustainable Development (MISD), another community-based organization, operated the program locally for several years. Over the year, the program transitioned into a community program outside the St. James School and included many students from the school. Abakunta CBO took over the responsibility of operating the program from 2024.

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 hit hard, and the school had to shut down completely. However, the school teams continued practicing a few days every week and also participated in local competitions. Participation in sports made the struggling days of COVID somewhat bearable and even enjoyable for the children. The school reopened in February of 2021, and the program started running in full swing.

Your contribution goes a long way in places like St. James. Not just sports, if you plan to help St. James in other areas of student activities, please get in touch with us, and we'll work with you to bring more benefits to the children at St. James community and school.