Driven to change lives

Anthony Oballa,the founder of Manyatta Youth Resouce Center in Kisumu county {PHOTO: COLLINS ODUOR}

My name is Antony Obala. I am the Founder of Manyatta Youth Resource Centre and coach of Manyatta United Youth Football Club both located in Kisumu County.

I started this resource centre in 2009, driven by the desire to elevate lives of slum children talented in sports to enable them earn a living. I have since then been able to reach and impact some 150 young people.

All my life, I have been a footballer. My passion for football began many years back while growing up in Jericho Nairobi, and became more manifest when I was a student at St Peter’s Mumias High School.

After completing high school, I joined Pan Paper where I started working and playing at the same time.

When Pan Paper closed down in 2009, a friend of mine told me they wanted a football coach for young people. I moved to Kisumu and started mentoring young people that same year. My efforts have, however, not been without their challenges especially as my team is made up of children from slums within Kisumu. These are Manyatta, Nyalenda and Obunga.

Due to the environment where they have been brought up, I interact with different characters. Some are good and there are others engaged in questionable behaviours and activities such as drug abuse, alcoholism and get into theft, as well as violent behaviour.

It is not easy doing this work, mainly on a voluntary basis, but I draw my satisfaction when I see the youths I’ve mentored make something good of their lives. I am proud that some of these children are now in university and pursuing tertiary education while two are working in Dubai.

It has taken years for the community around here to accept what we are doing. Before, they were skeptical about me mixing boys and girls. But seeing their children pursue their high school education without payment due to support form this resource centre, has made them more open to our activities.

The resource centre is currently paying school fees for 25 boys and girls in boarding schools. These are children who have showed prowess in football hence get the opportunity to learn for free. Majority of those being sponsored are girls, with only seven boys benefiting from the sponsorship.

Ever since formation of this resource centre, we have seen the environment around Manyatta change. We have worked to ensure all the youth who register with us are helped to become self reliant. We want the children to be able to take care of themselves and stand for what they believe in.

I have ensured those who complete high school and do not attain good grades are equipped with hands on training on how to make artifacts, and those talented in music also get recorded.

We have a studio where artistes record from after Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) provided us with equipment. Those interested pay a subsidised amount and we have so far worked with about ten artistes.

The idea we have is to ensure our young people are not idle so that politicians cannot entice them to take part in demonstrations. We also do not want them exposed to anti-development behaviours and are also working with the neighbouring community to ensure the environment is conducive for our youths.

My long term strategy is to see this resource centre start a community radio station that will highlight occurrences within Kisumu’s slums.