The Vision: all 47 counties

Siaya is where this begins. Organizers intend to take the program to all 47 counties of Kenya, so that every young person has a chance to be mentored for life and leadership.

Lessons and next steps

  • Deeper county partnership: Organizers believe the county can do more, and that planning together with the sports department from the start will give better results for an annual event.

  • Build on trust: Early skepticism has turned into participation. Schools, coaches and the county are now part of the story.

The program honors Rachel Odima, who died at age 20 in Washington State. Rachel wanted to use basketball to mentor and transform the lives of young people in her home county of Siaya. Her dream is the reason Beyond the Game exists: sport is the doorway, and mentoring for life and leadership is the destination.

Beyond the Game: Mentoring Youth for Life & Leadership

Our core program: Beyond the Game mentorship

This year’s mentorship outreach brought 19 coaches and mentors into 19 schools, where 413 students took part. The central message to every participant was simple: chase your dreams actively, rather than waiting for them to come to you. Through the Beyond the Game Curriculum, developed by the organizers, students learned six core values to help prepare them for life beyond the game.

  • Resilience and direction: The program is built to help young people build resilience and see a path toward a career.

  • Life skills and values: Students are encouraged to grow in life skills and community values, and to build networks beyond their own school.

  • Faith outreach: Through our partner, Kubamba Krew, teams visited 7 schools and reached 6,557 students, with 4,232 of them impacted, about 65% of those reached.

  • Partnership: Kubamba Krew, a major partner this year, ran five days of ministry in schools across all six of the county’s sub-counties.

Supporting the mission: the Beyond the Game Basketball Tournament

The tournament is the annual gathering that brings the mentoring to life. Held over two days, it drew more than 400 boys and girls to play. It was the second edition, after a first year spent breaking ground, and it grew a great deal: coaches and players described it as professional and a clear improvement on the previous year, with more teams and more matches, so players gained more experience.

  • Doubted, then embraced: Organizers were told early on that basketball is not known in the area and that they should try soccer. They went ahead anyway, and young people came.

  • County support: Siaya County’s sports and health departments helped, including providing an ambulance for emergencies.