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THE UNSUNG HEROES

A winner is not called a winner for winning a contest, neither is he called a winner for winning once more but rather for maintaining the same status, this is a statement that best describes Likoni community rugby team since their's is a story of triumphing amidst tribulations, call them the giants of likoni because they have fought to defend their title like true warriors do. The likoni  community rugby started as an idea from three friends who were attending church together at ACK,ST Philips church Likoni. It was an idea that was born out of the motive of solving a minor problem where for instance children idling around during and after Sunday school, without knowing that it would bind them together into one big family. This is what Mr Dennis Gem had to say when i asked him how it all started ?
We started the team after realizing that children were roaming around during and after church so we had to come up with away to keep the children busy as they wait for their parents who were attending mass in the main church
(Likoni  U16 girls celebrating after a win during the a recent tournament  )

The likoni community rugby team was started in 2011 by three friends namely; Mr .Dennis Gem,Mr.Titus Ceaser Mtawa and Mr Geoffrey Maleu who all played  for Mombasa  team and have since brought their A game on board including making sacrifices to bring the team to where it is now. The team has a total of 64 kids who are eighteen years and below both boys and girls.

Considering the coast region is the worst hit by drugs and substance abused ,insecurity and juvenile gangs among other vices this team came in handy to seal that gap ,Not just because rugby is about discipline but rather because the pioneers use sports to prevent young girls and boys from joining militia gangs and engaging in other vices.

When you have a the passion to change your community no amount of disappointment can bring you down ,especially when its about changing the narrative of how things are,of how people perceive localities hence for the LIKONI COMMUNITY RUGBY TEAM COACHES it was a battle that they needed to win .True to the words ,the team has quite a number of feathers in their caps ; the team have won extensively in important tournaments like the TOTO AFRICA IT TOURNAMENT(they clinched in 9 months )DRIFTWOOD,among others. The biggest achievement has been in terms of education ,where most of the team members have been able to get scholarships through rugby for example in 2015 ,2017 (6 boys got scholarship),2018(2 girls ) and in 2019 (7 girls and 7 boys got scholarship). all this has been made possible by different stakeholders who have always come on board to support the team ranging from their own contributions , well wishers to partners such as SAAB GROUP,NANYUKI CHARITABLE TRUST ,RUGBY UNION,MRS CAROLINE KIRK ,BATUK among many others

(PIC of Likoni community rugby team)
Despite all the victories there have been some challenges and here is what Geoffrey Maleu had to say ;
We face many challenges for instance some parents are not cooperative,generally there is a lot of over expectations from the community and even the kids sustaining injuries during the tournaments
Its evident that you dont need to own millions to make an impact in your community but just the zeal and motivation just like what the pioneers of likoni rugby team have shown ,what binds them together is a dream to see a better Likoni and the Zeal to transform the lives young people . For Titus Mtawa what motivates him is ;
Writing a different narrative about Likoni,Its high time people also speak about the good things in likoni not just the bad things .
FUTURE PLANS ? Mr.Dennis Gem who is the Development officer central Kenya couldn't have put it any better by saying that the team needs more exposure and that there is need to get more kids being sponsored especially the girls since he is very passionate about girl child education.

PARTING SHOT:
The distance between you and your dreams is you ,you could achieve anything if only you believe


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