She refused to give up – and specifically sought out men who would support her idea. One of them is Loroo Esekon Emmanuel. An engineer, he describes himself as Lomoti’s “ambassador”, accompanying her even today to meetings with Turkana who hold particularly traditional views.
“She can buy the goats herself”
“We Turkana need a fundamental change of mindset. Girls are still regarded merely as a way of accumulating more livestock through bride prices – yet our entire region could be a lot better off if girls received education and could seek gainful employment and thereby support their families,” says Emmanuel. In debates, he likes to cite Lomoti as an example. “I tell people that football opened up paths to education for her, and that she is now the one who supports her elderly father – nobody has to pay a bride price for her because she can buy the goats herself.”
Meanwhile, the Football Kenya Federation has appointed Lomoti as the women’s representative for the Turkana region. In this capacity, one of her jobs is to organise the youth teams for boys and girls.
There are also success stories among the players: 56 girls from the programme have been awarded sports scholarships to attend a prestigious school in Kenya. Talent scouts regularly drop by during training sessions, on the lookout for gifted players.
One of the families that have benefited is Iyanae Martha’s: her daughter was granted a scholarship. “I’ve got five children and would never have been able to send any of them to such an expensive school,” she says, adding that she’s particularly proud that one of her girls was picked for this honour. Initially, there was some scepticism about the project in the community, she explains – but most people now have realised how far football can also take girls. “I wish the project had already existed during my childhood,” says Martha. “What Rael is doing is giving hope to all Turkana women.”
Team members receive sanitary towels
Even those who don’t end up with a scholarship get support with their education. “All our team members receive learning materials, sanitary towels – which still pose a major challenge, as thousands of girls and women find it difficult to get hold of sanitary products, clean water and information about menstrual hygiene – and jerseys. In addition, 120 particularly vulnerable girls are supported by our feeding programme,” reports Lomoti.
Aside from providing football training, the teams’ 18 coaches also run workshops – on subjects such as women’s rights or political education – and discussion sessions. As frequently as she can, Lomoti organises Saturday tournaments in Lodwar that give the various Desert Roses teams the chance to compete against each other. Boys can play too: in each age group (13-, 15- and 17-year-olds) there are now also Desert Roses teams for boys.
Donations have declined
At the same time, the financial side of things has become more difficult. Lomoti says that donations have declined sharply as a result of the global crises – meaning that not all girls can be provided with books this year. “I would also really like to be able to distribute sanitary towels, but there’s just not enough money at the moment.”
Many of the girls – including Mary Lokaale Ewoi – hope to become footballers or coaches themselves one day. “Football gives me a sense of purpose and something I can focus all my attention on,” says the 17-year-old. Captain Lilian, meanwhile, has other goals. What she really values about Desert Roses is the reliable access to school books the team gives her – she wants to go to university and perhaps become a doctor.
Links
Turkana Desert Roses
Rael Lomoti’s book “Roses Will Rise” is available from the civil-society organisation Vice Versa.
Katharina Wilhelm Otieno belongs to the editorial team of D+C and works partly in Nairobi.
euz.editor@dandc.eu
This is the second article of our football stories. You can find more stories here.
