Kicks4Kenya
Kicks4Kenya is a small but effective organization founded in 2007 with the goal of improving the lives of orphans and school children in Kenya by playing soccer with proper balls and equipment.
It is the founding belief of SoccerGrow that soccer has a unique power to heal wounds across barriers of race, class, language, gender, and age — and Kicks4Kenya is a very concrete manifestation of that value working in the world today.
TJ Widbin is the founder of Kicks4Kenya, and here is his story:
I went to Kenya in the summer of 2005 with the goal of helping an orphanage with an expansion project. When I was there I could not speak to the children due to the language barrier but one thing I could do with them is play soccer. The problem was they did not have a real soccer ball, they played with bunched up paper sacks tied with rope. I realized that although I probably couldn’t end poverty, I could get them proper soccer balls to play with. It was here that the idea for Kicks4Kenya was born.
How is Kicks-4-Kenya Unique?
Not only has Kicks4Kenya already had a very personal and lasting impact on the lives of children in need, it also has a bright future, drawing support from major organizations such as The Kansas City Wizards, The US Soccer Foundation Passback program, and several individual contributors. Through the support of these groups, the first trip to Kenya as Kicks4Kenya was a great success, giving away 40 balls and 30 jerseys to several schools and orphanages.
Why Should I Contribute to K4K Through SoccerGrow?
Looking ahead to that future, the long-term goals are ambitious but achievable. Kicks4Kenya would like to start a soccer league in Nakuru, Kenya much like a high school league where high schools compete against each other. It is also a dream to build a permanent soccer complex so that traveling teams from the USA or elsewhere can come and compete against the teams who have been helped in Kenya.
Even your smallest financial contribution will go straight to TJ to help him defray the cost of shipping soccer equipment to Kenya! Keep checking SoccerGrow for updated information on how your contributions are supporting this meaningful effort.
Learn more at the Kicks4Kenya website.
