A Girl of Substance
| Photo: Angelica Ibarra Rodriguez
The slight but mighty figure in the green shirt is bossing the six-yard box with the focus, speed and composure of a seasoned goalie. Hanyang University in Seoul may be a million miles – well, 6,340 to be exact – from the tiny village of Lela in Nyanza, Kenya near Lake Victoria where she grew up, but 22-year-old Verah Adhiambo feels right at home.
“I began playing in 2010 – I love football, it helps you to be focused,” she enthuses, before adding, “and in my country it helps you avoid negative things going on in the streets – like early pregnancies, early marriages – because most of your time is spent on the field, or at school, then home.
“I love football so much. I believe it will help me change my family background – it already has, as I am here!”
An odd thing to say for one so young, perhaps but despite her tender years, Verah knows only too well how family life can change in the blink of an eye.
“My early family life was not easy. Mum was everything in our family and though my dad was a drunk, who left us when we were very young, she kept us all going.”
Her voice lowers into a whisper as she adds, “That’s when she was well. When mum died – I’m still traumatised about the event – everything changed.”
Overnight six-year-old Verah and her three siblings had to leave the grass house in their village and move to Nairobi where she was taken in by her uncle Benedict Kiage who raised her and subsequently adopted her.
Football once again was her saviour, though for a girl in Kenya, not an easy goal to net.
“It was a big challenge getting to play! My community were telling me I was wasting my time, that I would have nothing to offer – but they didn’t understand,” she explains. “They think girls should be taking care of the family, that football should just be for boys.
“But I love the game. When you get on the field with your team you might jiggle the ball, dribble the ball, play your best, laugh with others and maybe, if you’ve been feeling depressed, you suddenly feel better.
“That’s what it was like when I was younger and lots of bad things were happening at home. I felt the only safe place was the field and when you play, all these issues disappear.”
|"I felt the only safe place was the field and when you play, all these issues disappear.” Photo: Angelica Ibarra Rodriguez
Cue Uncle Benedict who, as a local football coach, helped Verah to follow her dream. He was also instrumental in ensuring her education continued.
“My uncle took me to school and told the teacher about my situation, that I was playing football well, that it showed I was disciplined, so the school was encouraged to take me and I was awarded a scholarship,” she says with pride. “It only covered my school fees so my uncle had to pay for all the other things, like books and uniform. I’m very grateful to him and hope I can repay him one day.”
After graduating, she continued to study for a diploma in counselling psychology – and it was there she learned about Homeless World Cup. Her coach was asked to nominate players from the various local sides and Verah made the team sheet.
The Kenyan team, Vijana Amani Pamoja (VAP), is part of Homeless World Cup’s new programme ‘Football to protect vulnerable women from exploitation’ which is being delivered in collaboration with the FIFA Foundation and three other Homeless World Cup member countries - Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe – with a curriculum around gender-based violence. As a survivor, Verah is part of this project, which led to her team inclusion.
“I was elated to be chosen for the team. I’d never been in an airplane before so just the thought of that was thrilling,” she grins. “I was telling people back in my village that I was going to South Korea and they were just, ‘Wow!’
“Our team is five girls, and we are like sisters. We have fun, share things, just like a family and I’ve made a lot of friends here, from South Korea, USA and India especially.
“I know being here will change me as a person and I thought if I did my best and really tried hard that this tournament may change my life, too.”
|“If you’re told you cannot play football and study, that’s very wrong – after all, I am here!" Image: Anita Milas
That life change, for Verah, would involve a chance to study counselling psychology abroad.
“Why am I passionate about this?” she says, then her voice drops again. “When I was younger, I wasn’t able to get someone to advise me; my mother was dead and there was no one I could ask for help.
“When I tried to share my problems, people didn’t want to hear but I would have loved to get advice from someone. Everyone needs someone, and I believe I can change someone else’s life, so that’s what drives me.”
With an undoubted wisdom beyond her years then, what would Homeless World Cup Kenya goalkeeper Verah say to that terrified six-year-old who felt she had nowhere to turn? The beaming smile and cheery tone return.
“I would say be positive, stay disciplined and be humble. Study, but also find something else to focus on – play football.
“If you’re told you cannot play football and study, that’s very wrong – after all, I am here!
“It’s all a matter of balance. For girls playing football, if you have a talent, go for it and look for something else to do. However much you love the game you must plan for a life after football and develop other skills.
“Become a girl of substance. I will be a girl of substance!”
Donate to the Homeless World Cup to keep the ball rolling
Words: Isobel Irvine
Photos: Angelica Ibarra Rodriguez / Anita Milas