With the Women’s World Cup underway, it’s impossible to deny: the world loves soccer. Children in our sponsor sites around the world are gripped by football fever. While it’s fun to watch, the real joy is in getting to play.

Chalice started sponsoring students attending Grapesyard Education Centre in 2020, during the pandemic school closures. Grapesyard is in a very low-income neighbourhood in Nairobi called Korogocho, where many families live on less than a dollar per day.

Classes, activities, and sports competitions resumed in 2021. Nifa, a leader within Chalice’s Nairobi offices, liked to go for Grapesyard’s sports days. She saw that the children were talented, but didn’t have jerseys, cleats, or other basics. Items like these are mandatory for students to take part in regional leagues. Nifa wondered aloud to the school principal how the students got to compete.

“So that's why we got to know that most of them don't really get to participate,” Nifa says. “Because of the lack of uniforms, the lack of training, and lack of motivation among the players.”

“So that’s how we came in.”

Thanks to everyone who gave the gift of sports equipment through Chalice’s gift catalogue, Nifa arranged for the children at Grapesyard to get fully kitted out with jerseys, cleats, and equipment.

“The children were so elated and could not hide it,” Nifa says. "For the first time, the school went up to the provincial levels, which is really a high level when you're competing in games in our country. We realized what an impact that had on the girls and boys because it really boosted their morale in performing better in the sports.”

“The football uniforms, namely boots, jerseys, and shorts,” writes Edwin, Nairobi site director, “went a long way to boost the morale of children. They play their matches with a lot of confidence, worrying less about injuries, thus resulting in winning the matches.”

Chalice also started a daily lunch program at Grapesyard in 2021. Nifa says the program “has really, really, really contributed a great deal” to the students’ success, both on the field and off.

“I sometimes come to school without eating breakfast,” says Daniel, a grade eight student and a defender on the football team. “I rely on the Chalice program for my strength. If I don’t have the energy, then I’ll be knocked out, and we’ll lose the game. It has helped us a lot, so we can find some energy to win the games.”

It seems to be working. This spring, the Grapesyard boys team came fourth out of twenty teams, and the girls team won a trophy in their division.