Once again, I’ve stumbled upon another sweet soccer program that builds communities and addresses social justice issues. Last week I wrote about women’s soccer in Rwanda. Now move about 500 miles East on the globe and you will witness the wonders of girls’ soccer in Kenya.

This morning I read a story about a couple of New England coaches who recently took a trip to Kenya to help out with community soccer programs. According to the article, it is still socially unacceptable for girls to play sports in many regions of Kenya. Some girls hide their participation from family members but continue to play.

Thanks to cool organizations like the Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA), kids in Mathare (one of the poorest regions in Kenya, near Nairobi) have a support network to keep them on the fields and off the streets.

This article by the Population Council describes how MYSA’s efforts have helped to further gender equality in Mathare. MYSA also works to improve kids’ lives in other arenas; they teach about HIV/AIDS prevention, help children find educational opportunities, give kids a chance to travel abroad for soccer tournaments, and require that their soccer players donate service hours to improve their communities.

All around, it's an amazing program that's doing just the kind of work we like to see here at Play City.