December 12, 2016

Lilian Joins the Kenya National Team


Lilian Awuor broke down barriers recently and became the first Suba Laker to play for the Kenya Women's National Team!  

After a great 2nd year in Secondary school where she led her team, Nyakach Girls, to the Regional Championship, National Semifinals and all the way to the East African games, Lillian was invited to come to the Harambee Starlets training camp as they prepared for an international match.  She was one of the goalkeepers selected and one of the youngest members to represent the country in matches held in Uganda.  Other Suba Lakers have tried out for the national team at various times, but none of them have had the opportunity to don the Kenyan jersey in an international match.  

Lilian has already traveled with the Harambee Starlets to Uganda and Morocco for various international matches! This is an incredible experience for Lilian. We hope more opportunities will come for her and other Suba Lakers in the future.
 

December 6, 2016

2016 Kanyakla Tournament on Mfangano Island

We took the ferry across the lake for our next tournament on Mfangano Island. The 2016 Kanyakla Tournament was held at Ramba Primary School from Nov 28-Dec 1. This tournament is sponsored by Organic Health Response – Ekialo Kiona Center which focuses on community health programs on Mfangano Island. The tournament provided many opportutities to learn abut HIV/AIDS awareness.

A number of teams traveled the long distance to attend this tournament, yet the Suba Lakers dominated. We finished the tournament undefeated and did not allow a single goal! We beat City to City Football Club 4-0, then took on Kiziwa FC 2-0. In Semis we met and defeated Dreams FC 5-0. Finally, we wrapped it up with a 3-0 win over Mashambani FC. We received new uniforms, a ball and trophy as the Champions.


Not only did we shine as a team, but many of our players stood out to be among the best. Brenda June and Alicent received the Best Players awards. Our top scorers, with 3 total each, were Lavenda, Emily and Dorothy.


The Kanyakla Program is the world’s first microclinic program for HIV/AIDS. Our approach is to empower rural HIV-affected social networks with training and resources, while improving linkages to care, facilitating confidential HIV status disclosure, and building an enduring social infrastructure to address the social, economic, and environmental factors driving HIV/AIDS.

November 20, 2016

Senator Otieno Kajwang Tournament

School is out for the year and it's the long Nov/Dec holiday. This means it's football tournament season. Many tournaments are offered during this time of the year and it's a struggle to make it to all of them. One we have attended for many years now is the Senator Otieno Kajwang Tournament on Rusinga Island. This year there were only a few teams entered. 


The Suba Lakers went up against Kayanja ladies from Waondo for the Finals and won 8-0. We received a wonderful prize for first place which included a new uniforms, a nice trophy, a soccer ball and a small cash prize. Since Rusinga island is our "neighbor" we didn't use much money for transport so we shared the cash prize among the girls. Many of them quickly dispersed to the market to buy a special treat.

September 28, 2016

Maisha League

The Suba Lakers has joined a “first of its kind” Regional Football League for girls.  

The Football Kenya Federation has started regional leagues for Ladies all over the country.  Sponsored by the National Aids Council, it has been named the Maisha League.  Maisha is a Kiswahili word which means “life.”  They are using the league to create awareness on HIV/AIDS Pandemic within the country.  There are 15 teams from the Lake Region who the Suba Lakers are competing with.  The team is made up of mostly primary school players and a few of our top players who have finished secondary school and are waiting to continue their education.  So far, they are undefeated in the seven games in the league, having won six and tied one.  




Update: The club went on to finish the first year of the League as Homa Bay Champs with a record of 12-0-1.

August 29, 2016

A Coach in the Making

Alicent Awour was one of the very first Suba Lakers. She joined the club in 2009 when she was just 11 years old. She has always had natural talent, a positive attitude and a strong work ethic. After both her parents died by the time she was 8 years old, she went to live with one of her father’s other wives along with her 3 children. She is a bright girl and even at the age of 11 she knew that if she stayed in her home situation, she wouldn’t go far in life. She boldly approached the Club Officials and requested assistance to attend a different school. The club helped to relocate her to Mbita; just 20 minutes from her home, to live with a family and attend a better school. 


After finishing primary school, she attended Jera Secondary School; one of the leading football schools in the region. She helped her team reach the National Tournament in 2013 and in 2014 she was the team Captain. She sustained a major knee injury at Regionals in 2013. Thanks to a few key Suba Laker supporters she was able to have ACL surgery by the end of the year at CURE International Hospital where they have the Region's leading orthopedic doctors. Most of 2014 was a year of rehab for her, but she stuck with it and was able to play again her final year of school. In Nov 2015, Alicent finished secondary school. No small feat for a rural island girl. 

She is currently staying at home during her gap year as she awaits to join college. She is hoping to be accepted into Kenya's Medical Training Institute to study Nursing. Yet, she cannot be idle. She is driven and loves the game of football. She has recently been coaching the girls team for a secondary school near her home where she led the team to the finals at the sub-county tournament. Suba Laker officials were there to watch in awe as she coached, marshaled, and directed the girls from the sidelines. 

What a joy to watch this young lady, now 18 years old, use the skills she gained from Suba Lakers and take the initiative to train up a new generation. We are so proud of the woman she is becoming.

August 4, 2016

Secondary School BallGames 2016

Secondary School Ball Games are some exciting times for the Suba Lakers. The girls don't get to play together as a team, but instead they are each playing for their school teams. All of our girls attend schools which have some of the best football teams in our region. Naturally, most of the schools make it though their local play-offs to advance to the next level. The culmination of this is the Regional Tournament. By this point, only the best teams have advanced. 

This year 3 of the 4 teams in the Regional Tournament semi-final round were teams with Suba Lakers. These included Moi Girl Sindo, Jera Secondary School, and Nyakach Girls. Jera, who has dominated girls football in the region for many years, was matched against a tough Sindo team. Sindo won, 2-1. Nyakach took on Ekinyoro to win 1-0. 


The finals brought together Nyakach vs. Sindo. On the Nyakach team we have 5 Suba Lakers; Lilian Awour (GK), Winnie Ogola, Eunice Konguru, Florence Wangoi, Lencer Adoyo and Maurine Owiti. For Moi Girls Sindo the Suba Lakers are represented by Lydia Awino, Brenda Sharon, and Christine Achila. It was a tough match which ended 0-0 in regulation time. The Champion was determined by penalty kicks. With Suba Laker Lilian in the goal for Nyakach, she didn’t allow anything into her net. Nyakach won 1-0.

 

Sindo and Nyakach will both proceed to Nationals to be held in Kisumu. Two slots are permitted since Lake Region is the host for Nationals. This year we will have the largest showings of Suba Lakers at Secondary School Ball Games Nationals with 9 girls representing the club. We are so proud of these girls for their success on the field, but also for their character and leadership among their teams.

May 1, 2016

KYFA Tournament 2016


Each school break the Suba Lakers are often invited to a variety of football tournament. It's a challenge to figure out which ones to attend with the limited time and funds. Without much hesitation, the officials chose the annual Kisumu Youth Football Association (KYFA) Tournament in Kisumu for this Term 1 School Break. This is the best nation-wide tournament in Kenya for females. Not only does KYFA stand by the rules, they also organize great speakers to talk with the girls on relevant subject matters. 

This year, with many of our Suba Lakers at secondary schools with great football programs, several of them played at this tournament with their secondary school teams. We still had enough girls remaining to make a strong team. We were in a fierce and competitive pool with top football teams who are some of our biggest rivals. Even though our defense never allowed a single goal, we didn’t advance beyond the pool play which shows how tough the competition was. It’s always great to participate in these tournaments and especially against good teams.

April 8, 2016

Primary School Ball Games 2016

Lake Region wins the National Championship!

Each year during Term 1, the Primary School Ball Games are underway. These start at the lowest level, the school, the base and the zone (which is approximately comparative to the town), proceeding up through the district, county and region until finally the national level. At each level, the the best players from that given area are selected for the team. In turn, only the top players advance to each level. 

Our Suba Lakers all played at the lower levels (the school, base, zone, district) and many were selected for the County Team to compete at the Regional Level. To make it on the Regional Team to compete at the National Tournament is a big deal. This year 3 Suba Lakers we selected and played at Nationals; Apeto, Lencer and Owiti!


Two years ago, in 2014, Lake Region won the primary school ball games for the first time ever. The team consisted of 6 Suba Lakers. This was a huge success for the Region and proved that even the most rural parts of Kenya could train-up great female football players. After a disappointing 2015, Lake Region again won the National Championship this year. However, the larger success is that since the Suba Lakers began in 2009, others in the region have started to take girls football more serious. They have invested time and energy to develop these girls’ talent. The proof is in the Region’s ability to win another national title!