Primary Ball-Games 2015

All of the Suba Lakers Primary School girls were highly involved with the Primary School Ball-games over the past month.  Through watching the ball-games, club officials were also able to identify some other young, talented girls that will be able to start training with the club to develop their talents.  

In the Homabay County tournament, the Mbita team included Suba Lakers Siska Verah, Mourine Owiti, Felistas Atieno and Florence Wangoi and were coached by Paul Diela and Dave Gombe.  This team was a force to be reckoned with.  In the first game the Mbita team won 1-0 on a goal from Siska and then drew 0-0 with Ndhiwa which featured Suba Laker defender Lencer Adoyo.  Mbita topped the group and entered the semifinals against Rachuonyo North.  Mbita led 1-0 after another goal from Siska Verah.  They kept the lead until 4 minutes before the final whistle when Rachuonyo equalized on a debatable non-call from an off-sides position.  Unfortunately the Mbita team lost in the penalty shoot-out to get knocked out.  

All five of the Suba Lakers were selected to proceed to the Regional Championships including Siska, Florence, Mourine, Felistas and Lencer.  The team was strong but got placed in the group of death with Kisumu and Kisii who were both looking for revenge from last year.  The Homabay team dropped the first game to a strong Kisumu team 2-0 and then drew with Kisii 0-0.  On goal differential, the Homabay team was knocked out and not able to defend its title from last year.  

Even though they were knocked out early, two Suba Lakers were still chosen for the Regional team who competed in the National Finals in Machakos.  Lencer Adoyo and Felistas Atieno (Apeto) had the privilege of playing at Nationals for the Lake Region team.  Lencer was a part of the team last year that won Nationals for the first time ever.  Apeto will be at Nationals for her first time.

In the National tournament, the Lake Region team was determined to defend their title from last year.  They got off to a strong start by beating Aberdares 2-0 before getting shutout by powerhouse Nzoia (Western) 1-0.  In their final pool game they qualified for the semifinals by beating Coast 1-0 and finishing 2nd in the pool behind Nzoia.  

The semifinals were a rematch of last year’s Championship game between Lake Region and Metropolitan (Nairobi).  Just like last year, the game came down to a post-game penalty shootout.  And again, like last year, Lake Region prevailed!  

In the Finals, Lake Region was matched up with the only team that beat them this year, Nzoia.  They are a powerhouse in Girl’s Football, usually winning the secondary schools title and often the primary schools title also.  Just like four year ago, Nzoi defeated Lake Region in the Finals 1-0.  It was a tough match and both teams shined brightly.  

We are proud of Lencer, Apeto and the Lake Region girls for once again reaching the National Finals for the 4th time in the past 5 years.  

Congrats to our Laker girls and the entire Lake Region Team! It has been a great season!

Primary School Action

Over the past month, the Suba Lakers have been busy preparing our primary school girls for the School Ball Games that will begin soon.  The weekly sessions have been aimed at improving their skills and getting them into shape.  

Several of the Suba Lakers are returning this year with a lot of experience and their sights set on moving further than they did last year.  As young players, Siska Verah and Florence Wangoi were key contributors up to the Sub-County level in 2014, but with a year of maturity, they want to play a bigger role this year and go further.  Felistas Atieno, Mourine Owiti and Phylice Akoth all helped their team win the Homa Bay County Championships, but were disappointed when they weren’t selected to move on to Regionals like some of their teammates were.  Felistas turned into a very strong central defender who uses her aggressiveness, size and skill to keep the ball away from the goal.  Mourine has been a powerful, fast defensive wing player for many years now.  Phylice uses her speed to put pressure on the opponent’s defense as a striker.  Last year Lencer Adoyo was the starting defender and arguably the most valuable player on the Lake Region team that won their first ever National championship.  With that experience under her belt she is excited about the opportunity of helping her team win back to back national championships.  

The early stages of the ball-games should be starting any day now.  The ball games begin at the school level (or Base) and progress up through the Zone, Division, Sub-County (District), County, Region and culminates at Nationals! 

We wish our Suba Lakers success in all of their competitions!  

Equipment Donations

Equipment is always a challenge for the Suba Lakers.  

It is difficult to find good balls which will endure being played on the rough Kenyan fields filled with rocks and thorns and usually surrounded by barbed wire fences.  Soccer cleats (known as 'football boots') are very expensive in Kenya.  Most of the cleats which can be purchased in Kenya are already used.  Because the fields are usually very hard with a lot of rocks and dirt and very little grass, the cleats also take a big beating.  And many times because we only have few cleats to choose from, the girls end up picking a pair that doesn’t fit them so well.  When they wear ones that are a little too small or too big, it is also rough on the shoes, especially since they were previously used by someone else. 

In March, a visiting team from Montana, brought 13 brand new pairs of cleats which were donated by a couple who wanted to bless the Suba Lakers.  The cleats were received by our primary girls with big smiles.  Some of them had probably never seen a brand new pair of soccer cleats!  What a special gift for the club!

Through the U.S. Soccer Foundation's Passback program, we also recently received some lightly used soccer equipment which included more pairs of soccer cleats, goalkeeper gloves, used soccer balls, socks and a few jerseys.  

The donations were a big encouragement to the club officials and the players. 

Learn more about the Passback program and how YOU can organize a donation drive to bless another soccer program somewhere around the world!

KCSE Results

Our 6 high school graduates have been eagerly awaiting their National Exam results which were finally released yesterday.  They took their exams in October/November, along with 400,000 other students across the country.  It is a big milestone for these girls to have finished high school and taken their National Exams.  In our district, only 16% of the girls normally finish high school.  The Suba Lakers have helped over 85% of their girls complete high school.  

This year’s class featured two of the 

most outstanding students in the country.  

Adah Sharon achieved a mean score of A which places her in the top 1% of students in Kenya.  Her teammate Linet Akeyo achieved an A- which puts her in the top 3% of students in Kenya.  Those high scores will ensure that both of these girls are able to continue their education in university through government sponsorship.  Sharon Bismarck also scored highly, earning a B- which is above the cutoff for qualification for University.  The other three did not score as highly as these three, but being able to graduate high school was a big achievement for these girls who many said would never reach that far.  They faced tough circumstances in their education including a poor foundation because of very weak primary schools, poverty, and many other challenges.  Each of these 6 six girls were orphaned from a young age which can drastically affect their home situation, academic performance and financial means.  

We thank God that through the help of the club working along with their schools, teachers and families, each of these girls has made it past this critical juncture of their life.  

Joining High School

The 2015 school year got off to a slow start with the nationwide teacher’s strike, but finally cooler heads prevailed and school is beginning.  8 of our 9 Eighth Graders were able to join various high schools around the region.  

Niphrid, Sharon and Lavenda joined Ugari Secondary School in Migori County.  Winny, Lillian and Eunice joined Nyakach Girls in Kisumu County.  Nyakach has reached the Regional Final in back to back years and are hoping these girls can help them get over the hump and win the region so that they can advance to Nationals.  Nancy joined Sindo Girls High School.  Finally, June joined 12 time regional champions Jera Seconary School where she will team up with four other Suba Lakers who are learning and competing there.  

In the past five years, 39 out of the 42 Suba Laker Eighth Graders who have taken their National Exams have continued their education in high school.  That is a 93% rate which is astounding compared to the district average of 50%.  We are grateful that because of their football skills, academic performance and financial help, these girls are able to continue in their education.  

These 8 girls bring the total number of Suba Lakers currently in High School to 29.  We have had 13 finish high school in the past couple of years.  

We are also happy that several of our girls have been chosen as captains of their high school soccer teams.  Last year Captain Judith Mayor helped lead her team to Nationals.  This year Caren Akeyo is the captain at Kobala, Alicent Awuor is the captain at Jera and Lavenda Achieng as a 1st year student has been named the captain at Ugari.  

Please pray with us for these girls as they adapt to life in secondary school!  

Happy New Year

Our Mission is to give HOPE for a better future. 

During this time of the year, we reflect on the greatest gift of hope; the birth of Jesus our Savior!  Through Jesus, there is hope for our world; hope for even the most vulnerable.  

The Suba Lakers Football Club continues to serve the most vulnerable in the area around Mbita, Kenya.  Our goal is to provide opportunities for girls to develop their God-given talent in football.  Yet our goals go way beyond football.  We desire to see each girl build positive self-esteem, have good character, stay in school and grow spiritually. 

Over the past year we have seen how a little bit of hope has gone a long way...

15 primary, 30 secondary and 7 college students participated in the club's various activities.

9 girls finished primary school; 8th grade.  (In Mbita District, only 43% of girls complete primary school.)

6 girls finished secondary school; 12th grade.  (In Mbita District, only 16% of girls complete secondary school.)

6 primary girls were selected to play at Nationals, and WON, creating history!! (read the story)

2 secondary girls led their school team to qualify for Nationals! (read the story)

It is our prayer that the club will continue to provide hope to these girls.  While developing their football skills and participating in tournaments to gain competition experience, great focus is also placed on each girl continuing their education and finishing secondary school! Read a letter of gratitude written by some of our girls in secondary school.

Will you partner with us by giving a one-time financial gift?  Donate Today!

When you give a tax-deductible year-end gift, you are helping to bring HOPE to these girls, for this life and for eternity!

Give a donation online today!

We are grateful for all who have supported the club's activities in the past.  Our dedicated officials are working hard to explore partnership opportunities within Kenya but we still need your continued support!

December Break Friendly Match

In Kenya, the long school holiday falls during the last couple of weeks in November and continues through the entire month of December.  This provides the club with a lot of time to work with the girls, especially the ones that are usually away boarding at their various secondary schools. This time gives the girls positive activities to keep them occupied, catch up with old friends, stay in shape, and continue developing their soccer skills.  We also try to utilize this time to teach the girls some life skills and help them grow in other ways.  

This past week, after the club had some excellent training sessions with the girls, they traveled to Nyamira (about 3 hours from Mbita) for a high profile friendly match.  Their competition was with a team that used to play in the Kenya Women’s Premier League, the Sotik Queens.  

The Suba Lakers thrashed the Queens 5-0.  

It was a match to behold.  The Lady of the match was Dorothy Adhiambo.  The soon to be 4th year secondary school girl from Mfangano Island scored twice in the first half to give the Lakers an insurmountable lead.  Other goal scorers on the day were Alicent, Emily and Belinda who moved up from her defensive position to play the right forward position.  Primary school 8th Grader Lencer Adoyo was brilliant in the defense.  

Everything went well and the girls went home very happy to celebrate Christmas with their families.  We thank God for his blessings throughout this year!