The government is ready to support programmes that impacts the society positively across the country.
Speaking in Iten during the launch of the Shoe4Africa Alpha the Alpha Running Porridge Club yesterday, Harriette Chiggai, the presidential advisor on Women Rights said that the state is ready to work with individuals with supports the community positively.
“I came here to see what Shoe4Africa is doing because there are so many things happening in this country that we don’t normally talk about. We have so many positive things happening and if we can retool to see, we shall have a happier society,” said Chiggai.
The facility established by retired athlete Toby Tanser will be hosting young enthusiastic athletes between the ages of 8-16 where free porridge will be served for all going school children.
On that, Chiggai urged all the professionals to go back to their villages or communities to set up safe places for the young children to make the country safe for all.
On Gender Based Violence (GBV) that is rampant in the country especially among athletes, she said that such issues affecting young children, girls and women in sports, the country has recorded the highestin the region among athletes.
“It is good for such facility for the young children, who are not only trained to run but mentored on the 360 life changing lessons. For the country to near zero in GBV, it is important to know what is happening and create solutions that can help the society. With such facilities, the young children are happy and the upcoming athletes in such recreational place or call it a safe place is not just feeding them but it has other recreational facilities that they get,” she said.
Apart from the Shoe4Africa Alpha the Alpha Running Porridge Club, Tanser has set up a Shoe4Africa Cancer hospital and Shoe4Africa Children’s Hospital in Eldoret’s Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH).
“I am embraced by the cancer hospital and again we have children trained here by retired athletes, who is a lady and we need more ladies as coaching to achieve the 360 approach to solutions were are looking for. Toby and his wife can work with the government as the government is planning to put up facility training for the young children. We want to have a whole mirror to the society.,” she said.
The facility will assist children not only to train as athletes but learn because of the good library, get financial literacy on older athletes who win big money and later die poor.
On matters GBV, she reiterated that it is so rampant among athletes especially the intimate partners within homes.
“With such a good place where you can only cover a child not a grown up. Training and mentoring young people will make them good citizens. Government will support all initiatives that support the community and should stop being professionals on social media but go home and make change. Let’s get our hands dirty and work for the good of this country,” she said.
She said that among the athletes, there is a lot that can be done with athletes GBV with the intimate partner violence and it is all about the society and how they solve problems, challenges in the love hate relationships, which starts by training the young people to know their rights and safe places.
“The story is similar and the stories start from training camps. This is a societal issue not the government alone. The government will come in to provide security but before we reach there, we should change the narrative in sports. At the same time, let’s look at how coaches are trained to train, the psycho-social and mental status of each one,” she explained.