 Shama's Ragby Foundation is providing a platform for the disadvantaged youth to promote good character, education and employability. Francis Otino is a beneficiary at the Foundation and a rugby coach who trains under 12 children in Ragby. Personally, I'm a rugby player at USIU. I used to play for Shama's Ragby Foundation before I joined USIU after getting a scholarship from Shama's. I started in Shama's when I was in 2013 when I was in Fumwan and growing gradually, I got to be given a chance to coach the kids. I'm not that professional in coaching but then I have the little skills that one needs to coach a kid. That's why I coach under 12, not the ones that are a bit older. One who mented me basically was Juan Felix Emoria. He was my coach by then when I was in Shama's and he coached me. So sometimes when he was coaching, I would look at him, coach us and then I got inspired with time. So I also wanted to do what I saw him do. So at one point I got that motivation to become a coach. So when I was given a chance to be one, I took it with pride. After being raised in Madare, the first born in a family of eight says his life was not as easy. I was born in Madare. I'm a first born in a family of eight. And my life, since my childhood, I've revolved in Madare. I went to primary school in Madare, outreach community. And after primary, I went to high school in Kisumu, then came back to Madare. So life has not been easy. Being a first born and you can imagine in a family of eight, it's not an easy journey. Because you have to show all those behind you that life is not that easy as they think. Besides my father being there, he's not always there all the time. So when he is not there, you take the mantle, however young you are. Because there are so many challenges in Islam and you can't allow your siblings to go through that route. Because you actually know that it's not a good thing. So you have to train them and you have to ensure you mold them to become the people who they are and not people who the society thinks they are. Playing rugby in 2013, then went to high school. So from high school, during the breaks, I used to come back and play rugby. So I didn't know much that they can be a scholarship out of this. So when I did my form 4 and didn't manage to go to the university directly, I went to Nairobi Technical and did a diploma in IT. After then, Shama brought in scholarship opportunities for universities. And then lucky amai, I got the opportunity to study at the university I wanted. So I went to SIU and did my... I'm now doing my degree in information system technology. And hopefully I'll be graduating in 2023. And that's how we survive. Francis says he carries out coaching sessions for the children once in a week. We also serve our coaching sessions on Sunday, Sunday evening from 2 to 4. And now that COVID is here, we now don't coach them since rugby is a contact sport. So we can't coach. So my schedule is, after class, I always have classes midweek. So after class, I get to plan. Mostly on Friday, I get to plan what I'll train the kids on Sunday. I began coaching them in 2018. And I started with under 9, the little ones, because in Shama, you taken in after... when you have 9 years and above. So I began coaching the students when I had 9. When the children with 9 years and below. So we used to coach them. Then I got an opportunity again to be taken to a higher rank, which was under 12. So since then, I've been just coaching under 12. As the model recruitment uses, this is what he said. Tama's rugby foundation takes children from vulnerable communities in slums. So 9 years and above, either male or female. So when you're interested, you just come in. So we don't like protocols that need to follow. When you're 9 years and above and you have the heart to play, just come. You're taken in. Most of the beneficiaries are the Shama's rugby foundation, are vulnerable, hence they require more than just rugby skills. Education becomes like a silver lining of everything, like the backbone of everything. So in as much as you value one thing, let's say if it's rugby, you value rugby more than education, then I can say life won't balance, because you need this education to balance everything. So in as much as you may not be much privileged to do well academically, you can still be accommodated because you find that some of the kids have been with Shama since long. But then academically, they shake it. So you know, such a kid, you have to talk to him or her before he sits for exam to see if he or she can improve the grades. Or if not, he cannot be taken in for scholarship because scholarship only accommodates kids who have done well academically. From my community, that is Madari, most of the kids of the youth aren't taking life that serious because life has become cheap, cheap in a way that everything is gotten cheaply. So they see no need to work hard for it. And you know, for you to get something that will last, you have to work hard because cheap things don't last anymore. You'll have it in two or three days, it's gone. But then you see when you work hard for something that is your own and you toil for it for a long time, once you get it, it becomes your pride. So when you get these cheap things, they won't last automatically. So that these children be motivated, we bring in coaches who've played this game and they know them. So once the coaches who they know come on board, number one thing the child will be motivated to come over and over again to play rugby. Then number two, the children are given life skills at least I think twice or twice a year so that the life skills help you cope with challenges in ghetto because you find that these children go through a lot. So once they find somewhere that they can seek refuge or someone they can talk to when going through these challenges, that becomes their home. Aside from rugby coaching, Francis is also embarking on several other projects among them the Ghetto Mirage. Personally my own brand that is a Ghetto Mirage podcast, I started it two months ago but then I haven't had so much funds. So whatever I do is that I go back to my pocket to finance my camera guys and my co-host also goes in her pocket and we finance them. So basically for me, I have a small business that is the bicycle. I have like five bicycles, the kids' bicycles so you come, they take a ride on them, they pay you and then that's how you sustain yourself. Take on project that is Ghetto Mirage podcast. I saw one day I was watching the Bonkana Jalas show that he hosts live. So I thought about it and I said in the ghetto so many people have different stories but then they have no platform to air them out. So I just decided why don't I start one that even if it's small at least one or two people will get to hear of these people who do their stuff in the ghetto and get to help them. There are a number of challenges he's met but he's yet to give up. Challenges you get maybe from now that we take children from the not much privileged communities you get that the children get to depend so much on shamas rather than now they believe shamas covers everything. Rather than knowing that it's just a sport that when you do well at least you can get a scholarship to study elsewhere. Maybe high school or university. Starting I faced finances financial like there were no finances and again the main challenges to getting your work to get to people out there because you know when you starting a YouTube channel and maybe an Instagram page and Facebook page for you to get the followers it will take a little bit of time but then so you have to wait for that point that a larger percentage of people will get to know whatever you're doing. He also boasts of several other achievements on his lists. Achievement so far is I can't say I have so much achievement because I'm starting my journey but then I have some one or two certificates from World Rugby the rugby ready and post COVID return to game that just the certificates. Went to Uganda I think that was my at least biggest one kusa not kusa really but it was a seventh tournament in Uganda that brought all the universities brought together the universities the international universities together. Providing the children with a stable platform in which they can become all rounded people with a bright future is what we all should do. We tend to forget where they come from I doubt if I can forget where I came from because most of my back up plans are in Madari and most of my supporters are there too so despite having an opportunity to make it they are the people who push me to make it so at no point will I ever forget these people because that is where my grandparents were born raised my mom my dad came in born there raised now it's me born there and raised again so it's a generation they now want to break the generation cast to get out of that place