 It is the touch land here on Y-244. It is a big week when it comes to mother's post but this time around we are taking a very different turn on everything that has been happening in the country and the world over. It is time for the youth and also today here on Y-244 we are talking about youth and sports. How is it supposed to help the country and everybody at large? It is a guest of the touch land but he has not been here for a while now but he is back. Let's talk to him and see what he has in store for us. His name is Absalem Ogana. He is the founder and president of the Budalangi Youth Sports Academy. Absalem, how are you? Thank you so much for inviting me by your side. Yes, it has been a minute. What have you been up to? I have been fighting these coronavirus as well as working for the people of Machakos. It is a big one now that you are here and you started a sports academy at home in Budalangi. Now you are working in Machakos. How do you manage those two? It is just an organization. You must put people on the ground. In Baisa we have directors of different directorates who are managing this academy on my behalf. Mine is just to give directions. People might think it is a hands-on experience and everything that is happening. First, talk to us about Baisa. When we talk about Baisa Budalangi Youth Sports Academy, what is it? First of all, let me begin by thanking you, Balasaro, to invite me to this station of Y-254. Yes. With the motto called Imagine. So today we are here to retain not only the glory of people of Budalangi, but also the adventurous and hardworking spirit of the youth, the footballers in the entire Kenya. Today we are telling Kenya, we are telling Africa, and even in a while, that youth in Budalangi Youth Sports Academy are ready to take off for transformation and realizing that Kenyan football dream that was lost so many years ago. We will talk about that dream we went and now even the Africa championship is happening in Cameroon and Kenya is not there. But football is a very big initiative. It's a very big aim to go into. Why football? As you know, Balasaro, everyone knows, like Kibati used to say, and you know, you really know. Football has been viewed by many as a major sport event in the world. This game of football has contributed in reaching so many individuals. A good example, he is in Kenya, he is like Olunga. Wanyama. Victor Mugubu Wanyama, his brother, who was in McDonald Mariga. They have all been get rich because of this game. Besides sports in general and football in particular has been imaged as a unifying factor. Even the moment of political, ethnic and social religious tension and fluids, so many nations across the globe have united behind these games. Football, religious racial divide and brings people of any nation into that union of oneness. Even at this time of coronavirus, you can see people still converging to play this claim. That's why we started with football. Now football is one game that touches every corner of the world. Actually there is a conversation that they usually say that football has touched many souls and more so a very larger part of the globe, even more than the United Nations. Yes. And that is what is that. But now here you have football and you have the Buddha Lang Youth Sports Academy. Yes. How did you start this program? In a Kenyan context, in a Kenyan scenario, we have got numerous challenges. There are still predominant in most of our counties such as Booster County and it is villages around like Buddha Lang. And this is because the zeal and desire of young people to conquer and be number one has unfortunately not been matched with opportunities and facilities to nurture their skills and talents. In a Kenyan scenario, thousands and thousands of young footballers are giving up hopes. They are burning their talents and indulging in malpractices. Activities such as drug abuse, prostitution, bulletry, as well as all marriages and all pregnancies. It can therefore not be argued that Banasaro, that idleness, breeds crime. In other various malpractices that can only lead to the destruction of an individual and its communities. So you are engaging a lot of youth in Buddha Lang. Give us an estimate number. 500 to 1000. And that is the age group. That is the age group of 13, under 9 years, under 13 years, under 15 years, under 16, and currently you are having under 20. Actually last year we were supposed to play under 20 talent search. But because of coronavirus, we couldn't do that. A very tough situation that it puts you in the coronavirus scenario. Something that has disrupted the world in everything that is happening. For you, how did you deal with it? It disrupted your sports and everything. But now people are starting to come back eventually, slow by slow. How did you deal with it? When coronavirus came, it hit us hardly. We asked ourselves, is it safe for young people to go and play in the field? Because as much as they are saying that the players are supposed to be tested first. But even the government did not allow us to test these players for free. It is tough for you. It was tough for us because to test 1,000 young people for them just to go to play once. That is just a practice. Then come back and be tested for another day. It was very hectic for you. It was very hectic for you. But now we have got to talk about now. This program has kicked off. It is going on. It is happening outside there and everything is happening. And then everybody will be like, what are the benefits of this program to the people of BUDALANI? Since BISA came into place, it has brought a new dawn. Only to our young people in BUDALANI, but also to our parents, our government and the schools in BIDALANI. As you speak now, thousands and thousands of young people are getting free mentorship programs. We have cut a scene for Jena 101, youth governor of Kenya, REPA, which is a women rights and empowerment partnership in Africa, led by a young lady from BUDALANI called Elena May Okono. Those are some of the partnerships that you have brought in. And also some of the partnerships that came through BISA that are supporting these young people. We have even a partnership from Sonthofen, first ex Sonthofen from Germany, that are bringing us football kids, all training materials, cut a scene for BISA. As you speak now, our talents are benefiting from free scholarships. These young people are getting through their skills. Not these young people when they play, when they do talent search, we bring principals, school principals, from different schools to come and they tap these talents. For them to go with their young people, the argument is that they must be schooled for free. As you speak now, thousands and thousands of young people are now benefiting through an exchange visit program between BISA and other academies. Just recently you see how young people who came up to Kasalam Stadium, Kenyatta Machakos Kenyatta Stadium, just to have an exchange visit program between them and other academies. And we are planning to go outside Kenya when we are planning to go to Germany through Angelina Hainja who was planning for young people to travel from here Kenya up to Germany so that they can have an exchange visit program between BISA and first ex Sonthofen. Yes, we will pick up from there. Let's go for a short kumashu break. It is Absalem Ogana who is the founder and president of Budalangi Youth Sports Academy. Let's just pay our bills. We'll be back with this conversation. It is the touchline here on Y-254 and Ropa Rosoro. We are still talking about matters youth and sports in this country today where there are opportunities when it comes to the sports industry but how are those opportunities coming to the people of your area and football is one key major event. It is the touchline. We'll be coming with the funds on a little bit later on. I can see some guitaries already in studio ready to talk about Frank Lampa but before that let's still talk with Absalem Ogana and president of Budalangi Youth Sports Academy. Absalem. We were talking earlier for a short kumashu break but when you talk about youth and sports it's a very key subject and it's also a very sensitive subject because everybody is here starting an initiative and you're using sports and everything. The major one will be what is your motivation for this? Bisa What do you believe in? Yes. As the fund of Bisa we strongly believe that the future of every county in this Kenya strongly believes in the youthful population. Yes. It lies in that youthful population and invest in youth it entails building a solid foundation because these are future leaders by maximizing their potentials. As fund of Bisa we have come to realize that in partnership with sponsors government that is county government and national government with other stakeholders as well as other people who have good spirit for these young people. Yes. These young people can have a bright future through their talents. Yes. As funders of Bisa football as in Kenya especially these young people are like rough diamonds whom if well polished whom if well brailed they can shine for the whole of humanity. Yes. There's a big thing there when we talk about polishing this rough diamond because when you look at someone like Michael Lunga he started from way in high school and now he's playing his thread in Qatar and high school that is where they were spotted in but some of you now you're going up even they under 13 so you're trying to get talent from the young up to under 9 So the question will be how is Bisa different from the other sports academies because when you talk about Bisa you might be talking someone might think you are talking about Misa but you are not talking about Misa we are talking about Bisa which is a young youth sports academy So how different is it from the others It's quite different from Osoro As funders of Bisa we believe that it is only through football academies that we can save this generation from under 9 up to under 20 especially the one we are having in Buda Lunga from the bad habits of these politicians who are young people like baits to catch votes you see that one put in a so that you can be able to catch fish so the young youths football and they bring tournaments especially during election year in time for example like next year or this year there will be so many tournaments around Kenya that will be used as a bait to catch votes but after the election year in time after voting they leave these young people in the village while doing poverty they get them confused they don't know what to do and yet these young people are smart they energetic they have a brain that we can use to play better football than even what Ronaldo or Messi is playing abroad So for you one thing I am getting from you is that you are absolutely not going into politics using bisa for any political gain Yes No politics at all No politics at all It's an initiative to help the community and people to grow up so politics for you is a no go zone You never see my shadow in politics Even now when we are heading into election year in period someone might come and tell you I've got this sponsorship can we do this tournament because if the motivation is politics don't come near bisa as much as they follow our objectives what are the objectives of bisa you know for the land in subcounting and other subcounties in Kenya being found in an area where we do not have serious industries that can employ these young people and put money in their pockets we can only use this football as a way to go so that we can be able to give these young people their job and their talents and what are the objectives of bisa one to offer an opportunity for maximal development of talents in boys and girls through training and nurturing of their talents number two bisa is creating a community and sustainable academy in order to develop football in this part of Kenya through identifying sports that is through the talent search that we are doing each and every year and also through what we call the inner edge nurturing that is what we are doing so what are the major strides that bisa has made since it is in center that is actually very key because now we have to look at it from outside and see what kind of strides have you made as bisa so far since we started it we of course young people realize that sports can give them future and above all that sports can keep them out of various small practices never as they said the reason why you found this we saw in Kenya not only in budalangu or in this county the young people are involving themselves in malpractices that are leading them to to do things that are not supposed to be like all pregnancies, all marriages drug abuse and so forth so through bisa we have also come to realize that in partnership with the sponsor as well as other stakeholders young people in Kenya not only in budalangu can be given a future through their skills man I say under 13 under 14, under 15, under 16 under 17 18 and 19 give us a scenario of how you work around that because these are really very many kids we are bringing on board in budalangu is easier for us because we only have 4 words that's 4 locations in every location we have not more than 4 villages and in every world we are called a world is called bisa branch so like bunyela south this is called bisa south bunyela central is called bisa central bunyela north is called bisa north bunyela west is called bisa west so every branch it has got a coordinator that is now like a chairman of that branch now this coordinator who is the chairman of that branch comes up today his officials so we have an official for the family we have an official for coaching and we have an official for machikwa so these people they have been trained by FKF through the Niku so once they have been trained we have solved them and most of them are teachers they are primary school teachers so they know how to teach these young people so when we say selection from under 9 it is easier for us because they just go to school they are teaching and they select this this is under 13 under 15 and under 18 and under 20 so when it comes to the 20 we go up to the high school we also have teachers from high school those teachers have become coaches so once it comes to Auguste we launch what we call bisa title search so these teachers they compete against themselves becomes fun so once they become fans they compete who will win against who from this world so we have finals from each world for example we play finals in budyana south then the winner gets a cup gets money for that those injuries and maybe players to have some water then the winner comes to the cup waiting for the winner from bisa central so the winner also from bisa central also gets everything and waits for the winner from there south then it comes a day like on 6th or 7th of the day they play against each other to find the eventual winner kai is the two cups blaleng is cut across by ribanzoya so then we go across ribanzoya but you get bisa north this bisa north also plays against bisa west the winner also carries how many cups two trophies now the two from across two from across meet on 30th of december that's what I was inviting the other day to come and see the final it's working on the ground and everything so they play against each other they now play the winner carries how many trophies four trophies for the injuries and maybe water so that through this patch and from there the principal that we invited they have already selected now who is the title holder title holder in budyana central they came up as a team they came up as a team now is jena central they have carried this trophy two times after we have left the four of us the other guy had to go fighting this team around last was supposed to buy some trophies trophies that is a very good one that we have seen but now what does the future hold for you what does the future hold for bisa we are trying to come up with a stadium which we are supposed to build till the last year through the sponsorship of first LCS of Turkey through our sister Angelin Hainge but we are able to do that because of Covid-19 so this stadium we build a simple stadium like machakos kenyata stadium that was built by the next president of the public of Kenya Dr. Fredubutu this stadium will have a structure whereby you have classes it's like a school now outside the pavilion you have dormitories people will be travelling outside Kenya because it will be an international academy so from there we will be teaching Kenya's curriculum as much as international curriculum when people come in lying they pay school fees those people for budelangu who are not going to pay they may have schooling so in that way you raise a column you bring money to the people imagine if you have a stadium which can host 5000 people in budelangu that means if you have a game go to play in budelangu that's a big one but it has to be sure it has to work there is no room for failure there is no room for failure there is no room for failure there is no room for failure what if the bar will not come to pass some people have asked me that query the advisor would have succeeded in a physical and moral education of young people and given them enough reason to dream which dreams they may realize sometimes later within baisa outside baisa that is what I believe that is a succession that is what I believe it is a boon for young people to have a dream and have to facilitate our time is actually going on and my director is on my case but I will give you 2 minutes to give us your patting shot and talk to the youth themselves when it comes to the future because it's our time now the youth it's our time now when is your patting shot allow me first of all to talk to any leader that is listening to me at this time I want to challenge you ask yourself one important question if these young people will be lucky to live up to see the next century 10 years what changes will you have made in the light what how many doors of opportunities will you have open for them me I believe this is the best chance to put these young people together give them hope open up the doors of opportunities so that they can be able to fulfill their dreams and you talked about the youth and the sports for any young man for any young woman for any young footballer who is listening to me at this time I want to assure you that me outside Mugana I am here to work with you in each and every step of your life to ensure that you fulfill your dream through your talent thank you so much and may God bless you may God bless Kenya may God bless Budalangi youth sports academy the future for Baisa has to be really bright for you guys and that everything that you are doing there we will have to visit we will come with our cameras there and see how Baisa is actually working that has been Absalom Ogana with the founder and president of Budalangi youth sports academy and it's not about helping someone in everything that is happening in the world that conversation of youth and sports it is not the first time we are having it we will be having it more so and people will be coming to talk about youth and sports and for us here being the youth we wish Budalangi youth sports academy a very bright future it is time to go for a very short break we will be going with there is a march that will make someone get mad here in studio the last time what happened and today something big might be happening here on the touchline