Against all odds – drought, famine, culture, insecurity and much more, Turkana County FKF Woman Representative Rael Nkoi Lomoti has continued being a good ambassador for the growth of the women’s game in her area of jurisdiction, with stratagems and counter-stratagems to grow football in the county and beyond.Her cap is of many feathers- a former player, a football administrator, a coach, but above all a person willing to go the whole length to serve her community.Having played football at the highest division in the country, turning out for Gaspo Women FC in the Kenya Women’s Premier League, she went back home with a mission to use the sport to bring social change in her community, a paradox given that women’s football is not a preference for many in her locality and is mostly seen as a man’s game.Before that fateful Saturday incident on September 25, 2022, that saw 11 people killed in a bandit attack in Turkana County, Nkoi was planning to bring a women’s football team from Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kakuma-Kalobeyei Starlets, to Nairobi to play a friendly match against her former side, Gaspo Women FC but following the unprecedented events of the day, of course, the match was shelved as the team could not be cleared by the powers that be at the camp.2015 Rael Nkoi at Kasarani playing a friendly match against Harambee starlets national team pic.twitter.com/X0A6k9R8Yn— Gaspo women fc (@gaspow_fc) October 13, 2022 A center back during her playing days, Nkoi was born and bred in Turkana Country 28 years ago, getting the chance to leave home to Nairobi for her education after receiving a scholarship through the Dominican Missionaries Sisters while still in primary school, seeing her education needs taken care of since she was in class five.“I owe everything that I have achieved so far to football. That is what got me out of Turkana, I landed my education scholarship courtesy of football, I got so many opportunities through the game and I would like to help another Turkana girl dare to dream. That is why I came back home, I could have chosen to remain in the city, but I decided this is where I am needed most,” Nkoi recalls as we start the interview.It is seven O’clock in the evening and she is headed home from a training session. Through the phone, I can hear the ravaging winds blow with gusto. A hectic session, in her own words.“We normally train late in the evening when the sun goes down to avoid the extreme heat but we can only go as far as darkness can allow. The pitches are dusty, some places even rocky, and training under the sun can give the players blisters. Most of them do not have the proper football shoes, others do not have any thus we have to be considerate of everyone. I was with two groups today, the U13s and U15s both girls and boys,” the CAF D licensed coach, currently waiting for her CAF C exams notes.Rael Nkoi from Turkana. She is a former Gaspo player. Currently the FKF woman rep in Turkana county. Coming weekend but one will be playing against her team Kakuma refugee ladies club in Nairobi pic.twitter.com/b3KyAfojIz— Gaspo women fc (@gaspow_fc) October 13, 2022 After finishing her high school studies, the 28-year-old went ahead and did a Diploma in Social Work and Community Development from Mt. Kenya University then followed it up with a Sports Management course at Zetech University although she is yet to graduate in the latter.##NAJAVA_MECA_6787059##Then she returned home.Playing for Gaspo as they made their way to the top flight presented a myriad of opportunities for Nkoi, and she made great use of them, more so on the social capital. She met people that influenced her to do what she does today, an experience she would not trade for anything else.Perhaps, the top of the list was meeting the FKF Deputy President Madam Doris Petra who was of great influence in her decision to venture into football leadership at the branch level as she sought to have more girls, and women, from her community play football.“Playing for Gaspo was good because it gave me the opportunity to meet people and get exposure. That is where I got the chance to meet with FKF Deputy President Doris Petra. I believe that if I continued playing football, I would have even played at the international level.“When I met her (Doris), I wanted her help because I had a vision of going back home and bringing more ladies to the game. She urged me to go and inspire them. She also encouraged me to take up a leadership role in the branch, and that is how I ended up vying for the Woman Representative post during the 2019 FKF elections at the branch level, but I sailed through unopposed,” she offered.Culture, prolonged drought, and extreme poverty remain the main challenges that teams or people seeking to establish teams in Turkana come face to face with, and it is not different for the former Gaspo defender.“We are among the marginalized communities from this end of the country – Turkana, Pokot, and Samburu, and we have so many challenges that stand in the way of Turkana girls engaging in sporting activities. The main one of course is culture, which is a hindrance for them even to get basic education, leave alone play football. The other one is prolonged drought which brings about famine. When some of them manage to go past the two, poverty stares them in the face and that makes it hard to afford the equipment. We do not have equipment in form of balls, boots, cones, bibs, name it, and mostly we have to improvise where we can,” she reflects, I notice a change in her tone.To tackle the cultural stumbling blocks, Nkoi alongside other coaches conduct sessions with the young girls to sensitize them on the need to get an education, pursue their goals, and shun early marriages.Phoebe Kariuki: The multitalented Sports Science graduate molding future stars in KahawaWhile early marriages remain the greatest threat for girls in the area, drug abuse has had a toll on young men but they have managed to curb some of it through football.“The community has been receptive, more girls are being allowed to play football. We are slowly changing the mentality of those that thought it is not a sport for girls and women. We have sessions from time to time to talk to these girls and encourage them to dare to dream. Early marriages remain a thorn in the area but through our counseling sessions, we encourage them to pursue an education first, and pursue opportunities such as football that will keep them occupied. We have a problem with the boys also because some of them turn to drug abuse when they are idle, that is why we have programs for both boys and girls,” she says.Nkoi remains hopeful that the new county government will be more supportive of sports at the county level as opposed to the previous administration which had little regard for sports.She is appealing to people of goodwill to join in and help the course where they can, her major concern being on equipment.“My vision is to have more girls play football because I have tasted the fruits. There are education scholarships that girls can take advantage of if they are playing football and women football is also growing therefore if you are good you can be scouted to join a professional side and that would be life-changing. My plea is to well-wishers to help us where they can, more so on the equipment part. Turkana is very big and I have not managed to reach out to every part of it as I would like,” she concludes.
