My name is James Mwangi, but most people call me Jimmy. I am third-born in my family, with two sisters and an older brother. We were brought up by a single parent, my lovely mum. I am professionally a teacher, a graduate from the University of Nairobi.

I was born and raised in Kasarani. My childhood was marked by different experiences, some good and others not so good. My mother worked as a casual laborer in the nearby flower farms. They were paid peanuts but somehow people survived, something that makes me wonder how our parents managed to bring us up in such difficult situations.

However, as children we knew nothing and enjoyed every moment that we had. My best memories are when my mother used to work at Shalimar Flowers farm which I remember with great nostalgia. I spent most of my childhood there. In the workers’ camp there was a lot of fun for us as children, playing in the fields, some which had seesaws and swings, and a social hall that had a television at a time when almost everyone in the camp had no TV. The fun we had using all the facilities the camp could offer made us forget all the challenges that we faced back home.

I went to school at Loldia Primary School in Kasarani, another place that gave me a lot of joy. Yes, joy in school! The best moments for me were when we would be visited by guests from Loldia House Governor`s Camp, a tourist hotel just few kilometers from Kasarani. These guests would bring us lots of gifts: unique pens, books, erasers, sharpeners, geometrical sets, and even novels, which really improved my language! Some brought learning aids that we really enjoyed, and which made our learning easy. Others bought textbooks and revision materials for us. This really had a very great impact on our academic life. And more so, it really made us love school. I don’t know much about the feelings the rest of my classmates had, and they seemed very happy about all this, but to me it gave me great excitement! The best moments were the interactions with guests in the classroom. They told us about their countries of origin. It was very interesting to listen to them. I also can’t forget the photo taking sessions!

Well, of course there were some bad moments in school. My worst memories of school were being sent home for school fees. This was before we had free primary education, but luckily in 2003 the government greatly reduced the fees burden on parents by introducing free primary education for all children in Kenya. A move that we highly welcomed.

Another life changing moment at Loldia Primary School was when Loldia School fund was established and started offering scholarships to the best performing pupils on the national exam. This was a great motivator for us to work hard, and we did. We knew that no matter how well we did on our national exam, our parents would not be able to pay secondary school fees, especially for boarding schools outside Kasarani. At that time, St. Andrews Secondary School had not yet been built, so there was no option of a day school. I worked hard not to miss this scholarship opportunity, and by God’s grace I managed to attend Solai Boys Secondary School, a boarding school in Nakuru. The sad part of it was to see my friends barely missing the scholarship after working so hard, as scholarships like anywhere are limited.

All this and many more experiences really stand out for me because of the feeling they brought to us as children, just feelings of joy. This has really made all the difference for me, greatly influencing who I am today—a person who wants to make children and young people experience joy, while providing them with opportunities when possible. Experiencing joy in the little things makes them forget about all the challenges they face in life.

It was amazing to come back and work at Loldia Primary School, hoping I would induce some positivity in children as a teacher and give hope to them. But things were not the same. A lot had changed since our time, but I tried my best. I really felt for the kids in school who seemed not to have joy like we had while attending schooling there.

But one thing I noticed gave them lots of joy was playing football, when inter-classes matches would be organized. The competitors and the spectators around those football matches really brought a different atmosphere. An atmosphere of joy and happiness, which reminded me of my beautiful moments as a kid. Sammy and Bernard who were in the sports department at Loldia as football coaches would welcome us, the teaching staff, to come and watch the entertainment matches alongside the pupils at Loldia. This was really an eye opener to me since I was able to witness many happy moments.

There came a time that Loldia put together a strong combined team, and they wanted to play against St. Andrews Secondary School, whose coach was Samson. This was a turning point. It was the most entertaining match of all times! We all agreed to do a rematch, and another one, and another one. And so, it became a weekend derby that all would wait for eagerly including me. After one entertaining match over the weekend, one time when we were just having a casual chat about the just-concluded match, a discussion arose. This discussion would mark the beginning of a life transforming program that we call TAFA today. Sammy and Bernard shared how some of the players who don’t attend school regularly had started attending school for the entire week, just so they wouldn’t miss training for the weekend match. Samson too shared quite a number of stories of how chronic absenteeism had hit St. Andrews badly, especially with the boys who would go for illegal fishing. Amongst them were very good footballers, but when they heard about the weekend match and training at school on weekdays, they started attending school again. It is from this discussion that we realized how football can become a key tool in changing the behavior of a child and a young adult. Discipline and positive peer pressure were among the things that really began to be seen at the early stages from some of the boys. I was very happy to hear all these positive things that were happening besides the fun and joy that I witnessed myself! It is at this point that we shared ideas on how we can bring all these footballers together and create a platform for follow up. We decided that we can`t just play but also needed to ensure we keep these boys in school and mold their character at the same time. And since Sammy, Bernard and Samson had heard a lot about football academies they suggested we try an academy that would nurture talent and expose it. And they identified favorism in the football world as a big threat to exposure of football talent in Kenya. They wanted to work in order to solve it. For me as a person who loves seeing children and young adults have fun and joy, I couldn’t resist the urge to join so together we can advance this dream. Learning from previous mistakes of local coaches in Kasarani and after conducting through research, we wanted to do it right and therefore we began Talanta Africa Football Academy.

This academy would serve to nurture talent and expose it to the world. It would mold character of its beneficiaries thereby leading to the formation of a whole person. Being teachers, we knew the importance of talent which needs discipline and education.

I have never regrated being part of a team that founded this dream for it has given me an opportunity to actualize the joy, that I so much want for the children and young adults just like what gave me joy as a child amidst many challenges. And not just joy but a platform which provides the children with opportunities and facilities that they cannot find at home. I am so happy that our community center is serving this purpose so well that it makes me think for a moment I am in the dreamland. I never knew that my childhood prepared me so much for this beautiful moment. Yes, I want to see them have more joy, have more fun, learn more and have more opportunities that somehow fate often seems to reserve for privileged kids in the society.

Personally, I would never want to see a child miss school because he or she has dropped out for reasons such as school fees or lack of stationaries which makes the child go out there to fend for his/herself and in the process he/she becomes a victim of bad influence. In simple terms his or her quality of education is dictated by other external factors. The new U.S ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman in her interview with one of the dailies (Friday 7th Daily Nation) says educating girls is the shortcut to a gender equal society. She was responding to a question on how Kenya can achieve gender parity which remains elusive. She says it starts with the education of girls. Reading her story really made me think of how we as TAFA can contribute to gender equality in Kenya despite a recent UN report saying it will take 300 years to achieve gender equality.

I also would not like to see a child missing out on fun or enjoyment because of lack of recreational facilities at home or if a parent can`t afford to take him/her to such a place. If we can only try to bring good things that the privileged kids have or have access to, to kids who are disadvantaged then we will be raising a generation that will bring great impact in the future. I am willing to do this for children and young adults for the rest of my life.

I have made it to where I am right now thanks to Diarmid House Victoria college through Loldia school fund who offered me a scholarship to secondary school. Later on, in life when I thought I wouldn’t make it to college Kit Bowen funded my university education, and has become a great friend of TAFA. This is one breakthrough that really touched my heart. I am proud of the man I have become and want to influence the next generation positively as way of saying thank you for all the help and blessings I have received throughout my education life.

For me TAFA means a place where a child or a young adult is given an opportunity to unleash his/her potential. Normally there would be stumbling blocks from various challenges emanating from poverty but TAFA is a platform created to bridge that gap and offer almost the same opportunities as what economically privileged kids elsewhere receive. TAFA also means an opportunity offered to me to provide solutions to the problems that face the Kenyan child in his pursuit to a successful future. So far am looking at how education, sports, and a community center can greatly contribute to a child’s joy today but still help to shape him/her to become a positive influencer, self-reliant and successful in his/her area of focus in life. It is worthwhile because it fulfils my purpose in life which is creating a joyful environment while ensuring it leads to a successful future.

My hope for TAFA is that it grows to become a home of successful stories that will be told by its beneficiaries. Some of the beneficiaries will not only tell their stories but will take the necessary steps to raise others. Eventually TAFA will become a major solution provider to our societal problems.

My hope for TAFA is that it also grows to influence policies relating to children/youth in Kenya, especially related to education, sports, and the benefits of community centers. I see myself in the next couple of years being part of a team that will be helping the Kenya government in providing those solutions to the areas mentioned above.