English Premier League side Manchester City on Tuesday, November 21, announced two girls from Nairobi’s Kibera slums as the winners of the 2023 Water Heroes Award.
Mercy and Pauline had been shortlisted for the awards meant to recognize individuals who use football to solve various problems relating to water shortage.
The duo, inspired by the need to address water challenges in the slums, embarked on an initiative aimed at creating awareness on the need to conserve water using football as a platform.
Their primary goal has been to end period poverty and health hazards caused by lack of access to water necessary for ensuring period hygiene.
Announcing the results, Manchester City in partnership with water solutions company- Xylem- noted that the duo’s project emerged top after a voting process to beat five other projects from across the world.
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Manchester City to Send Coaches
Consequently, the club noted that the girls’ project in Kibera would enjoy several privileges including a visit by one of the club’s legends to their project in Kibera.
Additionally, the training center where the girls meet will also get additional training sessions with coaches from the English side.
“We are very pleased to announce that Nairobi in Kenya, was the top-voted project and has won a special Manchester City visit to their project, including a visit from a Club Legend and additional training from Manchester City coaches in the Football and Water Education curriculum,” Man City announced.
In addition, Laura Brooks, Regional Programme Manager for Tackle, expressed her delight with the recognition of the girls’ commitment towards ending period inequality.
“We’re absolutely delighted to have won this year’s Water Heroes Academy campaign – thanks to everyone who voted for Nairobi!
This means so much to the Young Leaders from Tackle and is a testament to the amazing work they are doing with Xylem to improve sanitation in Kibera and to end period inequality,” Laura Brooks announced.
Fiona Cole, the Head Brand and Partnerships at Xylem congratulated all participants in the competition.
“We’re excited to see how Nairobi’s project unfolds and continues to contribute to positive change,” he stated.
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Water is a Crucial Commodity
Pauline, the leader in the project, noted that she is driven by the belief that water is a crucial commodity that all people should access.
She singled out the frequent need to take water and maintain personal hygiene during menses as one of the reasons the society should adopt measures to conserve the scarce water available.
“Through the project, we have educated society on many ways of treating water – whether through re-use, for cleaning purposes or disposal,” she said to the awards’.
