A United States (US) Olympics athlete is determined to rally support from her fellow athletes to support a school in the Mathare slums of Nairobi.
Two-time Olympics diver, Alison Gibson, has reached out to American basketball star LeBron James- among others, to ensure that the entire school is sponsored by the end of the 2024 Olympics games in Paris.
Although she lost in the previous Olympics, Alison has chosen to compete at the Paris Olympics to use the platform as a means of getting more support.
“Leading into the Olympic trials, I thought that if I make it to the Olympics, I can build an initiative to get every child sponsored. I remember going into my Olympics finals trials and all I could think about was that I wanted to launch this,” she said during an interview.
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How the US Athlete Started Her Funds Drive
She said that months earlier, she met the Executive Director Missions of Hope International, Mary Kamau, on a plane. The two had conversations about the organization and the diver was challenged to sponsor a child at the school.
Gibson sponsored a student at the Pangani school through the foundation and wanted to do more for the children.
When she reached out to LeBron, the superstar gave her details of his foundation and said that he would see what to do about the situation.
“He asked me to give him my phone and typed in the details of contacts of his foundation and asked me to email her,” she added.
Mary and her husband started Missions of Hope international with her husband and has been putting up schools across the country to provide education for vulnerable children.
“In the last 25 years, we have learnt that the needs of these most vulnerable communities are overwhelming,” said Mary.
Also Read: Kenyan Athlete Loses in the Country’s First Ever Fencing Game in Olympics
Kenya’s Olympic Highlights So Far
German-born Kenyan fencer Alexandra Ndolo, the first and only fencer to represent the country in the Olympics fencing games, narrowly lost to Ukranian fencer Olena Kryvtska.
She was defeated by only one point with her opponent scoring 13 against her score 12 after a draw in regular time.
“For the first time, the Kenyan colors graced an Olympic fencing arena. Alexandra Ndolo shone brilliantly, giving her all in a thrilling match that ended in a narrow last-minute loss. What a match. We fight another day, Alex,” Olympics Kenya stated.
Also, Kenya’s Volleyball team Malkia Strikers lost to Brazil 0-3.
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