MOMBASA, Kenya, Jan 14 – In the outskirts of Mombasa, amidst the light, cool wind blowing from the sea onto the land, a remarkable tale of devotion unfolds on the football pitch.
At the fourth edition of the Safaricom Chapa Dimba Coast Region, we meet Janet Tuzo, an 18-year-old single mother who defied the conventional norms of pregnancy to realize her potential in football.
An archetypal crowd-pleaser in the Bulls Starlets midfield in Malindi, Tuzo has an inspiring story.
The first born in a family of three dropped out of Form 3 after pregnancy when she gave birth to girl child Patience Baraka.
Her daughter is now five months and two weeks old and Tuzo is back in the saddle doing her thing with vim and vigor.
“I know how perplexing it was to be back after pregnancy,” Tuzo quipped of her unwavering passion for the world’s popular sport, adding: “In life, determination is the key to success. I know my fans were equally bewildered by my comeback.”
So how did Tuzo’s life take another turn for the worst?
She continues: “Things got really tough back home. Two weeks after I was born, my mum took off and I was left at the mercy of my grandmother. Life was all about hustling and then when I got an early pregnancy, it’s my grandma who took care of me,” she narrated.
“But later on, things got rougher and I was compelled to go and live with my stepfather who really mistreated me, it really was a fate worse than death.”
Tuzo’s dream team locally is the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Women’s Premier League side Police Bullets while she admires how Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne plays.
Her wish is to go back to school and complete her education and hope to play in the FKF Women’s Premier League in future.
“Parents should support their daughters, and can also keep them busy with football, girls should be strong and should not accept anyone to deceive them, they should avoid bad company and not succumb to peer pressure,” Tuzo advised.
“Safaricom Chapa Dimba has really helped me a lot, I was the best player at the county level and won 10,000 shillings from Safaricom which really helped me buy my kid clothes and food for my grandmother,” the midfielder added.
What help would she want?
“I would appeal for well-wishers to help us with facilities and help the game of women grow because in Malindi there are no many women football clubs, basically it is from schools, if someone can take me play in the division one of FKF Women’s Premier League I will appreciate and do my best,” she said in finality.
–Tuzo’s Coach–
Tuzo has always looked up to Bulls Starlets Coach Shaffi Said for success. She is among the many underprivileged who have realized their football potential through Safaricom Chapa Dimba.
“When I brought Janet (Tuzo) into football, she had already given up with school and life, but when she came back from maternity and started playing well again, we urged her to go back to school and she accepted. I have seven girls like Janet who have received counselling and have now gone back to school after dropping out,” coach Shaffi told Capital Sport.
–Social Vice–
Shaffi continued: “Girls have many challenges, so after school we explore ways and means to keep them busy with income generating activities. I have like 100 girls who show up for training. So, we train them and link them to bigger clubs where they can earn a living.”
Shaffi has previously coached Congo United, Malindi United, Brighter Stars Lamu, Magarini Stars and Malindi Action (girls). What’s more, he also mentor coaches in his capacity as an Instructor of Football Kenya Federation.
The coach, who handles boys ‘and girls’ teams in Malindi under the Bulls stable, was mentored by former Harambee Stars head coach Twahir Muhidin, Rishad Shedu and Mohammed Kheri.
“Pep Guardiola is my mentor outside Kenya. He is such a composed coach who makes rational decisions when it really matters and plays tiki taka which is my style of play,” Shaffi revealed.
So how did Coach Shaffi steer Bulls to Safaricom Chapa Dimba regional finals? He expounds: “With the help of stakeholders we’ve been brainstormed on the ladies’ future and how we could actually take their careers to the next level.”
“As you well know, girls engage in all sorts of social vice and become victims of early pregnancies. So, we decided to use football as an avenue to deviate their attention from peer pressure and drug abuse.”
“I reached out to our local politician (MCA Hon Twahir Abdulkarim of Shella Ward in Malindi) who has since facilitated their return back to school. In the team we counsel our girls and we achieve this facet of life with the help from parents.”
“There are many boys as well at the grassroots whose parents cannot raise school fees. We also support them. We have a boys’ and girls’ teams. Our boys are now playing in division one. The girls don’t play in any league, but Safaricom Chapa Dimba has accorded them a platform to showcase their talent in a competitive atmosphere.”
-Support from Safariom-
Fawzial Ali, Chief Consumer Business Officer Safaricom PLC was glad Chapa Dimba has given opportunity to the girl child to showcase their talents.
“The story of Kilifi is very close to me because there is an organization that we work with closely called moving the goal post that mobilises young mothers through football to empower them and we have seen how it has transformed them. It is a great motivation to other youth that no matter what happens there is an opportunity for everyone,” Fawzial disclosed.
–Tale of Devotion: Gloria Mupo–
Still in Shaffi’s stable, we scrapped an acquaintance with 17-year-old Bulls Starlets’ striker Gloria Mupo.
The Maziwa Mixed Secondary student in Malindi started playing for Bulls side in 2020. She first started her football playing in the boys team and later with girls.
At a younger age during her days in primary school, Gloria would accompany her brother to football matches and that’s where she developed a penchant for football.
“Every time my brother and his teammates took to the pitch, they would urge me to join them, so ingrained was our love for football. Playing with boys really hardened me as a female footballer and also helped me to target higher limits.”
Asked about her dream in the sport, Gloria continues: “The dream of every girl in this country is to play for Harambee Starlets-so my dreams are still valid. Chapa Dimba has helped unearth new players from the grassroots where talent abounds.”
And prodded to explain the challenge they face at Bulls Starlets, Form 4 student Gloria remarked: “We are in dire need of training kit and equipment. I would love to see sponsors and well-wishers come to our aid sooner or later.”
Gloria explained in finality: “Soccer boots are key in football and that’s one of our many needy cases. My family has been very supportive but then again no one has talent to play foot apart from my good self. Mum has always insisted that she would love to see me play at a higher level.”
Even though her team was beaten 4-1 in the final by Mombasa side Changamwe Ladies, Tuzo scooped the Golden Boot award after netting five goals in one match to pocket Ksh 30,000.
