A new face for Kenya

Women and girls have been marginalised in the East African country for generations

The Laureus project ‘Moving the Goalposts’ aims to change this. But Managing Director Rachel Muthoga is not satisfied with simply turning disadvantaged girls of today into the self-confident women of tomorrow. She also wants to make a difference in the mindsets of boys and men

The Equatorial sun beats down on the dusty football pitch this afternoon. Around a hundred girls and young women sit in the shade of old gnarled mango trees on the edge of the soccer field. Voices and laughter echo across the pitch, where the first players are warming up for a match between two girls' teams. Some are wearing shorts, most are playing in skirts, some are even wearing headscarves and long kangas - traditional cloth that they have wrapped around their hips. It's not comfortable, but tradition and gender roles in Kenya’s coastal region don't allow for more. A few boys are sitting on the periphery of the pitch, watching the girls and commenting loudly on the game from time to time.

In the middle of the crowd stands a woman in a white polo shirt and black trousers. She is wearing strikingly large earrings and make-up. Sunglasses are tucked into her short hair. With her arms crossed, she watches the players warming up on the pitch. Every now and then a smile flits across her face. Then she gives a hand signal to some of the young women by the mango trees. Here we go.