Chapter 1: Welcome To Kenya!

After a 16+ hour flight to Dubai, a 14hr layover, and a 5 hr flight to Nairobi, my team from World Concern and I finally arrived! After traveling 35 hours “door to door”, the anticipation and excitement were becoming almost unbearable. We got our bags from baggage claim, including four HUGE bags carrying volleyballs donated by USA Volleyball, and nets donated by Volleyball USA, all destined for schools in Nairobi and remote villages, we headed through customs to the exit doors. Walking into the terminal to meet our Kenyan welcoming team, while excited and nervous at the same time, I didn’t know what to expect. It had been almost two years since I met Gaudencia Makokha and Brackcides Agala, whom we faced off against in the Tokyo Olympics.

What happened next was magical; I received the most heart-warming welcome imaginable. Waiting for us were Gaudencia and Brackcides, their Olympic coach Paul Bitok and the Kenyan National Beach volleyball team. I hadn’t seen Gaudencia and Brackcides for almost two years. and the very minute I walked out into the terminal, they greeted me and my team with open arms. We all went in for a long embrace, and it felt like I was hugging best friends I hadn’t seen in years. A hug like that more than made up for the 35-hour trip halfway across the globe.

When I announced my planned trip to Kenya two weeks ago, I was asked repeatedly “why Kenya,” and “why was this trip so special to me”? The Kenyan beach team has been on my mind and heart since the Tokyo Olympic Games. To understand why, let me journey back to the Tokyo Olympic Games. I competed against Gaudencia and Brackcides in pool play, but it wasn’t the competition between us that captured my attention. It was a simple act of love and sportsmanship they showed through one of the simplest gestures. And that gesture was by giving me a Kenyan bracelet as a gift right before we played them.

Gaudencia and Brackcides came walking over to me after training one day with a big smile and handed me this bracelet, with the word KENYA spread out boldly in their country’s colors. As simple as this gesture and gift may seem, in reality it was anything but simple.

The Olympic Games bring lots of nerves, pressure, and noise. The stakes are high and the will to win is greater than ever. When Brackcides and Gaudencia gifted me that bracelet it brought me back to the true meaning of sport, something all of us sometimes forget.

When you ask someone “When you think of sports, what comes to mind?” Many would say, “I love to play, it’s fun, or I love to watch it.” As all of that is quite true, there is so much more to it.

To me, sports are about family, community, unity, hope, and opportunity. By joining sports, children instantly have this sense of belonging, this sense of purpose, and a vision for a better future. It gave me that! Sport is so powerful beyond the field of play. It has the power to be a bridge to all people across the globe, and I’ve realized it truly has the power to transform lives.

After the Olympic Games, my mind kept racing back to that short, but profound encounter with Gaudencia and Brackcides, my curiosity about Kenya and its people grew like wildfire.

These two girls gave me something so simple, yet something so profound. they brought back to life, and back to my belief that sport is at the service of humanity. After being appointed an ambassador for World Concern at the end of last year, I was able to share my beliefs about sports, that sports are at the service of humanity and can literally transform lives in the process. World Concern already had an arsenal of humanitarian programs to help the most poverty-stricken people on the planet, giving them hope and opportunity, and transforming lives. Our missions were aligned, and it has led us all to Kenya!

After I greeted them at the airport after almost two years, if the bracelet gesture didn’t show the genuine love and kindness of Gaudencia and Brackcides, they both gifted me a Kenyan scarf and put it over my neck. I instantly felt like I was part of their family!

As we left the airport and traveled to our hotel, they began to tell me all about the history of Kenya, the wildlife and beautiful landscape, and many cool facts about their people. As I sat back and listened to them, I couldn’t help but just smile. I could just see how much they loved the people and their country. Before rolling into our hotel, I asked Gaudencia a simple question, “What is your favorite thing about Kenya?” And without hesitation, she said, “The people. The people are peaceful and loving.” From what I have met and seen in just a short period of time in Kenya, I see what Gaudencia is saying. The Kenyan people really do love each other and serve one another together.

As I got ready for bed just eager to start our day one adventure, I went over to the bed where I had laid that Kenyan scarf I was gifted earlier and written right across it said, “LOVE. PEACE. UNITY.”

It has only been a day here in Kenya and I can already feel the love. Day one is about to start and I can’t wait to get to experience first-hand why Kenya is so special. And I already know it will not be my last visit to Kenya.