When the underdogs, Olashapani Girls Secondary School in Narok County, lifted the girls’ football title at the 2023 county school games, it wasn’t just a sporting triumph — it was a powerful symbol of reconciliation and hope.
The school is located in an area long scarred by tribal clashes between the Kipsigis and Maasai communities. For decades, cattle rustling, land disputes, and competition for scarce water and pasture bred hostility, displacement, and deaths.
In this environment, even normal interactions between the two communities were tense and mistrustful, with families living in constant fear and children growing up amid sirens of conflict rather than the cheers of playgrounds.
But on the football pitch, something changed. By deliberately forming a girls’ team drawn from all communities and inviting parents, teachers, and elders to watch their matches, Olashapani Girls created a rare neutral ground where rival groups could come together without suspicion.
Football matches became community events where Kipsigis and Maasai supporters sat side by side to cheer their daughters. Instead of war cries, the air filled with chants for goals and claps for good play.
During the Narok County Schools Games at Narok Boys High School, Olashapani Girls stunned seasoned sides, dethroning Shankoe Secondary School with a solitary goal to win the county title and earn a slot in the Rift Valley regional games.
It was their first ever appearance since the school’s founding in 2017 — and the first time many parents and local leaders had celebrated a common victory across ethnic lines.
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Principal Glory Nkatha said inclusivity and sports were deliberate strategies to promote harmony.
“Our school comprises all the tribes, and that has made it easy to assemble a strong and composite football team,” she explained. “We emphasise girl-child empowerment, peace, and education to create a peaceful environment.”
Nkatha added that sports gave students from diverse ethnic backgrounds the chance to interact, understand each other’s cultures, and build tolerance. Teachers reinforced messages of peace and unity during training sessions and at school events.
“Apart from encouraging the students to maintain peace, we are also keen on tapping talent at early stages,” she said.
Games teacher Amos Sitienei said that even training methods were designed to build trust; however, the girls often played on mixed teams, sometimes against their teachers, and were encouraged to collaborate off the field. As the team’s success grew, so did the community’s pride, helping to break old barriers and soften perceptions of “us” versus “them.”
With a sponsor now pledging to build a standard stadium and bring in international coaches, Olashapani Girls’ football journey shows how investing in youth sports can heal divisions, build friendships, and achieve lasting peace in once-fractured communities.
What began as a school’s sporting gamble has turned into a regional example of how grassroots efforts can unite people where decades of conflict failed.
By our reporter
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