Kibera yoga coach bags global sport award
Dickens Omondi Odhiambo has scooped the Courageous Use of Sport Award.
The Kenyan is one of the five winners of this annual award which is part of the Beyond Sport Global Awards and was honoured for his role in the Africa Yoga Project.
This award is given to individuals who have shown dedication and courage in using sport to improve their communities and who stand up against injustice and discrimination – often at great personal risk.
Now in its 12th year, the 2020 Beyond Sport Global Awards celebrates, supports, and raises awareness by provide funding for sports.
It is also used to help make the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a reality.
Odhiambo was born and raised in Kibra slum, Nairobi and had little time to rest and play in his childhood as he was forced to join his mother to hawk on the streets also denying him ample time to study.
“I did not have time to play as a kid, I would leave school, drop my bag and rush to town to sell groundnuts and be back home at 10pm. I did not get a chance to be a child. I feel like I was exposed to adulthood so early,” he recalled.
His passion and positive attitude saw him as a third year Employability Academy enrolled at the Africa Yoga Project and he constantly reminds yoga students, pose by pose, to enjoy the noble practice with a smile.