Boston Uni student who is nurturing sports talent in Nairobi slums
What you need to know:
- My family has always been keen on sports and my initial plan was to be a professional athlete, but I realised that wasn’t’ going to be sustainable.
- I decided to focus on sports development in Kenya and Africa as a whole. After meeting Masai Ujiri and sharing my ideas and ambitions with him, he was interested and even became a mentor to me.
At the age of 20, Marcel Awori owns B.U.I.L.D Sports Africa, a non-profit entity that supports grassroots sports activities and leagues in a bid to develop the next generation of sporting talent.
Marcel, a student at Boston University who stands six feet and four inches tall, was forced by injury last year to quit sports. He is the founder and managing director of the Basics, Utilisation, Identity, Longevity and Diversification (B.U.I.L.D). His organisation has entered a partnership with Street League, FAM Kenya and Giants of Africa to help talented youngsters transform their talents into professions.
Why did you quit competitive sports?
I had too many injuries. Also, trying to be the best athlete I could while also trying to maintain my academics and social life was quite hard, so I made the decision, and I’ve never looked back.
Tell us about your entity, B.U.I.L.D
Our aim is to use sports to develop the young leaders of tomorrow, and as a catalyst for youth career development.
What inspired you to create the organisation?
I started it in June 2022 and was lucky to have met Masai Ujiri, the president and co-founder of Giants of Africa organisation. My family has always been keen on sports and my initial plan was to be a professional athlete, but I realised that wasn’t’ going to be sustainable.
I decided to focus on sports development in Kenya and Africa as a whole. After meeting Masai and sharing my ideas and ambitions with him, he was interested and even became a mentor to me.
What exactly did you tell him?
That I want to change the sporting landscape in Africa so that athletes don’t have to feel like they need to leave the country to develop and become professionals. That is what I experienced as an athlete. I felt that I had to play abroad for me to reach my full potential.
I don’t want others who are unable to leave to feel like they cannot develop their talents. I want them to be treated similarly to athletes in The US and Europe.
So, sports is the reason you went abroad?
I’ve always had a keen interest in sports. I grew up in it, and my family has always been supportive. I’ve played basketball and enjoy track and field events, but my sport of choice is football. I left to play Division One soccer in the US, and ended my career playing as a right back.
How did you end up playing basketball at DIWOPA in Kayole?
FAM (Family) Kenya team was founded in the early 2010s by the founders of Java House to bring together children from private schools together with those from Komarock, Mathare and Kayole. It was set up to allow children from underprivileged backgrounds to access the facilities available in private schools. The parents were required to provide transport and food. That’s how I ended up playing in all these courts. Through that, my worldview changed significantly.
After Java House closed and access to the International School of Kenya (ISK) courts was restricted due to Covid-19, I decided to join and help with the programme.
Tell us about some of the team’s players…
Some came as refugees from South Sudan while some have been living with their families in slums and low income areas. FAM has given them an opportunity to get an education through sports, and B.U.I.L.D. has so far enabled two students to get full scholarships in the US.
They are now getting world class education for free. Those who are ready to work hard and commit themselves to something deserve those opportunities. That’s what I believe.
Why would you, who has full access to top facilities as well as popular figures in the NBA, desire to do the ground work in helping those who are clearly outside your social class?
I started playing with them while I was still at the International School of Kenya, and that really helped me come out of my bubble of privilege. Seeing how talented and determined the children were, and seeing how many social and economic barriers they needed to overcome yet they had only half of what I had, didn’t feel right to me. I wasn’t okay with just being part of that system.
How does B.U.I.L.D. work?
I like to call it a blanket. We take programmes that are working and run well and give young participants more opportunities by eliminating the economic barriers for them. The goal is to keep them from vices such as drug and alcohol abuse. We take donations, sponsorships and partnerships. Initially, I used the money I had saved from the pocket money I got from my parents, but now I work during the semesters and earn money.
How did you select the name?
It was suggested to me by Alex McKechnie, the Vice President, Player Health and Performance for Toronto Raptors. He told me that Basics, Utilisation, Identity, Longevity and Diversification are the five core principals of building a successful career. I want to build the next leaders of tomorrow in sports, banking, medicine or law, not just the next Cristiano or Lebron, so I settled on that name.
What are your future plans?
There are some groups I’m engaging with that are developing apps to collect biometric information about players, collect statistics from games and provide a platform where grassroots sports can be projected onto the global map. It creates a centralised area where players are able to track information from their sports and develop their talent. In many ways, Africa is lagging behind on that front. I want to incorporate technology in our sports as soon as possible so that we don’t get left behind.
