Pamela Adhiambo at Nyayo National Stadium, during their training session on January 11, 2024, as the team prepared for the All-African Games qualifiers.
In 2018, Pamela Adhiambo was named the Most Valuable Player of the National Secondary School Games in Eldoret.
The accolade was made more remarkable by the fact her Nyakach Girls High School team from Kisumu County had been eliminated at the group stage.
Adhiambo, then a Form Three student, had guided Nyakach, better known for its football prowess, to the National School Games for the first time in volleyball with her lethal attacks.
“We defied the odds to reach the national school games for the first time. We lost all the three group matches but we gave a good account of ourselves and myself especially. I played well. I must have gotten the attention of many coaches that were on scouting mission,” says Adhiambo who hails from Oyugis,Homa Bay County.
“After we were eliminated from the games, as is the norm of the competition, schools stayed behind until the conclusion of the event.
"But I remember, when I met people and students, they would hail me for a good performance and some even told me I deserved to win an individual award and indeed I was named the MVP of the event.
"It had never happened before that a player whose team had been eliminated at the group stage could win the MVP award. That was something. The then Kenya Pipeline coach Japheth Munala admired and assured me of a place in the club once I cleared school."
The five-foot eight-inch Adhiambo duly joined the former national champions before leaving on August for Finland’s top side LP Viesti on six-month contract.
Kenya Pipeline Volleyball Team coach Paul Gitau (right) celebrates with players Pamela Adhiambo after a win against Kenya Prisons during the Kenya Volleyball Federation women's league play-offs match on October 3, 2023,at Moi International Sports Centre, Gymnasium.
One could say she had made it in volleyball. Several interviews with this write shows Adhiambo’s journey has been one of patience and resilience in pursuit of excellence.
What many people may not know is that Adhiambo, 23, is an intersex person.
The term is used to describe people who are born with sex characteristics that are not typically considered male or female.
People who are intersex have genitals, chromosomes or reproductive organs that don't fit into a male/female sex classification.
Asked if her condition bothers her, the hard-hitting Adhiambo said accepting herself early in life made all the difference.
“I don’t want to go into the details but it can never be easy. I’m glad I accepted myself way back. Unlike in Kenya where people would be all over my business, here in Finland, things are totally different.
"People go about their business. In fact, here I don’t have time to start thinking that I’m different because I can play four matches in a week, so my mind is occupied. It’s all about playing and this is the best thing that has happened to me. I’m not distracted,” Adhiambo opens up for the first time on a subject that could be considered taboo in Kenya.
She is coy to discuss whether she identifies more of a woman or a man but confesses that Kenyans are judgemental about intersex, but not so in Finland. she is in fact thriving there.
How did her professional career in volleyball start?
Kenya Pipeline Outside Hitter Pamela Adhiambo during a training session at the KPA Makande Gymnasium in Mombasa in this photo taken on May 5, 2023.
She says she received a call up to the national under-20 team that would compete in the 2018 African Championship in Kenya after her heroics in the school games that year.
“I remember two of us were selected from my school, me and Esther Muhingira. The school then booked us in a Transline Bus from Kisumu to Nairobi. I had never been to Nairobi. We alighted at the famous Afya Centre where the under-20 coach Paul Gitau picked us in his car and drove as to Kasarani (Moi International Sports Centre).
“I trained for the first time at an indoor facility. I must have adapted well because I made the final cut. I left a lasting impression on the fans that thronged Kasarani’s indoor arena, but unfortunately Kenya didn’t win the title,” recollects Adhiambo who can play opposite and outside hitter.
Adhiambo was pretty good in football, hockey and handball but settled on volleyball when the school offered her a scholarship in the sport.
“I come from a humble background and the fact that the school was paying my school fees pushed me to work harder,” she simply says.
After clearing school in 2019, Adhiambo joined Pipeline.
“I was eager to join Pipeline. At the time, they were local champions. I found nine other players from other schools. Just when I was starting to learn the ropes, coach Munala moved to KCB women’s volleyball team. I was heartbroken but again, I knew I had to create a niche for myself,” says Adhiambo.
“Corona-19 epidemic hit the world and all the sporting activities were put on hold. But when the activities resumed, I was the only player among the nine that had remained at Pipeline. Gitau had been named Pipeline coach replacing Munala.
"I recall we went to Nyeri County in 2021 for the first leg of the National League, I didn’t start the match but I came on as a substitute and once again, I performed well. After that I became a permanent member of the starting line up,” said Adhiambo.
She says her three years in the cold began when she was named in the Malkia Strikers 24-strong provisional squad for the delayed Tokyo Olympic Games.
She was named in the reduced 20-woman squad and even the 16-strong team that was picked thereafter only to fail to make the final cut of 12 players to travel to Tokyo.
Adhiambo, who discontinued her Bachelor of Commerce (finance) studies at the Cooperative University, says since 2021, she had been earning call ups to the national team but failing to make the final team until last year when her stars aligned.
“God must have saved the best for the last,” Adhiambo says.
“I always put in the work in the many call ups I received but I was always dropped. The only reason I was given was that of a technicality. So I don’t know what changed in 2024 but I’m happy that I finally got the chance to represent my country. I took the opportunity with both hands and ran away with it. Looking back now, I’m glad I didn’t give up when all seemed lost
“I played at the Africa Games in Ghana, FIVB Challenger Cup in Philippines and Paris Olympics. But during the Challenger Cup, in the match against Puerto Rico, the technical bench rested the regular starters and gave chance to fringe players in the second set, and although we lost 3-0 they felt our presence.
"I once again performed well and the coaches must have taken note. When we headed to the Olympics, I was given the chance to start as an opposite attacker and during our match against Poland, I emerged the top scorer with 14 points. That was icing on the cake,” said Adhiambo.
She is currently the highest scorer in the Finish League with 135 points from four matches.
Adhiambo says she is with the Malkia strikers to stay.
“I just needed that chance to get in there. Luckily things fell in place and now I’m in the national team. I’m unstoppable now and I will go the extra mile and ensure that I become a regular in the team. With only three outings I have proven myself and I can only get better.”
