Africa-Press – Kenya. Left to right: Former Harambee Stars Under-17 captain Daniel Moi, Homa Bay county commissioner Ronald Mwiwawi, former lightweight boxing gold medalist Nick Okoth and Mbita deputy county commissioner Peter Mutiso./KNATwo prominent sports personalities have embarked on promoting boxing and martial arts in schools and tertiary institutions in Homa Bay county.
Sergeant Nick Okoth, the former captain of the national boxing team, “the Hit Squad”, and Dan Moi, the former captain of the Harambee Stars Under-17 team, said they were promoting sports in the county through a mentorship programme targeting schools and colleges.
Okoth and Moi launched the programme on Sunday at Mbita High School, where they engaged more than 2,000 learners in a motivational session aimed at popularising and improving the quality of boxing and martial arts.
The legendary sports science personalities were hosted by Mbita deputy county commissioner Peter Mutiso. They also paid a courtesy call to Homa Bay county commissioner Ronald Mwiwawi, who expressed government support for the initiative.
Mutiso challenged school administrators in the area to ensure sporting talents were nurtured to enrich the Competency-Based Education.
“I am pleased that our sports icons, Okoth and Moi, are giving back to society by motivating learners to excellence not only in academics, but also in co-curricular activities,” the administrator said.
Okoth, who is currently a boxing coach in the Kenya Defence Forces, said their goal was not only to promote sports but also to address challenges such as increased drug abuse among students, especially in senior secondary schools and colleges.
“Our objective is to create avenues for character development and influence positive behaviour change through sports training and experiential learning,” he said.
Moi emphasised the need for life skills and leadership development, increased channels of communication, and expanded school support systems to diversify beyond soccer and ball games.
He said they were also focused on the identification and harnessing of interests, hobbies and talents for local and international markets.
Moi said they were supporting schools and tertiary institutions to start boxing and martial arts clubs. Among the targeted institutions were Mbita Technical and Vocational College, Wakiaga and Waondo Technical Colleges, as well as Mbita Kenya Medical Training College.
Okoth, who serves in the Kenya Defence Forces, won lightweight gold at the 2017 Africa Championships held in Brazzaville, Congo, and also participated in the last Olympic Games in Tokyo.
