Wanjiru Mukunga and I went to Denver Seminary together many, many years ago. Formerly a chaplain with Christian Living Communities, we shared some professional development moments and colleagues throughout the years. In 2017, Wanji (known as Mary to many of her American friends) left the comforts of the US and her job here to return to her native Kenya. While in the States, Wanji had been raising money and working to transform the village of Gitombo. Her work was originally known as Project Adopt A Village (PAAV) – Gitombo; but many other ministries have similar titles. Today, Hope Gitombo has seen massive growth since its beginning in 2014!

In 2014, three students formed the first “class” for the small local school. They met inside of a small shack made of iron sheets. Today, PAAV Gitombo School boasts 222 student learners and 45 teachers and staff who meet in 6 buildings. They’ve recently purchased additional land and now have 2 playing fields with football (soccer) being one of the most popular activities amongst the children.
I met with Wanji this past week and offered here soccer gear to take back with her. The struggle is that the school lacks soccer balls (something that we currently lack as well in our inventory). I did share that we might be able to provide some uniforms.
The children, when they go to play against other villages and other teams, they only wear these very small shirts. They don’t have much. They don’t have much at all. They don’t even look like a team. We would love some jerseys that can make the children feel like a team.
While unable to provide soccer balls at the moment, Soccer Chaplains United, through our Community Project program are able to provide some uniforms and gear for the Gitombo children and some of the adult workers. Below are some photos of what I was able to pull together for Wanji to take back with her in July.


Here is a list of the items we were able to provide on short notice (40 lbs of gear):
- Rapids Academy Jerseys: 23
- Rapids Shorts: 3
- Calf Sleeves: 14
- Lime Green GK Kit (shirt/shorts/socks)
- Camo Yellow GK Kit (shirt/shorts/socks)
- Other shorts: 10
- Other shirts: 20
- Rain pants: 1
- T-shirts (s/s): 11
- T-shirts (l/s): 9
- Ball pumps: 2
- Cones
Hope Gitombo also has a large capital campaign that supporters may be interested to learn about. The students and school have grown so much that a secondary school is now needed to see the student complete high school. You can learn more on the Hope Gitombo website.
When you financially support Soccer Chaplains United a portion of your gift automatically goes to help our community projects and requests. You can give specifically to help cover our costs by making a gift through PushPay — simply select Community Project from the selectable funds. Your financial gift helps us purchase new soccer equipment, sponsor individuals projects and organizations, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!