How Kenya Amputee football girls are finding life’s balance amidst challenges 

They then beat Ukraine 1-0 in the quarter-finals on November 8 before narrowly losing 1-0 to eventual winners Colombia in the semi-final a day later and by a similar margin to Poland in the bronze medal match on November 10.

The team returned to a hero’s welcome in Nairobi on November 14. Their next assignment is end of this month in England for a four-nation contest featuring the top teams at last year’s World Cup.

They will then play in the inaugural  Women’s Amputee Cecafa Championships in Burundi in April before featuring in the Women’s Amputee Africa Cup of Nations in Angole in August.

Long after the world tourney dust had settled, Nation Sport caught up with some of the girls who told stories of strive to make it in life amidst many challenges.

Clare Chepkoech:

She captained the team in Colombia. The astute goalkeeper is a teacher of  Swahili and Christian Religious Education at Chepchabas Secondary School in Konoin Sub-county, Bomet County.

“I was involved in a road accident in 2012, a month before I sat for my Form Four final exams. That's how I acquired my disability,” says the St. Mary's Lwak Girls alumnus who dreamed of being a nurse before choosing teaching after losing her hand.

Clara graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Education Arts from Mount Kenya University in 2016. “I now want to pursue my master’s degree and then later my PhD. Although I have financial challenges to achieve that at the moment, I believe it won't stop me from becoming Dr. Clara Siele someday,” says Clara.

She started as a Board of Management teacher in 2017 at Tugunon Secondary School in Kericho County before being absorbed by the Teachers Service Commission in January 2020.

She played handball at  MKU and is a competent handball coach and referee.

“I joined the amputee football team on December 3, 2023, when Kenya women Amputee team was first started. I'm happy now I can say that football has helped me realize a lot of things about myself. It made me realize that I can be courageous. Initially, I couldn't speak in front of people. I didn't like speeches, but with time, I realized I could stand in front of people and talk,” says Clara.

“I've also learned various ways to tackle and handle different issues. As ladies and amputees, we face a lot of challenges.”

She encourages physically challenged people. to embrace their situations fully and pursue their dreams.

“Being surrounded by such people, we get to understand ourselves better. We even make jokes because of our various disabilities. It shows how comfortable we are, how we have accepted ourselves.”

She wants to be an international referee in a few years. "Additionally, I want people to know that we have different causes of disabilities. Some were born with it, but others like me acquired it through accidents. We should always embrace everything that comes. And let us turn any challenge or anything negative into something positive that can build us.

Angeline Kibet:

The midfielder was born on November 24, 1997, in Uasin Gishu County.

She attended Kapkechui Primary School and later joined Kipsaina School for the Physically Handicapped in Elgeyo Marakwet County after her limb was amputated at the knee after a snake bite. She joined Kipsaina Girls High School . She graduated as a teacher at Madonna Teachers College in Eldoret in 2022.

“I wasn't born this way. I was bitten by a snake in 2006. Treatment came late leading to my amputation,” explains Angeline who taught at Landmark Academy in Uasin Gishu last term.

Football, she says, has taught her the value of teamwork and leadership skills. “Being the captain of the Uasin Gishu amputee team has taught me how to relate with other teams and other people around me,” says Angeline, who wanted to become a doctor when she was young before the snake bite changed everything.

She has been teaching since graduating in 2022 but is not yet permanently employed. 

She started her journey in amputee football in 2023 when she joined the Uasin Gishu County amputee team at the invitation of  the team chairman Geoffrey Okoth.

“I found only men training. They inspired me so much,” she says.

She says she is now respected because of her achievements on the football pitch.

“My biggest challenge is balancing work and sports. They are all mandatory and I must deliver in both. However, I usually try my best to sports.” She is also a  para volleyball player.

She dreams of becoming the best amputee footballer in the whole world.

Joan Naibei:

She found the 2024 Amputee World Cup special and emotional.

“I think many players don’t understand how important the mission is until their national anthem starts playing. And I’d not limit this feeling to the football World Cup, but extend it to every sport competition,” says Joan who holds a certificate in Graphic Design from the School of Graphic Design & Computer College in Githurai, Nairobi.

Her football journey started at Nangwe Girls High School in Bungoma. “I played in defence from 2010 to 2018 when I still had both legs. Since then, I had never played football until this year when I joined amputee football.”

She got amputated in 2018 after her left leg was badly crushed by a car that lost control along Kandara Road in Kileleleshwa, Nairobi.

She admits it is not easy playing with crutches. “It needs courage and confidence and trusting yourself. Like in any other sport, it needs commitment, time, and sacrifice for you to succeed and mostly, discipline,” adds the 29-year-old who dreams of playing abroad.

She says her biggest challenge is managing time. “Apart from football, I do rowing and swimming and I am also a dancer. I also need to be trained, go to the gym and run a small business. Juggling all these is very challenging.” 

She notes that football has changed her life. “I vow to live a life of inspiration. I want one day someone to stand and say I didn't give up because of you. I believe in impossible things that seem to be hard, even now we have those people who don't believe that one leg can play football,” she says.

Physically, she observes, football has helped her build muscle strength in the legs and upper body, crucial for kicking, tackling, and shielding the ball as much as it helps manage body weight.

“Mentally football has helped me reduce stress through physical activities. Focus on the game has also helped me to boost my confidence and self-esteem through achieving goals in the field,” observes Joan.

Winnie Rose Nafula:

The 26-year-old defender is a businesswoman dealing in sell of mitumba clothes in Eldoret. 

“I started my football journey in Uasin Gishu County in September 2024. I was inspired into the sport by Saul Mangiti, the captain of the men amputee football team in Uasin Gishu,” disclosed Winnie Rose.

She was born with one leg in Kakamega County and attended schools at Likuyani Primary and St. Elizabeth Girls Secondary in Kakamega.

“Apart from playing amputee football, I am also a shot putter and play para volleyball,” she says.

Caren Musungu:

The midfielder is a Senior Probation Officer in the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. “I provide expert reports on offenders to court aiding it to make an informed decision. These are pre-sentence, pre-bail, and victim impact assessment reports among others. I also work to transform communities through reconciliation through alternative dispute resolutions. We believe that offenders can change,” she writes on her LinkedIn profile.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work degree from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi.
She is also the Sports Leader at Decathlon Kenya. 

Her disability is congenital. “Seven days after I was born, the doctor noted swelling on my right leg and referred me for an X-ray and there my journey began. I remember using callipers to walk but in 2004 I had a fall that led to amputation,” she says.