How community initiative is reviving Eastleigh’s cricket legacy
The social and economic struggles facing families in Eastleigh and neighbouring areas such as Majengo and Ziwani make the programme even more essential.
In Eastleigh, cricket has long been associated with Eastleigh High School, a tradition nearly as old as the institution itself, founded in 1952 as Racecourse Secondary School.
Today, however, the sport is finding new life far beyond the school’s boundaries, thanks to a dedicated community initiative nurturing young talent on the tough turf of Dr Aggrey Primary School.
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The Eastleigh Voice spent time on the ground to explore how cricket, often perceived as a niche sport in Kenya, is transforming children’s lives through discipline, opportunity, and character-building.
At the heart of this movement is a passionate team under the East Africa Character Development Trust, where coach Paul Anjere leads a long-running cricket programme designed for children from underprivileged backgrounds.
“We work under the East Africa Character Development Trust. We have a camp that has been running for months now, and here we teach sports through character, particularly cricket,” Anjere explained.
For many of the children involved, the programme has been a lifeline for more than a decade.
“These are underprivileged kids, and we have been working with them for the last 10 years. They range from ages 7 to 18, covering both primary and secondary school children. We train them, and after training, we encourage them to build good character, which is of great importance in the job market,” he said.
The social and economic struggles facing families in Eastleigh and neighbouring areas such as Majengo and Ziwani make the programme even more essential.
“Jobs are scarce in our country, so we try to keep them busy through sports. It gives them opportunities to travel, interact with different people, and broaden their horizons,” Anjere added.
When asked why he chose cricket, a sport still unfamiliar to many Kenyans, Anjere pointed to its uniqueness.
Coach Paul Anjere. He leads the cricket programme supporting underprivileged children. (Photo: Justine Ondieki)
“Cricket entails a lot of discipline, which is why we thought it was good to major in it. The narrative is that cricket is mostly for the Hindi, but we believe otherwise.”
To grow participation, the programme recruits through local schools, integrating coaches into weekly activities.
“During school periods, we coach at Muslim Primary, DR Aggrey Primary, St Brigit, and Juja Road Primary. During PE lessons, we identify players. When schools close, we gather those interested and train them during holidays.”
Anjere’s long-term ambition is simple: to see his players reach elite levels of the sport. That dream is already becoming reality.
“My goal is to see these players climb higher. A few have already represented Kenya in the U15 and U19 categories. Most of these students rarely leave their neighbourhoods, but cricket has given them opportunities to travel, one even went to Rwanda and back through cricket.”
Visible success within the group creates a ripple effect.
“When you see one of your teammates prosper, you are motivated too. That’s why they keep coming for training. We train free of charge, relying on well-wishers.”
At the Starehe hub, Anjere is supported by Coaches Maggy Ngoche, Joshua Oyieko, and Martin Okoth. He emphasises that being in Eastleigh is not a choice but a necessity.
“We didn’t choose Eastleigh. We looked at communities that are less attended to, the less fortunate. We believe ghettos have a lot of talent, but often no one to guide it. Since all of us coaches come from ghettos, this is our way of giving back.”
Their goal is to introduce children to cricket early enough for the sport to shape their character and future.
“We aim to nurture kids while they are still young. When you introduce them early, they grow up with interest. At first, they may struggle, but with repetition, they improve.”
Among the brightest examples of the programme’s impact is Rael Kawira, based at the Starehe hub.
Eastleigh's homegrown talent, Rael Kawira. (Photo: Justine Ondieki)
A homegrown talent, Rael first picked up a bat on Eastleigh’s rugged grounds. She attended DR Aggrey Primary before moving to Pumwani Girls, and has since represented Kenya at the U19 Women’s Cricket World Cup qualifiers in Rwanda, making her the programme’s most accomplished player so far.
“I trained here, and you can see our grounds. Representing Kenya in Rwanda was a privilege and a motivation. It doesn’t matter where you come from. I try to help my teammates here at Eastleigh, and as the coach says, discipline is everything. I aim to be in the national team, and I want to keep the fire burning.”
Understanding cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball team sport played between two sides of 11 players each. The objective is simple: score more runs than the opponent.
The game takes place on a large oval field, with most of the action on a 22-yard pitch at the centre. At each end stands a wicket of three wooden stumps topped with two bails.
A coin toss decides which team bats or bowls first. Batters work in pairs to score runs by hitting the ball and crossing ends of the pitch, while bowlers and fielders try to dismiss them by bowling them out, catching, or running them out.
An innings ends when ten batters are dismissed, and the teams switch roles. Formats vary, from hours in T20 cricket to five days in Test matches, but the goal is always the same: outscore the opponent.
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