IOC Young Leader Pauline Msungu Uses Sport to Motivate and Empower Young People in Kenya

This is the latest in a series of articles focusing on IOC Young Leaders, participants in a program co-founded by Panasonic that helps talented young people around the world leverage the power of sport and make a difference in their communities.

IOC Young Leader Pauline Msungu is a football player from Kenya who is passionate about gender equality and believes that sport is a powerful tool that can help achieve this. After being selected for the program in 2021, she kicked off a project called “Beyond Sport_Kenya,” a community-based initiative dedicated to reducing gender inequality in Kenya and improving the lives of women there.

Growing up in Kenya in a poor family who could not afford to send her to secondary school, Pauline says her horizons seemed limited when she was a child. Her fortunes changed when, during her early teenage years, she was scouted by a soccer coach who offered her a high school scholarship. She was appointed school games captain, and led her girls’ soccer team at the national level over the following four years. 

A further scholarship gave her the chance to study commerce and procurement at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, where she continued to play soccer and once again led her team at the national level. However, these experiences made her keenly aware of the lack of opportunity available to girls of a similar age in Kenya and the preference given to boys when it came to sports activities. 

“In general,” Pauline explains, “men’s teams are much more valued than women’s teams, and the facilities provided for men’s events are much better than those for women. Also, it’s mostly male tournaments where prizes or trophies are awarded, which of course is a big motivation for the boys. But girls have to motivate themselves, and in many cases you’ll find them more passionate about playing.”

“Girls have to motivate themselves, 
and in many cases you’ll find them more passionate about playing.” 

She adds, “Having grown up experiencing indifference in my local community towards girls’ participation in sport, I’ve always been passionate about improving their access to sporting opportunities.”

Pauline sees how this kind of discrimination often works against women at the workplace as well. “Women are not given opportunities to work in sectors where they feel they can deliver, which is demoralizing and demotivating.”

Pauline stresses her project is not confined to helping young sportsmen and sportswomen. “I decided to call it ‘Beyond Sport_Kenya’ precisely because it doesn’t just focus on sport. Rather, it leverages sport to engage all young people—even those not interested or active in sport—and to push for gender equality generally.”

While the project focuses primarily on supporting girls and women, Pauline recognizes that achieving gender equality requires the education of all members of a community. Her initiative therefore also works with boys and men to foster understanding of women’s rights and needs. 

“The community is where everything starts... 
Giving something back to the community is very important to me.”

She goes on to explain why engaging local communities in her project is so important. “The community is where everything starts. You have to raise awareness of the need for gender equality there before you approach schools or other institutions.”

For this reason, Pauline’s Beyond Sport_Kenya project organizes community forums and other activities at grassroots level aimed at persuading local people in the community that gender equality is something beneficial and worth striving for. She brings teenagers together to share their own thoughts and experiences, and encourages them to see that each of them has a role to play—and a stake—in achieving equality. Building on this, her team conducts mentoring sessions and teaches the youngsters basic leadership skills.

Adds Pauline, “Giving something back to the community I came from is very important to me.” 

Pauline explains how the sponsorship of companies like Panasonic supports young people. “It provides them with opportunity,” she says. “The opportunity to participate in sport, competitions and other events which they might not otherwise be able to do.”

She also has positive words for the IOC Young Leaders Programme. “It provides a platform on which young people can grow and flourish—it gives us the chance to meet with and learn from an amazingly diverse group of people and to share our learnings with our communities when we return.”

For Pauline personally, participating in the program spurred her to put her ideas for gender equality into action. “It’s easy to be passionate about something like gender equality. But it’s not enough to be passionate—you have to work hard to achieve the results you want.” 

Earlier this month, Pauline was asked to address Japanese girl pupils attending a high school in Hyogo prefecture. The girls are participating in a program called “Kid Witness News,” a global initiative supported by Panasonic that aims to stimulate children’s creativity and develop their communication skills.

“Sport is not only about competing. It’s also about personal development”

Via a video link, Pauline chatted with the pupils about the UN’s Social Development Goals, or SDGs—in particular those which are focused on reducing inequality. She discussed with them how sport can be a safe space for girls; a space where they can learn and grow.  

“My main message to them was that sport is not only about competing,” says Pauline. “It’s also about personal development. If you’re just taking part in sport in order to compete and win, you’ll maybe train hard but at the end of the day, you might go home without having learned anything. But if you see sport also as a development process, you’re going to learn, you’re going to exchange ideas, you’re going to share issues.”

Pauline says she wants to be a role model in her community and share the experiences she’s gained through the Young Leaders Programme with other young girls and athletes. “My Beyond Sport_Kenya project is providing leadership training for youngsters, and in that way I feel like I’m giving back to the community what I’m getting from the program.”

“You are never too young to change the world.
Don’t hold back—take that first step, even if it’s a small one.”

Pauline explains that she has her own role model who inspires her—a professional soccer player Marta Vieira Silva from Brazil. “She’s in her late 30’s, but she proves that age is just a number, and that if you put in the effort, there are no limits. At a grassroots level she’s giving back to the community and encouraging young, upcoming sports people. She really motivates me to do the same.”

And Pauline’s own message as a role model to young people? 

“You are never too young to change the world. Don’t hold back—take that first step, even if it’s a small one. Big steps come from lots of small steps. We all have a role to play in changing the world and to create the world we want. It’s the job of every one of us to make it happen.”