NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 3 –Retired Team Kenya athletes are set to benefit from a food programme courtesy of the National Olympic Committee Kenya (NOC-K) in conjunction with the Kenya National Sports Council and Kenya National Paralympic Committee.
The program has been launched with a seed capital of Sh500,000 to aid them in the wake of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We know the pandemic has affected our athletes greatly and most of them have been inactive for three months. We want to give food support to the athletes for the sake of their mental wellness and physical health. After consultation, we felt food aid will be of greater assistance as we continue looking for other partners in this initiative,” said Francis Mutuku, the acting NOCK Secretary General.
He went on to state that they have decided to use the base capital on food because it’s the most crucial area, adding that they will launch a PayBill number next week to enable members of the public willing to donate to the kitty do so.
“According to our survey, the athletes cited finance, food, wellness and fitness as their areas of concern and as we appeal for more support, it’s all systems go. The government has already dealt with the financial bit and we hope to continue this initiative as long as possible,” Mutuku stated.
Meanwhile, National Sports Council treasurer Charles Nyaberi lauded NOC-K for setting the ball rolling with the latest initiative as they seek to cushion sports people of all cadres from the effects of coronavirus.
At the same time, NOC-K is in the process of creating a database of all national level athletes, which will be extended later to include retired athletes.
According to Mutuku, such information will be key in enabling them profile and effectively find ways of addressing their needs.
