Kenya
The country of Kenya was the first country to receive equipment from Angels at Bat. Additionally, Kenya has received the most equipment of all countries supported by Angels at Bat. Kenya was also the first country Angels at Bat visited to distribute equipment and teach the game of baseball personally.
The Beginning
Our connection with the beautiful country of Kenya began because of the generosity of a local Wisconsin Rotary Club. Very early on in the charity's history, we were simply looking for a place to receive the large amount of equipment we had been collecting; we reached out to many groups to help us out. The local Rotary Club (lead by David Yeghiaian) not only agreed to take equipment with them, they asked if we would want to travel with them. Of course, this was an offer impossible to refuse.
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Just weeks before leaving on this trip, another local Rotarian connected us with George Mahinda -- the President of Kenya Little League. During our first trip to Kenya, we met with George Mahinda, distributed equipment, and taught baseball to thousands of children. We fell in love with the people/many cultures of Kenya, and knew we had to do more; with the help of George Mahinda, we were able to do just that.
Sending Equipment
During our first trip to Kenya, we brought 19 suitcases filled to the brim with baseball equipment. However, we knew that carrying the equipment to countries in Africa was not sustainable. Thankfully, George Mahinda connected us with the group American Friends of Kenya out of Connecticut (American Friends of Kenya donates library equipment, books, and other medical supplies to the people of Kenya). After talking with Wayne and Audra of AFK, they generously donated part of their yearly shipping container.
This has become our largest and primary means of shipping to get donated baseball equipment to Kenya. Each spring, we package up a huge load of equipment and drive from Green Bay, WI to Connecticut to drop off donations; if our collecting season has been especially successful, we may drive out to Connecticut twice. We are eternally grateful for the generosity of American Friends of Kenya -- without their help, Angels at Bat would not be able to be where it is.
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The other way we get baseball equipment to Kenya is to bring it with us in luggage on our trips to Kenya. Although we bring much less equipment when we travel compared to our first trip, this is still a valuable process. When travelling to places that have not yet been introduced to baseball, we need equipment to be able to teach with and be able to leave with the children so they can continue to play.
Equipment Distribution
Angels at Bat distributes equipment to a few different groups in Kenya. Samuel Gatheri is the coach of the team at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). Samuel receives and distributes a considerable proportion of Angels at Bat's donations. Samuel is based out of Kenya's capital, Nairobi, and is therefore nearby to many other teams.
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Samuel often works with Justus Mwaka who delivers our equipment to teams farther from Kenya's capital.
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Elphas Ongong'o, based out of Siaya County (Western Kenya), is another major recipient of our equipment. Elphas runs a library in cooperation with American Friends of Kenya and decided to start a baseball program in the area.
