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The Kenyan Community of WA have partnered up with Touch West to develop an exciting project that targets Kenyan men and women and involves touch football.
The ‘Kenya Touch It?' program was designed to increase physical activity among non-active members of the Kenyan community by introducing a fun approach to touch football skills.
The project started by introducing informal training sessions to the group, which in the past had limited experience in Touch Football, and progressed into mini social games. Once the group members understood the rules and were comfortable playing, a friendly match was arranged against one of Southern Districts social teams that did not make the finals. Some participants of ‘Kenya Touch It?' program joined the Southern Districts club competition.
The Kenyan community believed that Touch Football appealed to women, as it was a non-contact sport, and encouraged women to participate instead of "staying on the sidelines". More than 20 men and women are still playing in the competition. The Touch association has benefited by gaining extra teams and enjoying the friendliness and rich diversity that resulted from the addition of Kenyan players.
The Kenyan community received a grant from the Department of Sport and Recreation in 2006 to increase the involvement of individuals from non English-speaking backgrounds.
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