Kenya Volleyball team receive major boost from Equity Bank

By Fred Maingi

 Equity Bank has awarded the Kenya Prisons Women's Volleyball team Kshs
1.35 Million sponsorship for participation in the upcoming
International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Volleyball Club World
Championships in Doha, Qatar.
   The team under Head coach David Lung’aho
comprises of sixteen top Kenyan women volleyball players. The
championship is set to run from13th to 19th of October 2012.

 Presenting the cheque at Equity Centre in Nairobi the Equity Bank
Group CEO Dr. James Mwangi said, “We are humbled by the partnership
that has developed between these two institutions. We congratulate you
for your achievements so far and look forward to the team coming home
as the new world champions.”  He further added that the team will be
entitled to a further reward of Kshs1.5 Million upon clinching the
global title. “Kenya is a household name in sports excellence, and
with your kind of determination and teamwork as well as the right
mindset, I urge you to strive for the world championships trophy. If
you can do it at continental championships you can do it at global
level.”

The Kenyans Prisons Women’s Volleyball team is the reigning African
champion having won the coveted African title for three seasons in a
row. In May this year the ‘African Queens’ again emerged victorious in
the African Club Finals.

 “We are very happy with this gesture from Equity Bank which will
ensure our team is comfortable in Doha,” said Isaiah Osugo,
Commissioner Kenya Prisons. “Your support will take us a long way and
keep us at par with our counterparts in Doha,” added Osugo.

 The FIVB Women’s Volleyball Club World Championship is divided into
two three-team pools. Kenya Prisons has been drawn in Pool B alongside
Turkey’s Fenerbahçe and Puerto Rico’s Lanchores Catano. The Kenya team
players comprise of – Jane Wairimu, Everlyne Makuto, Diana Khisa,
Esther Mwombe, Florence Bosire, Elisheba Chepkemboi, Elizabeth
Wanyama, Loice Jepkoisgei, Lydia Maiyo, Mercy Moim, Brackcides
Khadambi and Judith Tarus.

 Meanwhile, The Bank’s CEO Dr. James Mwangi revealed that Equity Bank
will roll out financial education targeting prisons as part of the
bank’s ongoing financial literacy campaign.

 “We have previously trained inmates from the Garissa and Naivasha
prisons on financial management”, said Mwangi. “Training the inmates
on how to start and manage their businesses & finances once out of
prison would greatly improve

 their lives”. The financial education programme dubbed FIKA which is
targeting over 1 million youth and women has so far trained close to
400,000 Kenyan entrepreneurs on basic financial skills such as
budgeting, saving and record keeping.

 Speaking on the training, Osugo said that equipping inmates with
financial skills while still in the correctional facility would enable
them to improve their livelihood once they reintegrate into society
after their prison terms.

 He said that the training would augment the vocational skills offered
to prisoners under the government’s prison rehabilitation programme.