Amb. Manoah Esipisu EBS
15.1K posts
@MEsipisu
Strategic Communication. Government Relations. Community Engagement. Visiting Professor, School of Global Affairs, Kings College London @Kings_SGA @ALC_KCL
It’s a full circle moment for #TeamKenya as we watch Madina Okot become the 3rd Kenyan to step onto the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and here’s why.👇 In 2020, NOC-K held its first ever Youth Camp during the holidays, in Lukenya and that’s the 1st time Madina had a chance to interact with #TeamKenya. Her journey hasn’t been linear. At her first high school, she was pushed toward volleyball, it didn’t quite click. A school transfer to Kaya Tiwi secondary changed things. That’s where she leaned fully into basketball and started to grow into herself and over the holidays, her skills grew in the Lukenya Camp. Born in Mumias, her path to Lukenya came through NOC-K’s effort, working with KBF, to bring together young talent from across the country. Since then, we’ve watched her evolve from 5x5 to 3x3 adapting, learning, rising and when Birmingham Commonwealth Games came, and Kenya had an opportunity to play 3X3, it was obvious that the team from the 2020 was to represent Kenya in its 1st 3x3 basketball team to Commonwealth Games. Watching her join Kenya Ports Authority to play in the Kenya Basketball Federation League, to join the University of Missisipi and go on to the University of South Carolina was just the beginning. And now, a young girl from that Lukenya camp stands at 6’6, playing in Atlanta, on one of the biggest stages in women’s basketball. Proof that sometimes all it takes is the right exposure, the right people and the courage to stay the course. (Attaching in next thread, a throwback interview from 2022, right after Birmingham.)
Happening Now ▶️ The sports Personality of the Year Awards @soyaawards (2025 season. 📍 Uhuru Gardens, Nairobi
🇪🇹 April 18th- Addis Ababa Grand Prix, Ethiopia 🇰🇪 24th- Kip Keino Classic, Kenya 🇧🇼 26th- Botswana Golden Grand Prix See you there! 💫
