Written by Canadian SportWORKS Officer, Gabe Podivinsky
Gabe’s international experiential learning experience is funded by the Queen Elizabeth Scholars (QES) Program. This collaborative initiative is made possible through the leadership of the Rideau Hall Foundation, in collaboration with Community Foundations of Canada, Universities Canada, and Canadian universities. Through its promotion of international student exchange and civic engagement, the QES program is helping to grow young Canadians into global citizens while promoting Canada as a destination for the world’s top talent and attracting top talent and international research leaders to Canada.
Jambo! (Hello)
My name is Gabriel (Gabe) Podivinsky, I am the next in a long line of Canadian SportWORKS Officers, entrusted and honoured to bring you a blog surrounding my adventures and work experiences from abroad. I have been in Nairobi, Kenya for the better part of two weeks working closely with The National Olympic Committee of Kenya’s Community Development and Outreach team on their Cheza Healthy project.
Before we dive into this initial blog I would like to take this time to acknowledge that this experience would not be possible without the support of the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship, Rideau Hall Foundation, Commonwealth Sport Canada, The National Olympic Committee and Commonwealth Games Association of Kenya, Mount Royal University, Mount Royal International, Ryan Pelley, Gisele Marcoux, Jessica Mossiere, Kabiri (Tony) Karuru and my mom who helped me figure out how to get three-quarters of the way around the world.
A special thank you to Dr. Julie Booke and Dr. Joe Pavelka who inspired me to apply for this opportunity and instilled confidence in my choice of pursuing a Sports Management Degree at Mount Royal University.
The trip began with me crying on the plane (Isn’t that a song?), knowing I had eighteen hours of travelling ahead of me, I downloaded a lot of shows. One I was in the midst of finishing was Sons of Anarchy (spoilers ahead so skip to the next paragraph if you have any interest in watching it). The show follows Jax Teller, a tough, hardcore biker, who struggles with the life of being an outlaw and wanting to be a good father to his chosen family of bikers and blood family in his two sons. In the end, recognizing he is not a good man and is someone his children cannot grow up to follow or they will suffer the same fate as him. He chooses to take his own life, driving head-on into a semi-truck. It’s an impactful ending, especially after seven seasons of following him and his struggles.
I was sitting beside a mother, Ann, and her daughter, Jen, who were on their way to Portugal for a 42-day backpacking trip around the country. Hearing me sniffle and wipe my eyes they looked over and asked if I was okay. It was a funny conversation explaining why I was crying 30,000 feet in the sky over the Arctic Ocean. Ann gave me a scotch mint to help with the cabin pressure and cheer me up. Moms being moms. After the TV-induced emotional start, I slept the rest of the time in the air. Put me on a flight and I will sleep like there is no tomorrow. Does not matter if it is 30 minutes or 16 hours. I have trained myself to become the ultimate traveller. It gets you to your destination faster.
I had a four-hour layover in Amsterdam which was an adventure in and of itself. People think the Calgary airport is iconic for its Chilis. Amsterdam blows it out of the water, it has a McDonald’s, a museum, an entire high-end shopping district and The Schiphol Clock, an iconic art piece where it looks like someone is inside a clock painting the time.
After another 9-hour flight, I arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, Kenya. It was the longest and farthest I have ever travelled. I left Calgary on Thursday at 3 pm local time and arrived in Nairobi on Friday at 10 pm local time. 31 hours and 13,837km.
I made it through customs easily. There was a moment of angst waiting in line to speak to the officer where I began thinking ‘What if I forgot something?’ Risk being like Mehran Karimi Nasseri living in an airport. Luckily I had everything organized and was let into the country. There was a unique customs experience where the agent digitally took my fingerprints. I guess I’m registered in the Kenyan government database. So I better wear gloves if I’m committing a crime.
I grabbed my bag from the baggage carousel and took my first steps into the Nairobi air. I was immediately greeted by twenty different cab drivers asking if they could carry my bag to their car and take me to my hotel. “Good price, I promise.” “My friend, I take you.” “Is this you?” I was supposed to meet my contact Tony at the airport. But my phone wasn’t working. Luckily one of the drivers at the airport offered me his to make a call. I made contact and met Tony and another one of my coworkers, Alphonce. They took me to the hotel but not before stopping for my first meal in Kenya. A KFC spicy fried chicken sandwich. Let me tell you after 31 hours of travel and three airplane meals, nothing tastes better than a greasy chicken sandwich. By the time I was settled in the hotel and it was all said and done, it was 1 am local time. My head hit the pillow and I was out like I was still on the plane.
‘You will find out why Nairobi is Nairobi‘
Arriving on Friday I knew I had the weekend to adjust before going to the office Monday and begin working on the project. Alphonce picked me up at 1pm on Saturday and the first step was getting myself a Kenyan phone number. (+254 797 455 873 if anyone wants to give me a call). In Kenya, all payment is done through an app called M-Pesa which is connected to your phone so it was essential to get that organized as soon as we could. With that all sorted it was a weight off my shoulders, I knew if I had any problems I would be able to access the internet, make calls and access my money. It’s funny I think about travelling forty years ago. Reading about my dad’s own experiences. He had no phone, they didn’t exist. For eight months, it was him in a new culture experiencing another part of the world, with no easy way to call home, access money or figure out where to go. Having to rely on intuition and strangers to help him. For me it’s simpler, I have a tool that can find restaurants, destinations, translate and pay for items. It makes travelling easier, but harder to fully leave home when you can access it at your fingertips.
After getting the phone sorted out, Alphonce took me to the Kenya Rugby Football Union. The Kenya Super Series Rugby season had just begun. It was the Lions versus the Rhinos in a regular season bout. With the rain, the field had turned more into a mud soup. Greenskeepers rushed to the field with buckets of sand when the play was in the other end to disperse the mud and dry the field. It made me laugh watching them throw beige sand and immediately turn black as soon as it hit the ground disappearing into a sea of mud. I had never seen a live rugby game up until that point. The mud made it difficult for the players, Alphonce explained that this was the highest level of rugby in the country and multiple national team rugby players were currently playing in the game. For a first rugby game to see national-level players is a pretty sweet experience. I asked Alphonce probably too many questions, growing up playing football I always assumed the games were within the realm of similar. I could not be further from correct. They are entirely unique the only similarity is tackling and even then the approach to tackling is different.
It was overall a cool first sporting event in Kenya and to experience a new sport at the highest level as a fan makes it way more engaging. Maybe I should’ve tried rugby in school.
Following the game I was able to try the staple dish of Kenya, Ugali and Nyama Choma. Cornmeal and fire-roasted meat. As an Albertan, it was like home, pure barbecue food. No real seasoning, letting the meat speak. I learned afterwards it was goat meat, and I will be the first to say I have had it again since and will continue to. It is so good. Writing about it now makes my mouth salivate. Might have to pick some up from a street vendor on my way home. I should’ve been an influencer and let the camera eat first, but it was too good to wait. Like the barbecue joints at the Calgary Stampede, they load up the plates and you enjoy every bite.
The restaurant we ate at was part of the rugby union. As we finished our meals the players made their way from their locker rooms to the restaurant/bar. Alphonce has a history working with the rugby sevens national team as their manager and knew a few of the players. They came up to the table introduced themselves, we had brief conversations. They were there to celebrate following the game. These were the biggest dudes I have ever seen in my life. 6’5″, 230lbs all muscle. You shake their hand and know immediately they are athletes. It became fairly obvious to me that I have the build of the facilitator of sport rather than the player. Like every action movie, the main character always needs the guy in the chair.
The rest of Saturday was spent at the restaurant, I enjoyed a few of the local beers. It’s called Tusker, pretty good. Very similar to anything light back home. But because you are abroad it tasted like the start of an adventure. One thing that did stand out was the choice of ordering drinks cold or warm. For different prices, a cold beer in the Nairobi heat will run you 350KES. A warm one about 250KES. I met a few more of Alphonce’s friends and began talking to one of them. He asked me how I enjoyed Nairobi, I told him I hadn’t really experienced it yet as I only got in 20 hours ago. “Oh do not worry my friend, you will see why Nairobi is Nairobi,” he said in response. The words stuck in my head and in the time since that conversation they haven’t been wrong.
Sunday was a wash of a day the jet lag caught up to me pretty heavily. We went out for brunch at the Brew Bistro and had an all-you-can-eat buffet. It was the perfect meal of meat, rice, veggies, fruit, and dessert. Everything I needed. By the end, I was letting out a few of the deep breaths when you eat too much and gotta clear the air from your lungs to make room while your stomach pushes on your diaphragm. Brunch here is done differently than the influencer brunch in Canada, back home we have it from 10 am-2 pm. Here it starts at 2 pm and goes till 5 pm. One massive meal to keep you full for the entire day. Following the meal, we walked back to the hotel and I was asleep as soon as I hit the bed. 6:30 pm blinds open, clothes still on, teeth not brushed, the sun not set. Out cold.
I woke up at 3 am Monday but still got my 8 and a half hours of much-needed sleep. I had a bit of an existential moment as I was laying in bed, thinking about the time change and realizing it was only 6 pm back in Calgary. Honestly, that is still something I am having a hard time wrapping my head around. The time change is weird. It shows the scale of the earth, while at the same time disproving flat earth theorists. Here is a link to an article if you wanna read why:https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/danny-faulkner/2023/06/14/time-zones-and-flat-earth/
I wasn’t going to get back to sleep, I was too excited for the first day in the office. I got up and wrote a little bit about the goals I want to achieve while I am here and what I want this project/experience to be. Before coming here I didn’t know what the project I was working on was fully about. I wasn’t told about it in detail. I had a basic elevator pitch down pat to tell people when they asked before I left. “I am going to help develop youth sports programs, to use sport as a social tool, I am using sport to enhance individual and community physical lifestyles, to hopefully make a difference while becoming different in my own right through challenges and experiences.” But nothing specific about the project because I didn’t have any specifics. I am happy to announce that this has now changed and I can go in-depth on the work I am doing here. It only took 2200 words to get to the entire point of the blog, don’t blame me I’m a storyteller.
Cheza Healthy
Okay, let’s dive in…
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes, malnutrition and stroke are the leading cause of death worldwide and represent an emerging global health threat. Deaths from NCDs now exceed all communicable diseases deaths combined.
NCDs were responsible for 41 million deaths globally in 2023. Of those 41 million deaths low-and middle-income countries accounted for 85% of them or 34,850,000 deaths. So, the question becomes how can we actively provide a viable solution that is readily accessible for all citizens and fits within the medical and economic structure of low- and middle-income countries?
One possible solution?
Empower citizens to take a stand in looking after their own health through utilizing physical activity in whatever capacity they are comfortable or capable of. Specifically to target youth and young adults while giving them the tools to seek healthy living for the entirety of their lives and enable them with the power to make an effective change for themselves.
Cheza means play in Swahili and healthy means of good health in English. Together the project stands to help youth play healthy with one another. I cannot take credit for the title, that distinction goes to my coworker Kate who came up with it and created the original project proposal that helped develop the relationship between Commonwealth Sport Canada and The National Olympic Committee of Kenya. Without her, I don’t think I would have ever ended up in Kenya as there wouldn’t have been a project to work on.
The first week was filled with getting to know my coworkers, learning about the values of NOCK and understanding my role within the organization. On top of the project, it is also an Olympic year. On my first day in the office, there was an 80 days to the Olympics meeting. So it is all hands on deck prepping Team Kenya for Olympic glory. Living here during the games, I’ll be a Kenyadian citizen cheering on Canada and Kenya. I will hopefully have some opportunities to celebrate Olympic gold with the committee as Eliud Kipchoge, Hellen Obiri, Kelvin Kiptum and many others look to continue their dominance in the distance events in Paris.
On my first day, I also had the distinct privilege of meeting Paul Tergat. He is a two-time silver medal Olympian. The first Kenyan man to set the marathon world record with a time of 2:04:55. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished distance runners in history and is the current President of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya. It was a true honour and helped put into perspective the level of company I am working beside. I have the opportunity to work for the highest level of sports institutions in the country and help to make a genuine impact on the world of sports within Kenya. It’s a pretty cool thought, not something I take lightly.
On top of getting to know everyone I also dove into the project to understand the goals, mission, content, and timeline of Cheza Healthy. Step one was to develop a relationship with those I would be working closest with on the project, Kate and Maya. It was essential to create a dialogue with them so we could collectively work towards our goals. If we couldn’t build trust with each other, there would be no chance of building a program to help others.
Our first meeting as a team was to lay out a timeline for the events. The plan for the project is to host five different sporting events throughout Kenya, two in Nairobi and one in Nakuru, Eldoret and Mombasa. The reason for this is to ensure we reach all areas of Kenya and can personalize the events to match the typical sports found in each of the areas. The goal of the sports days is to bring together youth aged 10-17 and give them a day to have fun while playing sports, by hosting a tournament that isn’t meant to be taken seriously but rather is supposed to be a day where, win or lose, the important part is that youth get outside and have fun with friends. And to inspire them to continue to seek these moments for themselves. On top of the tournament, there will be a brief educational aspect beforehand to speak on NCDs and the importance that physical activity has in preventing them. We also plan to provide a nutritionist to come speak on the importance of a proper diet. In a country where malnutrition is not uncommon, information provided will include what foods are the most beneficial for overall health and what foods get the highest
sustenance for the lowest price. Lastly, we will offer free on-site testing for certain NCDs such as diabetes, heart diseases and blood pressure. The end of the first week was spent developing ideas for the project and what type of tournaments we should run, we settled on events and dates, but I won’t spoil the surprise, you will have to keep coming back to read to learn more about them. I moved into my apartment on Wednesday and spent the entire time laughing at the fact my first apartment ever was in Nairobi, Kenya. Back home I still live in my mom’s basement and following this grand adventure, it will be right back to the same childhood bedroom. It is a perfect first apartment, if I could find something similar in Calgary I would be ecstatic. I slowly have been discovering the area around me and making the studio feel more like a home than a rental place. The grocery store is a three-minute walk and a gym is seven minutes. I’m very happy about that, I can’t go preaching to youth about the importance of moving your body and not practice it myself. It also helps with my daily schedule and meeting more people who live near me. On May 7th, President William Ruto announced that Friday, May 10th was going to be a national holiday in honour of those who had lost their lives and continue to be affected by the devastating floods across southern Kenya. I felt guilty not realizing the severity of the floods and spent part of the day reading about them and the 60,000 families that had been displaced in the slums and areas surrounding the river. It made me recognize an ignorance that I had as a Canadian. I was coming to this country and didn’t recognize the scale or impact that these floods were having on the larger community. That same weekend was the Met Gala and 74 million eyes were on the 700 celebrities and their $10,000 dollar costumes. While at the same time, over 300,000 people are fighting to survive these floods. I don’t need this to be some wake-up call high and mighty blog. But I realized that I need to read, seek answers, ask questions, expand my worldview, and recognize what it means to be a global citizen. I know I can’t change the world. But I do have the ability to make an impact on the world around me. We live in a world that would exist with or without us. With our luck to exist what positive change can we make? I hope to make this Cheza Healthy project the best that I can and leave a lasting impact in my short time on earth and my even shorter time in Kenya. This link leads to the Kenya Red Cross, Flood Operations website. Focused on helping those displaced and building infrastructure to combat flooding in the future. Please read about the initiative and consider donating: https://www.redcross.or.ke/floods/
Since Friday was now a holiday, the office was closed and I was invited to participate in an Olympic Sport Organization Sports Management course, organized and run by the National Olympic Committee. It was a humbling experience, I was surrounded by chair members of their respective sports federations, each focused on the betterment of their sport within the pursuit of Olympic excellence. Handball, golf, swimming and tennis to name a few. It was cool to be in the presence of true sports leaders and have a different opinion to give than what they were used to hearing when it came to sports
organizations. There were three topics explored: Information Management in Olympic Sport Organizations, Dealing with Change in Olympic Sport Organization and a general presentation of the makeup of the IOC and the roles that exist in NOCK and the parts they play in Olympic success. One quote that stood out for me was “If we are not the leaders of change, we will be pushed to be changed by others.” It relates to being at the forefront of innovation and continuing to build your ability to adapt. We have the capacity to always learn and sport is no different. Being stuck in one way of thinking limits opportunities and growth because you can’t see past what you choose to acknowledge. As Ted Lasso said, the ability to be curious is crucial for growth. It was humbling to be a student and be in a spot where those who run sports for the country were surrounding me. It is a collective that is focused on making a genuine difference in sport from Olympic success to grassroots, with all leaders on the same page.
Following the course the rest of the weekend was spent going around the city and exploring in an attempt to get my bearings. I wound up at Uhuru Park. Uhuru means freedom in Swahili. I had my first experience of a local coming up and asking for a selfie with me. I told him only if he sent it to me. There were statues of animals scattered throughout the park celebrating the “Big 5” (Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhinoceros, African Buffalo). They were cool, but seeing the real animals will be ten times as cool when I eventually get out on a safari. On Saturday I went to the Nairobi National Museum and continued to learn about the history of Kenya, its struggle for independence, the different cultures within the country, the meaning behind their art, the evolution of man from Africa and the incredible amount of animal species that exist within their country. Bird fact of the day: there are over 1300 unique bird species that call East Africa home. There was also a snake park attached to the museum, now I am not the biggest reptile fan, but you know what they say “When in Africa…” It was cool (blooded). Tons of snakes, turtles and alligators, oh my! But all in all a proper tourist day. The sun was hot and by the time I got back to the apartment I was drained.
I went golfing the Sunday it was nice to get out I played with a gentleman named Phil who worked for Meta. I only bought three balls so was very timid with my shots. With all the rain the course was terribly overgrown and the fairway was closer to playing in the rough. It took some searching to find the good shots so there was no chance of finding a slice. I’m proud to say I managed the entire round with at least one ball in the end (we only played nine holes). While we were playing, the course was also hosting the World School Cross Country Championships. It was a
massive event, so large in fact that the first hole of the course was closed so spectators could watch up the length of the fairway. I managed to catch the end of the races. These were some athletic kids from all over the world, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, Uganda and France, just to name a few. In the end, Kenya swept the event and took first in each category. I’m usually not one to brag but Kenya is undefeated in running events with me in the country. Maybe I’m the good luck charm? The second week of work began with pitching the Tennis Federation of Kenya our idea for the Cheza Healthy project. Kate, Maya and I had decided to ask them for assistance and make the initial tournament a tennis-based event. The reason being that Maya had worked for the Tennis Federation before coming to NOCK so there was already a personal connection. With that being said they didn’t know who I was so I had to bring my A-game to the pitch meeting. Before giving our idea we were invited to sit in on the federations meeting regarding their annual Billie Jean King tournament. It was very insightful to see the depth at which these meetings in a professional manner are conducted. The preparation it takes to ensure that a program or event can be executed. One lesson I took away was that bigger projects mean bigger risks, so bigger preparation is needed. Something that we can take to our own Cheza Healthy project.
I am happy to say that the pitch went fantastic and the federation was onboard. They loved the idea and were more than happy to help see it come to life. They had some insightful advice regarding sustainable development for the project. Through the meeting, they also gave us our motto for the project: #leavenoonebehind, NCDs have the potential to affect everyone. This message of “leave no one behind” ensures that we are focused on helping everyone move their bodies to a level they feel comfortable with to live their best healthy lives. To find the athlete at the centre of each individual. With the federation’s blessing, we spent the next few days finalizing the project proposal and developing the beginning pieces of the next project we hope to run in a few week’s time. The final piece we needed to complete after the tennis puzzle was the go-ahead from the Secretary General of NOCK, Francis Mutuku. Both Kate and Maya were out of the office so it fell onto my shoulders to meet with him. It was a very beneficial meeting, he had some fantastic suggestions regarding the project we will seek to implement as we continue development to ensure that no one is left behind and we can enable all kids from all walks of life to cheza healthy in their day-to-day living. With his okay, the project was finalized and we are set to run it this Saturday, May 25th. Stay tuned in the next blog to see how it went.
This past weekend I finally was able to see some wildlife. My mother put me in contact with a friend of hers named Shelley Chapman, whom she met in Puerto Rico. It goes to show just how small the world is sometimes. Shelley has been working to help guide PhD students focused on navigating complex problems within various African contexts, while also facilitating the Living Learning Community for Leadership Development with African Women for the past ten years and has predominately been based in Nairobi. I wouldn’t be able to do her justice trying to explain the impact she has had on the community over her time here and the work she has put into creating programs that will continue long after she leaves in July. Here is a link to her work: https://wgm.org/project/llc-african-women-leaders.
Shelley and her driver/Mr. everything for the initiative, Blair, came to pick me up from the apartment and took me to the Giraffe Center. The centre has been focused on the preservation of the Rothschild giraffes and through their efforts have doubled the number of Rothschild giraffes to over 300 in the wild. It was a very spiritual experience, getting to see them up close and feed them. They are very calm, beautiful creatures. It was a highlight of the trip so far. I will have to go back again before I leave. I used to say that I could for sure win a fight against a giraffe. Control the neck and you control the animal. I no longer think that. I would lose round one.
The meeting with Shelley was also beneficial as she has experience of being a white person in Kenya. She offered knowledge on how to approach leadership and community development. It also raised questions about the project and how we can continue to develop it going forward. She was very blunt with me that I am Mzungu (a person with white skin) and that people will view me as someone who will give them something. Their inherited learning of white people is based on colonial settlers who brought them things. It is an expectation that still exists today. It is something that she had to navigate and told me that I would have to as well. The difficulty comes from that I am here to give them something. Lessons on the importance of physical activity and a program that can help facilitate youth movement. Her biggest lesson came from the importance that lies in the approach rather than the actual message. We don’t need to sit for an hour and discuss why sports are important in preventing NCDs. We need to show them that we care by running organized events and ensuring that everyone has fun. The balance of information and impact is what we need to focus on. We are targeting youth in the slums so how can we make sure that these kids stay active after the event? How can we approach it in a way so that it doesn’t feel like we are telling them what to do, but rather inspire them to actively seek exercise for themselves? In the slums if they cannot afford food, clothes, and medicine why should they prioritize exercise? A one-time presentation does not have the same impact as a continued effort that shows care and builds relationships. Meeting Shelley offered reflection and critical analysis of what we want this project to be and potential new avenues we can explore as we continue to build a way to help kids cheza healthy.
Alright this ended up being a hefty blog. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Stay tuned for the next one as we begin the journey of running the events, continue Olympic preparation, focus on developing a sustainable program, and hopefully have a few more adventures in between.
-Gabe
PPS: Mom and Ella give Apollo a good pet and treat from me.