Sports Initiatives

Explore our Mental Health Sports Initiatives. Dynamic programmes that use sports as powerful tools to promote mental wellbeing, emotional resilience and youth mentorship in safe, stigma-free spaces.

Harnessing the Power of Play for Healing, Connection & Youth Resilience

At Afrikala Art, we believe that sport is a powerful entry point into conversations that are often too heavy or stigmatised, especially around mental health. For many young people, particularly in low- and middle-income urban communities, the basketball court or football pitch is more accessible than a counsellor’s office. It is where friendships are formed, confidence is tested and emotional release becomes possible.

Our Mental Health Sports Initiatives are rooted in the belief that wellbeing is a team effort and that physical strength should always go hand-in-hand with mental and emotional resilience. These initiatives create safe, inclusive and energetic spaces where young people can play, heal, learn and connect.

What We Do

Our Mental Health Sports Initiatives include two interconnected programmes:

A sports team with Afrikala Art staff smiling

Mental Health Sports Tournaments

We host bi-annual community sports tournaments, with a primary focus on basketball, that use the excitement of competition to create stigma-free, youth-centred spaces for mental health awareness and action. These events go beyond the game by offering:

Mental Health Information Booths – Accessible, youth-friendly resources on depression, anxiety, coping and emotional wellbeing.
Peer Support & Healing Circles – Safe spaces for sharing experiences, guided by trained youth mental health champions.
On-Site Medical Checkups – Access to free physical health screenings, often for youth and families with limited access to healthcare.
Blood Donation Drives – Encouraging community giving and physical service as part of holistic wellbeing.
Community Connection Activities – Art installations, music and storytelling stations that reflect the lived realities of the participants.

These tournaments are designed to make mental health visible, normal, empowering and communal. The energy is electric, but the impact is deeply personal.

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Beyond the Whistle: Coach Mental Health & Mentorship Programme

Real change on and off the court begins with those who lead it. Beyond the Whistle is our coach-centred mental health and leadership development programme that trains sports coaches, trainers and youth mentors to become not only athletic leaders but also mental health champions.

The programme focuses on:

Emotional Literacy & Trauma Awareness
Youth Mentorship Skills
Mental Health First Aid for Coaches
Self-Care & Burnout Prevention
Creating Safe Spaces Through Sport
Hard Conversations Toolkit & Emotional Check-ins

Through Beyond the Whistle, coaches learn to recognise signs of emotional distress, build trust with young athletes and respond with empathy and clarity. They also learn to care for themselves in the process, reducing burnout and deepening their impact.

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Why It Matters

In some of the communities we serve, access to therapy or professional mental health services remains limited. Sport becomes a lifeline, a culturally acceptable and deeply familiar space where expression and support can flow more naturally.

Our Mental Health Sports Initiatives respond to:

Stigma surrounding mental illness
Lack of youth-friendly mental health support
Emotional trauma from poverty, violence or grief
Isolation and low self-esteem among youth
Under-equipped coaches and mentors

These programmes aim to foster connection, courage and capacity among young people and the adults who lead them.

Impact So Far

young people engaged in our Mental Health Sports Tournaments since inception

Over
3000

of participants accessed free medical services and mental health resources

100s

Our Vision Moving Forward

Scale tournaments to more communities across Kenya
Launch a full Coach Mentorship Network under Beyond the Whistle
Develop a mobile resource toolkit for youth mental health in sports settings
Collaborate with schools, local clubs and CBOs to integrate mental health and play
Strengthen our partnerships with healthcare providers and mental health professionals
Make tournaments a platform for policy advocacy on youth mental health and safe sport spaces