Over 300 youth from Nyeri, Laikipia and Nyandarua counties are set to benefit from the upcoming Mugunda Stadium which is a community driven project.
The mega project is being undertaken by the Mugunda Catholic Parish under the leadership of Father Romano Filippi and the local community of Mugunda area in Kieni, Nyeri County.
When complete, the project will benefit the local community in an area where the government has failed to invest in sports infrastructure.
Just less than an hour’s drive to Nyeri town, work on the state-funded Ruring’u Stadium stalled about two years ago due to lack of adequate funding.
The first phase of Ruring’u Stadium mega project was budgeted for Sh280 million but it stalled while 30 percent complete.
“My wish is to ensure that the local youth do not move to other towns in search of sports facilities. We have many talents in all sporting disciplines and having a good stadium here will not only motivate them to do well but it will also be a game-changer in sports development and talent growth in this region,” Father Romano told Nation Sport early this week.
According to the priest, when he told the residents about his dream of having a stadium in the area a decade ago, many took it as a joke and forgot about it but today, the stadium is slowly taking shape and is more than 40 percent complete.
“We take it one step at a time. So far we have spent about Sh250 million on the project. When I look at what we have accomplished so far, I feel happy and encouraged,” he said.
The stadium has a chain link fence round it, with a standard changing room in place. Father Romano said that he has Sh49 million ready for use in purchasing an artificial turf to be laid on the running track in the stadium.
Being at the centre of the project, Father Romano brought together key stakeholders in the project, including local youth group called Juhudi for Positive Youth Development, Mutitu Water Project and the local community to raise funds towards construction of the facility.
“We barely use machines for our works at the stadium. Instead, the local community has been doing it themselves, thus lowering the cost of construction,” he said.
He urged well-wishers to contribute towards the project which is one of its kind in the area. Engineers are currently on the ground, working with locals to fix the drainage system.
The stadium is sitting on a 15-acre piece of land and is situated 200 metres off Nyeri-Nyahururu highway at Marina area, right at the boundary between Nyeri and Laikipia counties.
It is situated exactly 55 kilometres from Nyeri town and 49 kilometres from Nyahururu, making it easily accessible for athletes from the region.
Construction plans seen by Nation Sport point to the first standard stadium in the region which will be ideal for high altitude training and competitions.
The eagerness of the locals to use the stadium was demonstrated last month when Juhudi Initiative organised trials at the stadium ahead of the Central region Under-20 athletics competition.
“For the first time, Mugunda Ward in Kieni sent a big squad to the regional competition. The future looks bright for the youth here,” said Mary Wangui, the Juhudi Initiative coordinator.
The trials came weeks after a group of students from the University of Notre Dame in USA held a mentorship and sports education programme with the local youth at the facility. The sessions were aimed at creating awareness of on the importance of sports to the community.