The African Higher Education in Emergencies Network (AHEEN) is excited to renew its partnership with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). This collaboration advances the AHEEN Athletics & Education Program, using Baseball5 to build resilience and opportunities for youth in Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement. Baseball5’s simplicity—needing just a glove, ball, and bases—makes it ideal for empowering vulnerable youth.
In its first year, the program enrolled 60 players, delivering over 240 training sessions, seven friendly tournaments, and one national event. Out of these participants, 23 (12 female, 11 male) emerged as high-performance players. Players have been committed to the training, which has led to consistent improvements in their batting, agility, and tactical understanding.
Approximately 20 academic tutoring sessions were part of the program, concentrating on language, sports, athletic development, and life skills. Of the 60 students, seven have advanced to Level 3 in English (with four levels in total), whereas the remaining 53 are currently engaged with Levels 1 and 2.
The team planted 36 neem trees at Kalobeyei Stadium, creating the “Baseball5 Forest” to promote environmental conservation and collaboration. This initiative aims to inspire future sports-led environmental actions, serving as a model for others. The successful tree-planting event demonstrates that sports can be more than just competition; it can be an agent for change that builds communities, supports the environment, and engages young people.
In the future, a tree care and monitoring programme is to be established to ensure the Baseball5 Forest’s survival and growth, making it sustainable. Initiatives such as these also contribute to the development of social, emotional, creative, and physical skills.
As we look forward, the programme will continue to focus on three core priorities:
- Strengthening sports and academic performance,
- Providing education opportunities,
- Expanding participation, including integration with host community members,
- Provide an effective way of sustainable peace and development.
Under the renewed agreement, the WBSC is financing the project with the support of Olympic Solidarity and will collaborate closely with AHEEN, Kenya Baseball Federation and Kenya Softball Federation, and the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K), to ensure the successful implementation of the programme, including the selection and training of participating coaches.
The activities within the programme foster social, emotional and physical well-being among displaced youth, aligning with AHEEN’s social-emotional learning (SEL) approach that supports learners at both secondary and tertiary levels of education. The integration of sport and education continues to empower youth and build stronger, more inclusive communities.
Original article: https://www.wbsc.org/en/news/baseball5-continues-to-inspire-change-in-kenya-as-wbsc-and-aheen-renew-partnership