This archive report was first published on 14 November 2019.
Kenyan international Johanna Omolo has made history by winning the prestigious Fifpro Merit Award for his community work in Dandora through his foundation. The award, which comes with a Sh2.5 million cash prize, is a testament to his dedication to uplifting the lives of the youth in the informal settlement.
Started in 2017, the Johanna Omolo Foundation has been supporting kids in Dandora, where the Belgium-based player grew up, through education scholarships, mentorship, and entrepreneurship programs. The foundation also provides sanitary pads to teenage girls and offers various initiatives to improve the livelihoods of the youth.
Omolo expressed his gratitude to FIFPRO for the award, stating, "I would like to thank FIFPRO for the award – it means a lot not only to me, but to the people of Dandora who will gain massively. Many kids’ lives are going to change courtesy of this and I can only be thankful."
Kenya Footballers Welfare Association (Kefwa) officials Jerry Santo and James Situma received the award on behalf of Omolo in Sydney, where they were attending FIFPRO’s Annual General Assembly.
Omolo is also a member of Common Goal, a charitable organization that draws willing professional footballers and coaches to donate 1 percent of their wages to non-governmental organizations working in football.
With this award, Omolo joins a list of notable winners, including Australian international Awer Mabil, who won the award last year for his philanthropy work with his Barefoot to Boots Foundation.
