KLABU | Kalobeyei Spirit

KAlobeyei Spirit

Our first sports club opened in the Kalobeyei Settlement in Kenya in 2019, home to over 40,000 refugees. It now serves over 11,000 active members from 10 countries. The club is led by the local refugee community, creating 10 paid jobs.

In the Kalobeyei Settlement in northern Kenya, almost 70% of the 40,000 refugees are 18 or younger. Sports initiatives were near non-existent before the introduction of KLABU.

Built in 2019 with local artisans and project partners the NGOs LWF and Roof For Humanity, we created the first ever clubhouse within the settlement. The name KLABU, which didn't exist when we began, was soon adopted by the local community, as people started to call the clubhouse their KLABU.

Not only did we build a clubhouse but we created a club. Inspired by the people who make Kalobeyei so special, the first KLABU home and away kit is called the ‘Kalobeyei Spirit’, celebrating the human spirit and potential of the refugee and host community in Kalobeyei.

This kit is now worn by teams such as Kedong FC, Queens FC and Kinati FC, individual members like Nancy, Emile, Lillian and also by people around the world, like yourself!

"KLABU is a place for everyone, young and old, men and women. When we wear our club shirt, we feel the Kalobeyei Spirit."

meet the club members

NANCY

Meet NANCY

meet the club members

Lilian

Meet Lilian

meet the club members

Emile

Meet Emile

The clubhouse itself has also turned into a social centre with the introduction of TV and Wifi allowing the Kalobeyei community to broadcast football matches, play games like FIFA on a gaming console and connect online with beloved ones in home countries.

Currently KLABU Kalobeyei is a sporting and social home to over 10,000 refugees from South Sudan, Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and many other countries. The equipment library, stocked with balls, boots, kits and more, continues to provide access to sports with help of partners and supporters including LWF, UNHCR and Nike.

Campaign photograhy

All campaign photography so far has been shot by Coco Olakunle who is a Dutch-Nigerian photographer from Amsterdam. She studied Human Geography and her intrinsic curiosity for people is clearly visible in her work.

With the first campaign for KLABU, shot in the Kalobeyei Refugee Settlement in Kenya, Coco wanted to challenge people’s mindset and attitude about what it means to be a young refugee and help to change perspectives about the African continent.

www.cocoolakunle.com