Thirime Stadium in Kikuyu played host to Kikuyu Ward Positive Masculinities Tournament on 26th March 2017. The lively tournament that had fans chanting “Tuwache Ngori” which means “let’s stop causing trouble” resonated with the tournament theme of combating Gender Based Violence by embracing positive masculinities. This was under the DKA Austria funded project “Working with young men to combat Gender Based Violence”. The tournament was organized by young men from Kikuyu Ward who were trained on gender based violence prevention and response from 31st January to 3rd February 2017. The trainees took advantage of soccer which provides a wide constituency of young men to spread the message that the youth hold the key in redefining masculinities leading to healthier men, women and communities.
From the initial 20 participating teams, four of them proceeded to the semi- finals on the 26th. All the eight teams that qualified for the quarter finals were awarded balls, while the two that emerged winners in the semi- finals were awarded a set of uniforms in addition to the balls. CEEC and the team officials used the tournament to sensitize the players and their fans on the need to embrace positive masculinities to combat gender based violence. The young men were encouraged to speak against gender based violence, maintain peaceful relations and be agents of change in the society. They committed to stop using their masculinity destructively and instead vowed to use it in ways that are beneficial to them and the society at large.