Rugby great Kayange turns to philanthropy

After officially hanging his professional jersey in 2016, former Kenya Sevens skipper Humphrey Kayange has turned to philanthropy.

Kayange, currently an Athletes' Representative at Olympics Kenya, invests in youths through programmes aimed at cultivating marketable job skills and career development plans.

Kayange, who serves as a Principal Research Analyst at the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), co-founded a youth mentorship organisation, Good Kenyan Foundation (GKF), based in Mbagathi, Nairobi County.

“GKF mentors, empowers and equips high school graduates, grouped into cohorts through a four-month program for a self-driven future,” he said.

Good Kenyan’s curriculum applies a mix of learning methods including classroom-style training, individualised mentorship and coaching, internship or entry-level job placement and community volunteerism.

The programme focuses on Information Communication and Technology (ICT), Personal Finance management and planning and Entrepreneurship as well as business development.

"Perhaps one of the most unique aspects of our model is our central pillar of mentorship," he said.

"We carefully vet and match each young person with a mentor aligned in their career interests to create a relationship for learning and personal development".

 In an interview with CNN, Kayange spoke about his 12 years playing professional rugby and his desire to change the lives of less privileged youths.

To him, the most notable highlight of his playing days was in 2009, when he played at the Rugby World Cup in Dubai, where they — for the first time — got into the semi-finals.

“It was a huge achievement for the team. We had worked very hard and it was rewarding to get that far,” he said.

Kayange also recounted how great it was for the Sevens team, Shujaa, to play at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“The campaign to get the team to the Olympics started in 2009 when the World Rugby manager called to ask if the team would be interested in talking about rugby and its impact on smaller nations,” Kayange said.

The decision to have Kenya participate at the Rio Olympics was made in 2011 to the team’s excitement.

But soon after the Rio Olympics, Kayange decided to retire from professional rugby and established GKF a year later.

“GKF allows us to engage with the youths. We teach them new skills and help them access opportunities to expand their horizons through sports,” he said during the interview.

Kayange also said he also works with Atlas, an organisation that supports projects across the world.

“In Kenya, they (Atlas) are working with Kings Rugby Development group. The programme addresses the needs of children around Kibera slums through support to play sports as well as schooling,” he said.

Kayange first played for Kenya Sevens in 2005, aged 23. On the field, he was nicknamed ‘Tall’ because of his height, 6ft 6in.

He has also invested significantly in coaching and mentoring up and coming rugby players and in 2012 President Mwai Kibaki honoured him with the Order of the Golden Warrior (OGW).

Kayange has over 10 years of experience in organic chemistry. 

In addition to serving at the Olympics Kenya Athletes' Commission, he is also a board member at the Kenya Academy of Sports.