A small purchase by Wisconsin women's ice hockey player Brittany Ammerman led to a big empowering moment for women in two small Kenyan villages.
Ammerman, a senior left wing for the Badgers, made a trip to Kenya in summer 2013. The purpose of her journey was to teach Kenyans, particularly women in rural villages, about healthcare issues such as disease, nutrition, maternal health and sexual health. The trip was also a field-study requirement for Ammerman's minor in global health.
While in Mombasa, Kenya, Ammerman bought a soccer ball because she thought it would help pass the time during down times during her monthlong stay in the rural village of Lunga Lunga. A year later, the activity to pass the time has turned into a women's soccer league in rural Kenya.
The 13 women who took part in the educational health-related sessions that were conducted through the nonprofit organization Health by Motorbike enjoyed playing the game so much that they asked Ammerman's professor, Araceli Alonso, if they could organize times and play regularly.
Because bringing the soccer ball along was Ammerman's idea, Alonso tasked her student with making the fledgling soccer "league" come alive. Ammerman, who was one of the 10 finalists for the 2014 Patty Kazmaier Award that goes to the national player of the year in ice hockey, raised more than $1,500 through a campaign to sell T-shirts with the Health by Motorbike logo on them.
With the money, Ammerman was able to outfit with soccer gear –including shoes, socks and jerseys – women's teams from the villages of Mpakani and Jirani. The first game of the Nikumbuke (which means "Remember me" in Swahili) Women's Soccer League took place in June.
Ammerman, who is majoring in gender and women's studies, was planning to attend in person with her mother, but terrorist attacks in cities where she would be traveling derailed those plans. Still, the women in Kenya played on.
It has been a rewarding experience for Ammerman, who has plans to become a doctor in the future.
Discovering her career dream helped Asia Foster make up for lost time. She's a standout on and off the court at Brooklyn College.