The Dark Reality of Traditional Norms with Rael Lomoti

Rael Lomoti grew up in the Turkana region of northwest Kenya, where girls as young as 12 are given away in marriage, football is only for boys and education is considered a luxury that communities cannot afford. 

Her father moved the family to Nairobi so his children could go to school. Her mother died working in a flower plantation, exposed to pesticides with no worker safety protections. A German nun spotted Rael playing football in the street and took her whole family in.

She grew up, studied social work and community development, played in Kenya's Women's Premier League, and was offered a professional contract to play abroad. She turned it down. She went home to Turkana instead and started the first ever all girls football club.

That was six years ago. Today she runs 18 clubs across Turkana and has reached over 4000 girls through the Desert Roses project, using football as the entry point for conversations about education, early marriage, climate change and the kind of life that is possible beyond the world these girls were born into.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction & Who Is Rael Lomoti
00:41 - Using Football to Change Tradition in Turkana
01:24 - Girls Married at 12 and Why She Decided to Fight It
02:35 - Moving From Turkana to Nairobi at Age 4
04:48 - Her Father's Decision to Stay in the City & the Importance of Education
07:17 - Climate Change in Turkana & the Need to Stop Moving
07:49 - How a German Nun Changed Everything
10:08 - Losing Her Mother to Pesticide Exposure in a Flower Plantation
12:03 - Her Father's Promise to Keep the Family Together
13:13 - Playing Football With the Boys & Being Spotted
15:22 - What Sister Louise Told Her to Do With Her Education
17:35 - Playing in Kenya's Women's Premier League as a Defensive Midfielder
18:30 - Being Offered a Professional Contract 
21:21 - Choosing Her Community Over Her Career
22:36 - Was It an Easy Decision
23:08 - Going Back to Turkana and Starting From Scratch
25:26 - Walking Door to Door With a Ball and Nobody Showing Up
27:23 - Three Years of Civic Engagement to Convince Parents
29:14 - Did She Ever Think About Quitting
30:30 - 18 Clubs and 4000 Girls Reached Through Desert Roses
32:46 - Football Coach, Social Worker, Mentor and Sex Education Teacher
34:09 - Her Daughter Who Plays Football
37:01 - First Time in the Netherlands and Telling Her Daughter About Snow and Trains
39:14 - Watching Football at Feyenoord and What Women's Football Looks Like Here
40:24 - What the Netherlands Has That Turkana Does Not & Why People Should Be Grateful
41:34 - How to Follow Desert Roses and Support the Work

This episode was sponsored by bunq, the European neobank offering a special promotional 2.51% fixed annual interest rate on a six-month term deposit through June 14, 2026. Full terms and conditions apply, and the offer is valid for deposit amounts between 1,000 and 10,000 euros.

Follow Rael Lomoti:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008336344164

Follow Dam Yankee: 
https://www.instagram.com/damyankeepodcast  

Website: 
https://damyankeepodcast.nltimes.nl/

Connect with me:  
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharynewmark  

This podcast is produced and recorded by 301 Studios in Amsterdam.

The interview was organized with the assistance of Isabelle Vermeij  at the KIT Live theater at KIT in Amsterdam.