The slums of Kibera in Kenya are not for the faint of heart. Many of its one million inhabitants live on less than one dollar a day, navigate sewage running freely in the streets, and spend the nights of the rainy season trying to stay dry in the shanties that fail to provide even the most basic shelter. “I saw a hopeless generation,” says Veronica Osogo of her first time entering this world just three miles from Downtown Nairobi. Still, Veronica felt compelled to do something for the children here—she decided to regift the best present anyone had ever given her: tennis. From that day on, she carried rackets and balls into Kibera to teach its children to play tennis. “Sports are not money or food, which encourage dependency—they are lifelong skills that empower people to become independent leaders and thinkers.”

“My life has been about sports since I was in primary school,” Veronica says. “I have been privileged to play different sports, such as athletics, hockey, rugby and football.” In 1998, during her second year of university in India, she was introduced to lawn tennis by a friend. She had been completely unaware of it as a real sport and had no idea how to play, but she immediately fell in love with the game. Playing tennis taught her to be patient, to take risks, and to persevere in life. It fulfilled her. In 2000, Veronica graduated from Guru Nunak Dev University in India with a bachelor’s degree in economics, and, two years later, she started playing for Kenya’s National Tennis Team. Playing on the African tennis circuit, Veronica won a number of doubles titles and traveled all around East Africa.