Open Air Community Gym By Rahab Gakuru, RickJohn Ngugi, & Beth Wangari

Team Tina exercising on the field. 

In Nairobi, land left unattended for too long attracts a lot of activities. A community ground in Tena estate, Nairobi is home to different activities as the government waits for a court ruling over the ownership of the land.  For Team Tina, the field gives them an opportunity to work out outdoors which lifts their spirits.  Christine Nzuki, a certified trainer for Team Tina, trains about 100 people in the Tena community field.

Christine started the Team Tina open gym in 2016, to help people in their fitness journey. “In 2012, I discovered the grounds and started going there to run. In 2013, I joined Team Paul, an open gym. I broke my collarbone in an accident, when I recovered I started running and exercising on my own, then members started coming one by one and that's how I started my team.” Christine says.

To join her gym, you have to have the doctor’s go-ahead, to ensure you don't have any health issues. For pregnant women, there are exercises she won’t allow you to participate in. Christine says she doesn’t train people to be skinny or muscular. “Working out can save a life and even help a barren woman conceive. So if you are joining my group to be skinny, go back home and rethink your goal. As a fit person, you can achieve all other goals.”

The first class starts from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., then the second one from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. 5 days a week. However, the second class sometimes extends to 9:00 a.m. because members come late, especially the parents who take their kids to school.  Christine charges Kshs 1000 per month. 

“I never thought of taking the classes to a building because it would force me to charge more to pay rent. Most of my members are hardly making ends meet. Actually, most of them don’t pay me. I don’t ask them for the money because they will leave and I will not be able to help them. I also prefer outdoor settings where there is plenty of space for running activities, especially now with the COVID-19 pandemic.” Christine says. “Watching other people in the field engaged tirelessly in their activities acts as a morale booster. On the other hand, when it rains, we wish we were in a building. Sometimes we also get hit by balls from those playing football, but there is nothing we can do about it because they have a right to be here as well.”

According to Christine the most frightening aspect of the field is the court battle over the field. “The private developer had already enacted a wall, but it was brought down. Every time we see people carrying wood on the field we fear they are trying to build illegally. In the future, kids will need this field to play as more land goes into developing homes and businesses. It's the best gift the government can offer us legally, so I can work out without worrying. Our Member of Parliament promised to build washrooms, a volleyball, & football pitch, and a community gym once the issue is sorted. At the moment I hope my team grows to own elaborate equipment found in the gym as we wait.”

The area Members of County Assembly (MCA), Honorable Joseph Ndonji laments over losing an opportunity to construct a sporting complex on the field funded by The National Olympic Committee. “The community field has been embroiled in a court case with a private developer putting on hold all plans to build a modern sporting facility. The Kenya Power Company had laid poles to light the field, but they were vandalized and pulled out. The National Olympic Committee has also taken their sporting complex project to a neighboring sub-county, Ruai, Nairobi.” He says.

Ndonji adds that the field is used by the private schools around the area as a playground. “Business is also thriving in the field as we wait for the ruling.  We have about 6 car washes run by young people on the field. A section of the field is being used as a dumping site where garbage from the locality is collected, sorted, and eventually transported to the main dumping site in Dandora, Nairobi. The administration police have also built a block to aid in security in Tena and Umoja estate.” 

The dumpsite on the field.   

Harrison Mwangangi an independent jogger trains 3 days a week depending on his work schedule. “I joined the field workout so that I can copy some of the trainers' workout routines because I have no idea what is good for my body. In case I need to build my upper strength, what should I do? I borrow their routine and use it in the house,” he says.

Harrison wanted to join the open gym, but they were hardly on time. “The open gym trainers are also easy going, which may be good in case you can not afford the gym, but bad because the members lack consistency so most don’t put in much work into their workout. Once I had a trainer, but we didn’t have quality equipment for use, so I opted to train myself. I workout for fitness sake while fitness keeps me healthy.”

Jishin Karate Club trains from 5:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. on Sundays and Saturdays. Stephen Gachogu, the chairman of the club, says they started 10 years ago (Jishin is a Japanese word meaning self-confidence). Currently, they train about 35 people. “We train young people to keep them busy. Since we consider this a community project, we don't charge them, so the field comes in handy because it's free. The young people who we train come from different backgrounds, most can't afford to pay for the training so if we charge them they will end up leaving us. They can use the training they get here to make an income if they are good enough to join the national team. But generally, this training can double up as a fitness regime.” He says.

Jishin Karate Club during a practice session. 

The community club recruits residents of Umoja, Tena, Kayole, and as far as Kariobangi. George says that their trainer is a Dan level (4th Degree Black Belt). “There are 10 levels and he is now looking forward to grading for the 5th Dan. “I’m also qualified with a Diploma in Education, so I understand how to train. I have a brown belt and next year I'm looking to grading for Dan level. Kenya has associations that conduct grading like the Japan Karate Association(JKA) and  Kenya Karate Federation(KKF).” He adds.

In the dusty field, the club is confined to a small concrete platform that is slowly chipping off due to weather degradation. “However, the training platform is less of a concern compared to getting more people to enroll for the training. We do roadshows in surrounding estates to get new recruits. There are many people wondering, ‘if I want to do Karate, where can I begin?’ The open field also helps attract passersby who see the training and ask if they can join.” George says.

According to George, their biggest achievement was having Rachael Munanie train with them for some months. “Currently, she is in Paris, France participating in World Olympic Qualifiers. Our trainees are encouraged so much by that news because they know her.  With hard work and discipline, they can go far”.

In the future, George hopes that the Nairobi County Government gets to construct a social hall in the field for them so that they can accommodate more trainees. They also, hope that with more students they will be able to compete nationally and even win medals for the country on the global stage.