Monica Obaga
A food themed football fresh from the mind of Kenyan illustrator, Monica Obaga.
Monica Obaga is a graphic designer and illustrator from Nairobi, Kenya, currently based in Washington, DC. Her work stems from a love of animation, particularly cartoon modern as well as folk styles seen in Kenya (and all over Africa) such as Kisii soapstone sculpture, Maasai beadwork, Kikuyu weaving, Swahili lesos and other media.
We’re deeply grateful that Monica has provided her skills to AK in order to create this delicious football.
• Locally sourced upcycled leather outer shell. • Locally sourced canvas backing. • Locally sourced upcycled twisted cotton stitching thread. • Butyle bladder • Size five ball – full size ball
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Alive and Kicking make handstitched, professional standard leather sports balls in Kenya, Zambia and Ghana with a difference! Sales from these balls support the running of social enterprises which help keep adults in employment, help children play, and raise health awareness through sport across Africa.
Alive and Kicking run three social enterprises in Kenya, Zambia and Ghana. Local ball sales cover running costs and revenues are reinvested in ball donations and health awareness work. They have 150+ employees in full-time, fairly paid jobs. Quality of life and standard of living depend on regular pay and our staff support an average of six dependants with their wage.
They've produced over 750,000 balls so far. They are all stitched and printed by hand in Africa with over 20% have been donated to good causes. Proceeds have been used to train 500+ coaches to deliver health educative sports drills to their community teams since 2012.
