WIM-Kenya set to unearth untapped racing girls
Women In Motorsport (WIM)-Kenya has announced elaborate plans geared towards empowering more women to have equal opportunities to compete at the highest level of the sport.
The unprecedented move is part of a five-year strategic plan envisaged to grow young budding talent at the grassroots level.
WIM-Kenya vice-chairperson Tuta Mionki while making the announcement noted that the noble initiative is a deliberate move aimed at creating an enabling environment for women racers, “more so the underprivileged ones in various parts of the country”.
“WIM-Kenya had identified a home in Nairobi and another in Narok for mentoring and we were in the process of getting to involve them in karting before the Covid-19 issues cropped up,” Tuta said yesterday.
The essence, she added, “is to help young girls realise their potential by venturing into various disciplines of motorsports hitherto perceived a “male-dominated world”.
Tuta also noted that their campaign seeks to demystify the notion that motorsport is only a preserve of the privileged.
“Motorsport has been perceived to be only for a certain group which is not the case. You can actually participate in the sport in many facets and still be part and parcel of the adrenaline, joy and growth of the sport. We also want to demystify the notions that motorsport is only for men,” Tuta who deputises Helen Shiri “Hedgal” at WIM-Kenya went on.
She believes that the project will not only unlock women’s fervor in the sport but also mentor the young-budding girl-child from sprawling slum areas across the country”.
“The girls will be handed the rare opportunity to taste the intensity and adrenaline which characterises the sport through go-karting.
It’s been a bit challenging for women in motorsport in the country. We have seen the numbers drastically going down due to funding,” she said.
