In November 2008, Serena Williams opened a secondary school in Kenya in her first visit to the country. While addressing the press back then, Serena said she would be doing more of this kind of work in the future. Well the future is here, and she has lived up to her promise. The tennis champ opened another secondary school in Makueni District, Eastern Kenya.
The young and old who turned out for the opening of the school had permanent smiles curved on their faces for they could not hold back their joy of the gift from Serena to a remote area where education is almost a luxury. Serena Williams Wee Secondary School was developed with support from Serena, Hewlett Packard (HP), and Build African Schools, a non- governmental organization dedicated to building and equiping schools for African children. Serena now has two schools named after her in the same region.
After winning Australian Open Tennis Championships, Serena did not rest but set on a 3-day tour to Kenya, this time round to win the hearts of needy children and parents by helping develop a modern equipped school. She also trained with children in a tennis camp in the Kibera slums of Nairobi. Williams led an entourage including Satjiv Chahil, Hp’s Vice-President; Patrick O’Sullivan, founder of Build African Schools; area members of parliament; and other local & international dignitaries to a colorful event that attracted both local and international media.
O’Sullivan expressed gratitude to the tennis champion and Hewlett Packard for supporting the project. He also urged the students in new schools to excel in their education for a better future.
“Without education things in life are very difficult, and for me ,my dad [and] mum always stressed the point of getting [an] education. Hopefully I am bringing fresh hope into their worlds by opening this secondary school for the people in the community of Wee; honestly what an honor it is” said Serena in an interview. “I think my victory in the Australian Open was awesome but nothing compares to the victory I had here, today , with the opening of the school with HP. I think this is the real victory,” she added.