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The Impala star lost her parents at a young age and nearly slipped into irreverence had it not been for her dedication to the game
Kenya Lionesses captain Sheila Chajira has revealed how rugby saved her from slipping into irrelevance after losing her parents at a young age.
Chajira lost her father at eight before her mother passed away the following year, turning her life upside down, and had to rely on relatives to raise her and her siblings in Dagoretti Corner, having been forced to move from their home in Ngong, Kajiado County.
But thanks to rugby, Chajira can look forward to a brighter future as she has just been bestowed with the responsibility of leading Kenya at the Women’s Rugby Africa Cup Championship that starts this weekend in Antananarivo, Madagascar, which will serve as the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup Africa qualifiers.
Chajira has been handed the captain’s armband and is among three experienced players who returned to the coach Dennis Mwanja’s squad for from the team that won the 2022 Rugby Africa Women’s Pool B tournament in Kampala, Uganda. The others are Enid Ouma and Mercy Migongo.
For Chajira, playing in the national team is already a dream come true, leave alone being captain.
“It’s a long story for sure. I lost my father in 2002 and my mother died a year later when I was only nine,” Chajira told Nation on Tuesday.
“Life turned upside down for us...it was never, and has never been an easy journey for me. My siblings and I moved from one place to another in search of shelter...a lot of people took care of us.
“Doing the morning run was a ticket to train with the school team in the evening. On this day I was late and watched the training from the periphery.
“If not for rugby, only God knows where I could have been now. Slum life taught me to be ruthless. I never let anyone bully me. But the discipline in rugby tamed me...I now approach life calmly without anger.”
Chajira, who transitioned from football to rugby while in school, started out at Kenya Harlequin before switching to Homeboyz after which she joined Impala.
Her experience will be needed in plenty as Kenya seek to perform well in the continental event where they begin their campaign against Madagascar on Saturday. A tough test against South Africa is then scheduled for May 24 before they conclude their campaign with a match against Cameroon four days later.
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