Vincent Harper: How English-Based Harambee Stars Defender is Quietly Saving Lives in Kenya

Harambee Stars defender Vincent Harper may be playing and living thousands of miles away in England but he has his feet very much on the ground in Kenya.

Harper, who plays for English League Two side Walsall, continues to give back to the community in a big way as he funds a facility that offers quality medical services in Kisumu county.

The left-back, who earned his maiden Harambee Stars call-up in 2023, supports the Ciala Hospital in Kisumu, a facility he helped build and offers treatment as well as free medical camps to community members.

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“It is because he loves Kenya. He talks really good about Kenya and not only football. He has been a professional footballer since he was 16 years old,” Vincent’s mother Marcelline Harper, who moved to the UK when the footballer was two years old, told Citizen TV.

Marcelline says the facility has been running on wheels well oiled by the 25-year-old who has made it a point of giving back to his community even though he does not live there.

“Those medications we use for medical camps or the treatment being done in the community and those who cannot afford to pay for medical services. That bill is paid by Vincent,” she added.

“He has an amount of money that he donates to the hospital to support the hospital run.”

Vincent started his football career aged four when he joined Ashton and then Bristol City where he was offered full scholarship to join the academy and stayed there until he turned 15.

At 16, young Vincent received his first contract offer and of the two made to him, he chose Bristol since he lived in the area.

He, however, struggled to break into the team at Bristol and was sent out on loan to Gloucester City, Weston-super-Mare and Bath City before switching to Chippenham Town where he played briefly and a two-year spell at Eastleigh then followed.

In 2023, Vincent moved to Exeter City where he played until the end of the 2024-25 season after which he joined Walsall in June this year.

The defender was first called to Harambee Stars by former coach Engin Firat for a friendly match against Russia in October 2023 but he was an unused substitute with his next call-up coming two years later in October this year ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Burundi and Ivory Coast.

Coach Benni McCarthy handed him his maiden appearance as he played 45 minutes in the 1-0 win over Burundi but he was back on the bench in the 3-0 defeat to the Ivorians.