If there’s a sport which consumes the hearts of children and grown people alike, it has to be football. Almost every weekend, mobs of fans gather in pubs and each other’s homes to enjoy an airing of the entertaining game. As the talented sportsmen dodge and guide the ball through the legs of their opponents, their devoted supporters cheer and groan depending on how the game is going. For Lawrence Masira, this was his passion and way of life for the longest time.
On most evenings, Lawrence could be found on the dusty football pitch. He and his brother tended to their parents’ cattle for most of the day, but when the sun began to set and the grazing flocks calmed down, then it was time to head to the ongoing game. As he played, he envisioned his favorite footballer, Mesut Özil, how they would dive and dodge and score against the opposing team. In true fan fashion, on the back of his Arsenal jersey, Lawrence inscribed that player’s name and number with a permanent marker.
The days of that warm December drew on, the year ready to breathe a sigh of relief when sports journalist Eric Njiru spotted Lawrence and his brother herding the cattle as they usually would. Njiru had an eye for the fleeting moments that make a story, and so he quickly snapped a picture of the two diligent herders. Posting it to social media, he didn’t think the story behind this boy’s picture would ever get to the vast audiences it ended up reaching. In the casualness with which one posts a sweet story, Eric shared with the world the image of a young Lawrence, the picture of fan devotion and big dreams. And it went viral.
Lawrence’s simplicity touched Mesut Özil’s heart. And within no time, he, his brother and their group of friends had jerseys identical to that of their patron. He proudly donned that red shirt and continued with his days of cattle herding and football playing, re-energized by the recognition of his hero. But his devotion and boyish creativity had not ceased to bear fruit.
Due to his strengths and personality, Lawrence was chosen to be the Visa Players Escort Ambassador. As the face of the Escort Programme, he, along with a large group of other children, traveled attended the Africa Cup of Nations Tournament from 21st June to 19th July 2019 with the Kenyan team, accompanying them out onto the pitches he had only seen on TV screens. With the excitement of thousands of spectators surrounding him, Lawrence could hardly contain his bright-eyed smile and enthusiasm for the game. From the red-soil dusty pitch to the astro-turf of the international stadium, his love for the game had yielded its reward.
Lawrence Masira and the children of this country remind us of the passionate love we possess for the people we admire. With his permanent marker, he wrote a lesson on devotion and simplicity. We salute him for taking us back to the basics of childlike wonder.
