Serena in action

November 16, 2008 – US Open and Australian Open tennis champion  Serena Williams headed to Africa this week and visited Kenya for the first time.

Sunday Nation followed her visit and noted that activity came to a stop in the sleepy village of Matooni as the world number two ranked tennis player opened a secondary school named after her in the area on Friday. The Serena Williams Secondary School,  south-east of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, was built in record one month, and is fully equipped with a computer laboratory and Internet facilities for the students. Wonder how long it will take for these kids to discover MySpace and Facebook?

Serena, the younger of the two Williams sisters famous for their tennis prowess, is on an African tour as the global ambassador for Hewlett Packard HP, who have teamed up with Build African Schools Foundation to put up learning institutions equipped with the latest technology.

For the better part of this week, Serena has been on a similar trip in Johannesburg, South Africa, working with the Starfishgreatheart Charity for orphans infected with HIV. On her website she wrote:

“This charity helps give aid, care, and housing to kids with AIDS. These kids are mostly born with AIDS and they don’t have the care that they need or can live with. The kids I met today were orphans. It was so sad to see them in this situation. They had so much hope and love in their eyes, yet a tinge of sadness behind their pupils bringing me to tears. …”

Her foundation, which concentrates mainly on education projects for the poor, has set up another school in Senegal.

Nice to see athletes giving back. Keep up the great work girl!!