Two chess masters feature on CNN African Voices

Mentorship of youngsters through the game of chess will be on the front burner this week on African Voices Changemakers, a CNN programme sponsored by telecommunications firm, Globacom.

Guests on the programme are Nigeria’s Tunde Onakoya, who was moved by his desire to uplift the youth of the slums where he grew up to found a chess club, as well as James Kang’aru Mwangi, a Kenyan, whose prodigious career in chess resulted in his induction into the prestigious ‘Forbes Africa 30 under 30 for 2021.’
 
‘Chess in Slums Africa,’ which was established by Onakoya, is an initiative geared towards empowering young ones in impoverished communities through chess. The club runs on the philosophy that every child has the capacity for greatness regardless of his or her background. It has trained over 200 children and secured enduring scholarships for 20 of them.

His Kenyan counterpart, Mwangi, 28, a graduate of the Technical University of Kenya (TUK) and CEO of Epitome School of Chess, is the first chess player ever on the African continent to receive the Forbes award. His chess skills were chiseled at TUK, which has also produced several top players through his university chess club.

African Voices Changemakers airs tomorrow at 9.30 a.m. on DSTV channel 401 and on Sunday at 4.30 a.m., 7.30 a.m., 12.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m.

Another repeat will be aired on Monday at 4.00 a.m., while a two-part, 15-minute rebroadcast will hold on Tuesday and Wednesday at 6.45 p.m.