Meet the Team
Our team is comprised of individuals driven by passion and dedicated to the mission of transforming lives. Each member of our team has a professional career different from sports, and they contribute their unique skills and strengths to their role in the organization. At the very core of their service to the academy, there exists an innate concern for other people’s welfare thereby harnessing the power of sport to engage, inform and inspire.
Tunza team members embrace their differences and find strength in their connectedness. They express optimism and gratitude through their words, thoughts and actions. They nurture physical, emotional and spiritual health to be role models and led by example.
“Make sure that team members are working with you, not for you.” – John Wooden
Rael Nyte
Founder & CEO
Our founder has an intense desire to help people and she found a way to merge that compassion with her passion for sport. She is the face of Tunza in the USA and administrator for donations. She is an active field hockey player at Big Apple Club in the NEFHA league in NY, and an active recreational boxer as Aces Boxing Club in NJ. She supports – and has grown under – Junior Premier Hockey, PA as a Technical Official. She is on the path to build a career as a field hockey Technical Official with PanAm Hockey Association user USA Field Hockey. Rael is a member of the USA Masters Women Team. Rael ‘Nyte’ Otieno is a self-driven Philanthropist who believes that it is more beneficial to provide tools for development and survival, to avoid over-dependency and encourage self-reliance;
Professional Career: Diplomacy (UNITED NATIONS)
M.A in Diplomacy & M.A in Public Admin – SHU, NJ
B.A. in Political Science – CSE, NJ
Diploma in Electrical/Telco Eng. – Nairobi Polytechnic University
QUOTE: “To give aid to every poor man is far beyond the reach and power of every man. Care of the poor is incumbent on society as a whole” – Baruch Spinoza
Elmada Calvin
Project Coordinator & Operations Manager
Elmada leads by example. He works tirelessly to ensure all projects are running and infrastructures are in place. He brings with him Interior Design and Architectural expertise. Our facility and field projects are classically completed with minimal resources because of his intellectual capacity in the field and the relationships he has created within the community. When community members see him, they rejoice, because they know there is availability of work- and with it, dinner on the table. He is also a father figure to orphans in our program.
Professional Career: Interior Designer
Bachelor of Arts in interior design from the University of Nairobi.
QUOTE: “Do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, the best way it can be done, and do it that way every time.” – Bob Knight
Denis Owoka
Coaching Director
Denis plays a pivotal role at Tunza. He is involved in all aspects of the program from coordinating resources to managing people. His people skills is a big boost to our mission because we serve people. Denis was well travelled in his heydays as a field hockey player, turning up for the top club in the country at the time and for the men’s national team. Denis was also the head coach of the top hockey club in the country winning the 2018 KHU league, as well as the U19 men’s hockey team. In 2019, he was named coach of the year by a renowned sports media group – Hockey KE. He mentors and trains Tunza’s young coaches and since we are a multisport program, Denis has willed himself to go beyond his field hockey coaching career to learn about other sports. He may carry around with him the habitual military discipline, but Denis believes in being Free, Fair, Friendly but Firm!
Professional Career: Military (Kenya Defence Forces)
Coaching philosophy: “I have learned over the years how to hold a team together. How to lift some men up, how to calm others down, until finally they’ve got one heartbeat, together, a team.” – Bear Bryant
Paul ‘Lee’ Ainea
Trainer & Nutritionist
Paul Walks the Walk of his Talks. A self-made fitness Guru, he cautions against in over-reliance on medication, doctors or frequenting hospitals. He believes the body can heal itself with exercise and movement. His mantra is -‘Stay Active.’ He constructs individual-based workout plans as he believes not every exercise is for everyone. Paul brings to Tunza a wealth of knowledge on fitness and nutrition. A much needed support since we operate in areas where malnutrition is prevalent. With minimal access to proper food he is still able to formulate a well-balanced diet routine for our athletes. Paul is also an asset to our awareness campaigns using his knowledge of advertising, photography and media production. He is our “Jack of All Trades”!
Professional Career: Fitness Trainer and Sports Science Expert
Diploma in Mass Communication and Journalism from Nairobi Aviation College.
Diploma in Tour Guiding $ Administration from RCTFL College.
Coaching philosophy: “It is not what the coach knows; it is what his players have learned.” Anonymous
Antony Wamalwa
Locality Manager & COACH
Tony has for years hungered to grow the game by bringing it to kids and youth. So it is to no surprise that he is one of the pioneer coaches at Tunza. Tony is a founding member of Coast Sports Council and has also created a healthy network for Tunza with other sport associations in that region. His finesse work with our program in the coast of Kenya motivates us to open more chapters in other regions.
Professional Career: IT specialist
Diploma in Information Technology with a minor in Computer Science from Technical University of Mombasa (TUM)
Coaching philosophy: “Good coaching may be defined as the development of character, personality and habits of players, plus teaching of fundamentals and team play.” – Claire Bee.
Yvette Kanyandong
Field Hockey Coach
Yvette has been responsible for an uninterrupted field hockey training schedule at the Ratta location in Kisumu County. Without her dedication, the kids would not be so advanced in skill level beyond their age. As a young enthusiastic coach, Yvette has impressively developed stellar coaching concepts. She is a key player in her Hockey Club -Chase Amira which participates in the premier national league.
Professional Career: Student
B.Sc. Pharmaceutical Science @Maseno University and a Minor in Pharmacy @ Kisumu Polytechnic.
Coaching philosophy: “Don’t ever ask a player to do something he doesn’t have the ability to do. He’ll just question your ability as a coach, not his as an athlete.” – Lou Holtze
Judy Owino
Field Hockey Coach
In 2018, Judy made the ultimate sacrifice by relocating from the capital city of Nairobi, that she had known all her life, to the smaller city at our base headquarters. She has become a vital part of our team that responds to issues facing children. A mother of two, she is in a position to observe behavioral issues that signal a problem. An active player herself, she takes charge in developing a training program suitable for all age groups. Judy is a member of the Sliders Hockey Club, one of the oldest and formidable clubs in the country.
Professional Career: Sales and Marketing.
Diploma in Business Administration from East Africa Institute of Information Studies
Coaching philosophy: “There may be people that have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.” – Derek Jeter
Berlyne Kwamboka
Administrator
Our administrator keeps the Tunza engine oiled. Berlyn is quick to act and a pragmatic admin who gets the job done. She balances heads in the board room because of her neutrality to all sport by ensuring that equal attention is given in developing all the programs in the Academy. Her cheerful personality, integrity and approachability has gained us access through doors that otherwise do not pay attention to unknown nonprofits. Berlyne is a high achiever and combined with her personal character contributes to the overall outlook and high regard for Tunza – that no office has ever turned us away. A mother to teenagers herself, she is a great asset as a mother figure and mentor to families that she meets under our visitation program.
Professional Career: Business
Diploma in Travel Operations – Sales & Marketing
QUOTE: “You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” – Kahlil Gibran
United In Sports