Carol Joseph had never been on an airplane, nor out of Kenya, until Tuesday.
Early in the morning in Nairobi she, Chumbana Likiza and Hanan Ali boarded a flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and from there on to Toronto. In all, it took about 17 hours.
“That was an experience,” Joseph said on Wednesday after a good night’s sleep. “It was fast and a little scary. When I got to Toronto I was so tired all I wanted to do was rest.”
From left, Hanan Ali, Carol Joseph and Chumbana Likiza are members of the Kenya Ice Lionesses women’s hockey program and guest at a training camp run by Black Girl Hockey Club in Toronto.
All three are members of the Kenya Ice Lionesses women’s hockey program. They are in Toronto as guests of the Black Girl Hockey Club, and will take part in a development camp from Friday through Sunday with 180 other young women and children of colour.
It will be the first time the Kenyans have ever practised with women from outside their own country and under the tutelage of pro coaches.
Saroya Tinker, who in 2022 launched the Canadian chapter of the Black Girl Hockey Club, invited the Lionesses, with the club paying all of their expenses.
Tinker spoke to Joseph a year ago, at which point Joseph expressed interest in coming to one of the Black Girl Hockey Club camps one day.
That prompted the invitation to her and her teammates.
“They have never been in spaces where they could play with other Black girls,” Tinker said. “Compared to where they come from, opportunities abound in Canada. I love that this provides the environment where they can be around women and girls who enjoy the same things they do.
“They were invited to the camp for fun and networking and there is no pressure. It’s really cute to see how the girls interact.”
Tinker is a former defender who played for the Toronto Six of the Professional Women’s Hockey Federation. She retired near the end of 2023 and has worked for the Professional Women’s Hockey League specializing in issues that include diversity, equity, inclusion and community engagement. She is also a panelist on CBC broadcasts of PWHL games.
“The girls look up to us and say they are inspired by us but when they are here they learn we are just people,” Tinker said. She is a Yale graduate and was appointed to Forbes’s 30 under 30 list.
Hockey was brought to Kenya in 2006 by Canadian expats who donated equipment. There is only one ice rink in Kenya – actually it’s the only one in East and Central Africa.
It is one-third the size of an NHL rink and has become busy with prospective players. The nearest hockey stop to them is in Europe an eight-hour flight away.
Dan Carter takes a selfie with Hanan Ali, Chumbana Likiza and Carol Joseph. Carter has known the three Kenyan hockey players for half a decade, welcoming them to Canada with home cooked meals, equipment and support.
The three Lionesses play against men’s teams. Their coach, Tim Colby, said the hope is to create a senior club team from which a national team can be selected.
He said it is hoped that Taylor, Likiza and Ali will learn new hockey skills and leadership skills in Toronto so that they can become future coaches.
Likiza, Colby says, “is the nicest, sweetest woman in the world but when [she] gets on the ice she becomes Esa Tikkanen.” He says that some of the younger girls weigh less than a hockey bag.
The three Lionesses visited the Ford Performance Centre on Wednesday where PWHL star Sarah Nurse was doing power skating drills. They got to meet her afterward.
Chumbana Likiza and Carol Joseph chat with Hanan Ali during a break from training. They have plans to shop for souvenirs and see a Blue Jays game while they’re in Toronto.
“It was amazing to see someone you are familiar with on social media and TV,” Taylor said. “It was very exciting. It gives us great motivation.”
The girls planned to go shop for souvenirs later on Wednesday and attended a Blue Jays game at Rogers Centre that night.
Taylor recounted how she told Tinker that she would love to come to a Black Girl Hockey Club camp.
“I was invited this year and at first said I couldn’t come because I needed time to save money for the trip,” she said. “I was worried about finances but then they offered to pay for each of us.
“This is a dream come true,” she said.