00:02Checkmate in just three moves. The kids at this chess school are practising their endgame.
00:08For many of them, chess is now part of everyday life.
00:12Chess has impacted my life in such a way that I'm able to solve problems, be more strategic and critical
00:22thinking.
00:24And there are many just problem solving as well.
00:28Mary Annan lives in Kibera, one of Nairobi's many informal settlements.
00:33Plastic pollution is a huge problem. And the people who live here have to create their own opportunities.
00:40And that's where chess school comes in. Pieces made from recycled plastic.
00:45That was the idea of a local NGO to support the neighbourhood's chess schools.
00:52Chess came to us as an opportunity that we didn't realise at first how powerful a tool it is for
01:00the growth and learning of children at a very low cost.
01:06The organisation began making chess pieces and boards out of plastic pellets.
01:11Today, the small team produces more than 1,000 chess sets every month.
01:17If chess is stopped, where will these children be? It will bring a lot of crime issues, pregnancy among the
01:24girls and all that.
01:26So chess is something that we need to impress it because it has a positive impact in the society.
01:32For these kids, chess is more than a game. It's a lifeline.
01:38In my school, we have three or four children who are learning because of chess.
01:42They did well and somebody looked at them and said, no, I'm impressed with this child.
01:46I can pay school fees for this child to stay in school.
01:49So chess is the one that is making this child to be in school.
01:52A board game made from waste that is broadening the horizons of Kibera's children.
02:06And it may seem, though, one that comes out there and nine is .
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