Kenyan expatriates during a cultural event in Qatar
They come from a land widely known around the world for its distance runners and safaris. Kenyan expats in Qatar are coming from all corners of their county such as Nairobi, Garissa, Mobasa, and many more. The vibrant and active community has around 27,000 Kenyans living in Qatar. They are employed in different sectors including media, security, engineering, hospitality and energy.
“We are a very active expatriate community in Qatar. We host several activities and get involved in events as tool to pull all Kenyans together as a community. Social media is one of the main channels we use for networking and communicating,” said John Ngurugwe, a Kenyan community leader in Qatar.
“The Kenyan embassy in Qatar offers immense support to the community in taking care of welfare and supporting activities. We try to keep the community engaged through cultural diplomacy. We organise cultural, sport and community events frequently. These events bring the community together,” he said.
FC Kenya during a match
The FC Kenya, a Kenyan Football Team in Qatar, engages with many voluntary efforts besides being active in sport activities. It was formed as a small team in 2012 and has expanded in the past years into a well-recognised community base.
It has been an active team playing for the Qatar Community Football League organised by Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy. FC Kenya has facilitated the Kenyan community members in Qatar to take part in many training programmes and workshops organised by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy.
“The football matches are one of the most popular events which bring Kenyans together,” said Ngurugwe.
Team members of FC Kenya
Besides sport and cultural activities, the social welfare of Kenyan expatriates is also taken into consideration by the community leaders. Corniche Diaspora Sacco Kenya in Qatar is a savings and credit cooperative society for Kenyans living and working in Qatar. The membership to the society is voluntary and open to all Kenyans living in Qatar.
The founders of Corniche Diaspora Sacco Kenya in Qatar are Kenyan professionals based here in Qatar working in different organizations who came together with the sole purpose of pooling together and sharing resources.
“We aim at supporting and empowering the Kenyans in Qatar,” said Ngurugwe.
Corniche Diaspora Sacco Kenya in Qatar aims at efficiently promoting savings, credit and investment programmes by offering high quality and diversified financial products and services to members.
“Corniche Diaspora Sacco Kenya in Qatar promotes the financial interests of the members by uplifting their standards of living through mobilization of deposits, savings and granting loans,” said Ngurugwe.
