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Bennett, along with his brothers Mark, 22, and Keith, 23, started reaching out to family and friends on social media for equipment donations. They managed to collect 15 pairs of gloves, five pairs of skates, five pairs of shin pads, two sets of elbow pads, 12 sticks and five helmets.

The brothers then recently delivered all the gear to the team personally. They managed to fit it all into their checked baggage, and Alaskan Airlines even waived the oversize-baggage fee after learning what the equipment was for.

“It seemed like with every piece of equipment we took out of the bag, they would be more and more excited because they were in such need of everything we brought,” said Bennett.

“Most of the young kids didn’t have proper gloves so it was really exciting for them to be able to take off their mittens and wear proper gloves for the first time.”

Azegere, speaking from his Kenyan home, said he hopes that the new equipment will encourage more people to join the Kenyan team, which now has about 30 members.

He discovered the ice rink four years ago and started playing hockey soon after. “I fell in love with hockey because it is so different than any other sport I’ve played and I really enjoy skating.”

“We are slowly making more progress getting people to pick up a stick and play hockey,” he added. “Many people come to skate but they are scared to play hockey because they think it is too rough or that they’ll make fools of themselves.”

Azegere remains optimistic about the future of the sport in Kenya. His dream is to one day have a Kenyan team qualify for the Winter Olympics.

“I know the chances of them winning are quite low, but once they get there, they might just prove the world wrong.”