Roses Will Rise
Who are the Turkana Desert Roses?
To get a sense of the people, places, and energy behind the book, watch this short video:
Roses Will Rise.
A book about football, courage, and change. In the vast, sun-baked plains of Turkana, in northern Kenya, life is shaped by livestock, kinship, and long-held traditions. It is a place of striking contrasts: harsh and beautiful, proud and deeply rooted. From this landscape comes Rael Lomoti, a young woman who loves her culture, yet dares to question the boundaries it places on girls.
Roses Will Rise brings Rael’s journey and the voices of the Desert Roses to life through photography and storytelling. The book offers an intimate look at daily life, resilience, and the quiet courage of girls who choose to play, learn, and lead.The book also supports wider access to education by helping place copies in local schools, ensuring that the story returns to the community where it began.
While studying Social Work in Nairobi, Rael played football at a competitive level and was even offered the opportunity to pursue a professional career abroad. Instead, she chose to return home to Turkana, determined to create space for other girls to dream, learn, and lead.
To get a copy of the book 🛒 click here to enter shop
This is the international edition. A locally priced Kenya edition will launch separately in a few months.
The story.
In 2018, Rael founded Desert Roses, Turkana’s first girls’ football team. In a region where many girls are married off at a young age, often in exchange for cattle, the team became a powerful statement. What began as a single group of players has grown into a movement reaching hundreds of girls across schools and villages. Through football, girls gain confidence, teamwork skills, and leadership. Off the pitch, they access education, life skills, health awareness, and the belief that they can shape their own futures.
For Rael, football is a way to honor her community while opening new paths within it, showing that tradition and change can exist side by side. By ordering Roses Will Rise, you support grassroots, community-led change in Turkana and help amplify a story of girls redefining what is possible.
Book Launch Roses Will Rise
Amsterdam, 14 February 2026, 3:00PM-5:00PM
This Valentine’s Day: give a Desert Rose – a story of football, resistance and hope
On Saturday 14 February 2026, Amsterdam hosts the official launch of Roses Will Rise, the true story of Rael Lomoti, founder of the first girls’ football team in Turkana, northern Kenya: Desert Roses. The book launch takes place in the theatre of the KIT Royal Tropical Institute.
Roses Will Rise tells the inspiring life story of Rael Lomoti, a young woman from Turkana. While studying in Nairobi, she began playing football and rose to the highest level, even receiving an opportunity to play professionally abroad. Instead of pursuing that dream, Rael chose to return to her home region, where girls playing football is still widely taboo. There, she founded the very first girls’ football team in Turkana: the Desert Roses. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to advance girls’ rights and climate justice within her community.
The book is written by Marc Broere and Nicera Kimani, and is richly illustrated with photography by Moses Mbotela from everyday life in Turkana.
The afternoon opens with an informal reception at the KIT Café, featuring Afrobeat and acoustic Kenyan music. Kenyan food will be served especially for this occasion. Visitors will have the opportunity to purchase the book and have it signed by Rael Lomoti.
During the official programme, following a short film about the Desert Roses, the first copy of Roses Will Rise will be presented to Marieke Visser, founder and director of Hera United – the first football club in the Netherlands made up entirely of women.
In a personal on-stage conversation, Rael Lomoti and Marieke Visser will reflect on:
- why they each decided to found a women’s football club, and the convictions and experiences behind those decisions;
- what changes concretely for young players when they gain structural access to sport;
- which obstacles prove to be universal, from Amsterdam to northern Kenya;
- and how local initiatives and international stories can strengthen one another.
A special moment is dedicated to the Kenyan diaspora, including a short contribution from the community and a thank-you address by Rael. The afternoon concludes with continued book signings and informal encounters.
Event details
Date: Saturday 14 February 2026
Time: 3:00 – 5:00 PM
Location: KIT Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam (Linnaeusstraat 2 1092 CK Amsterdam)
Admission: free