Westmont College Women's Soccer Team Plans Humanitarian Aid Trip to Africa

The NCAA Division II athletes will spend 15 days in May serving communities in Uganda and Kenya.

Published on Feb. 12, 2026

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The Westmont College Women's Soccer team, led by Head Coach Lauren Dorr Mattias, is planning a humanitarian aid trip to Uganda and Kenya in May 2026. Nearly 20 student-athletes from across California, Idaho, and Illinois will participate in the 15-day trip, working alongside the Sports Outreach organization to support a women's shelter, lead soccer clinics, and engage in other community service projects.

Why it matters

The trip provides a unique opportunity for the student-athletes to expand their horizons, experience different cultures, and use their skills and resources to make a positive impact on communities in need. It also continues Westmont College's long-standing partnership with Sports Outreach, which has been organizing humanitarian trips for the school's athletes for over a decade.

The details

During their time in Africa, the Westmont Women's Soccer team will visit and work within the communities in Kampala and Gulu, Uganda, as well as Nairobi, Kenya. They will participate in soccer clinics, Bible studies, manual labor projects, home visits, and spend time with young women staying at Christine's House, a shelter for victims of traumatic violence. The team members are each responsible for fundraising individual funds to cover the costs of the trip.

  • The team will travel to Africa in May 2026.
  • Westmont College's Women's Soccer team last visited Uganda in the summer of 2023.

The players

Lauren Dorr Mattias

Head Coach of the Westmont College Women's Soccer team and a Paloma Valley High School alumna.

Dan Ribbens

Westmont Women's Soccer assistant coach and a member of the Sports Outreach Board of Directors.

Sports Outreach

An organization that Westmont College has partnered with to organize humanitarian trips for its student-athletes for over a decade.

Christine's House

A shelter and home in Uganda for girls and women who are victims of traumatic violence, which the Westmont team will visit and support.

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What they’re saying

“It was 2013, and my first time out of the country. I'd never served on an outreach trip like that - as a student athlete. I experienced culture shock, it was life-changing, different, and such a cool thing to be able to experience with your friends and teammates and coaches, all of us, together.”

— Lauren Dorr Mattias, Head Coach, Westmont College Women's Soccer (Patch.com)

“When I was a student athlete, we helped Coach Dan lay the foundation of the house. We helped with the concrete, and I still remember the vision for the house, and talking about it. It was 2013 when we first visited what would become Christine's House.”

— Lauren Dorr Mattias, Head Coach, Westmont College Women's Soccer (Patch.com)

What’s next

The team is currently in the fundraising phase, with each athlete responsible for raising individual funds to cover the costs of the trip. The team's journey to Africa is scheduled for May 2026.

The takeaway

This humanitarian aid trip organized by the Westmont College Women's Soccer team exemplifies the power of sports to transcend borders and make a meaningful impact on communities in need. The student-athletes' dedication to serving others and expanding their worldview is an inspiring example of the positive influence that college athletics can have.