VEOLIA WATER STAFF RAISE £643 FOR KITAID

A BIG thank you to all the staff at Veolia Water Central who donated £1 as part of the company's Time to Give Friday scheme. A grand total of £321.50 was raised and then matched by Veolia Water with a cheque of £643 handed over to KitAid.

Thanks to all the staff who collected and donated and Veolia Water for match funding.

We're grateful.

ZIMBABWE CHILDREN WITH THEIR NEW KIT

Children at Musami Primary School,  80 kms from Harare pleased with their new kit

LEICESTER PEOPLE SHOP AND DROP

Many thanks to Highcross Shopping Centre, Leicester who've got behind the KitAid campaign as part of their World Cup celebrations.
Pictured are:
Gurvinder Rupra, Highcross's Marketing Manager with Leicester legends, Steve Claridge and Alan Birchinall and our very own Claire Whalley, KitAid Trustee Extraordinaire.

See media article

KITAID MAKES IT TO THE WORLD CUP

Julia Childs, one of our trustees makes it to the World Cup (Rustenberg Stadium) and we're pleased to have made it possible for Joseph to experience such a great event. Joseph from OrangeFarm has helped Julia over the years to deliver hundreds of football kits to children in the townships of South Africa.

NEWLY FORMED SOUTHEND SOCCER CLUB IN THE SUNSHINE

A fitting finish to a very successful week. Squadron Leader Neil Hope, from RAF's 'Taking Football to Africa and Beyond' with players from Southend Soccer Club.  Players come from nearby Kibera and train at the Prison grounds.

On behalf of KitAid, thanks Neil for organising such a fantastic trip.

CARDIFF CITY IN NAIROBI

Loresho Football Club were the second delivery of the day. The team are newly established and are building three adult teams to play in the local leagues. The players all come from Kangemi slum and train at the Nairobi Police camp.

Looking good in their Cardiff City kit.

CHILDREN IN AFRICA'S LARGEST SLUM RECEIVE FOOTBALL KIT

Day 4 - and in the team go to Kibera, Africa's largest slum where nearly a million people live in an area less than three square miles.  Joined by the BBC, the team went to Stara School in the heart of the slum.

Although some of the area now has limited electricity and piped water, there is no sewerage system.  After visiting the children in their corrugated metal classrooms, kits were handed out to the 500 children (371 of whom are orphans and one in 10 children who were HIV+).

Thanks also to eight year old Thomas Charley to handed out pencils and crayons to the children at the school and to his Dad, Warrant Officer Wayne Charley for his driving skills, knowledge of Nairobi and energy in getting us to some very difficult places to reach.

CHILDREN IN NORTH MATHARE WEAR KIT FROM HITCHIN

On the third day of the joint charities mission, the team battled across mud and potholes to reach Mogra Star Academy, North Mathare.  The school has 964 children who all come from a neighbouring slum area called 'Jangwani' or desert (population of 6,000).

Founded in 1999 by Hannah Warimu, the school provides free education and food for the children.  After handing over the kit, the team visited the slum and saw the homes and living conditions of Jangwani.

Particularly inspiring was Monica Makumo who having been abandoned at the age of 4 years was taken into the school from the streets in 2003. Monica is now the Children’s President at the Kenyan Parliament and is determined to become a Human Rights Lawyer.

Photo shows children wearing kit donated by Hitchin Town FC, a long time supporter of KitAid and Mary Exton School, Hitchin.

Greatly needed school equipment including pens, pencils, books, sewing equipment and materials were donated by Chessbrook Education Support Centre in West Watford.

MEETING CHILDREN & STAFF AT SAIDA CHILDREN'S HOME

Football team (KitAid, RAF's Taking Football to Africa and beyond and the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation) spent the day at SAIDA Children's Home, Gil Gil, about one and a half hours north of Nairobi, donating football kit and cuddly toys from Ipswich Town FC.

The home is run by Jane Kinuthia and opened in April 2004. It houses 52 children, most of whom are abandoned or abused children. Saida means ‘help’ in Swahili.  There's a small nursery at the home and its also houses primary and secondary children. The home also runs two outreach programmes in Gilgil including a feeding programme for 76 children and a 'Granny Club' which relies on older ladies providing shelter and support for young children. The project looks after around 300 children and is self sufficient relying on charitable donations.

CHARITIES JOIN FORCES TO BRING A TOUCH OF FOOTBALL TO KENYA

Representatives of KitAid (Derrick Williams & Sally Howe) joined RAF Shawbury based 'Taking Football to Africa and Beyond' (Squadron Leader Neil Hope and Senior Aircraftsmen Ben Burton), Mark Robson of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and Dave Queen from Thomas Adams School in Wem to make football shirt deliveries in  Kenya.

The first delivery was at the Kibagare Good News Centre in Nairobi, which sits in a slum township with no running water, sewerage or electricity. The centre houses St Martins Nursery and Primary school and also a girls Secondary School. The centre is run by Sister Leah Wambui Kimani who works tirelessly to support children mainly from Kibagare slums. The children are taught and fed, twice a day, at the school at a cost of  500 Kenyan schillings per term, which is effectively £4 each.  The 500 primary and 185 secondary children also have access to medical help as the centre houses a small chemist dispensary and lab.

Many of the kits donated on the day were Newcastle shirts left by fans at St James Park in memory of Sir Bobby Robson.

"It was a fantastic sight to see so many children wearing the black and white stripes and enjoying their football," said Mark.

KITAID SUPPORTS FOOTBALL GAMBIA

We were pleased to hear that Ian's trip to Gambia was a great success. After running two football coaching sessions for youth and national league coaches, he also met all the members of the Gambian Football Association.

'Football Gambia' is set up as a charity in the Gambia now and Ian has five people co-ordinating everything in the Gambia. Ian was interviewed by West Coast Radio 2 and KitAid hit the airwaves across the country.