FOLKESTONE RFC

UPDATE

You can keep up with Kelly’s adventures in Africa by clicking here to go to her website.

Village Africa

Most of you may know me as The President of Folkestone RFC, but I write on this occasion as a father supporting my daughter Kelly who has given up her job as a primary teacher in the UK, to go and work for a Charity (Village Africa).  The charity is based in a village called Yamba high in the West Usambara Mountains in the Tanga region of Tanzania in Africa.  The aim of the charity is to alleviate the abject poverty. Locally it is known by the Kisambaa name ‘Vyaadahikana’ meaning ‘It is possible’. 

Village Africa together with reactivating the old Roman Catholic registered Health Post, sponsors doctors salaries and also currently assists two government primary schools. It is running a volunteer teaching programme to assist with the teaching of English and providing teaching resources and hopefully school renovations. This is where Kelly will be working, teaching classes of 40-50 mixed age children at Yamba, and as many as 100 students to a class at Milangano.

A lot of you may have seen the heart rending pictures on the TVAM breakfast show very recently of the sights of the children in a village where volunteer work was being done where invalid kids crawled for hours to the village where wheelchairs had been so kindly donated.

The area and villages my daughter will be teaching in are bereft of facilities.  Most villagers have no cash income. 

Despite the cold climate for several months of the year, many adults and children have insufficient clothing,

no shoes,

no sweaters,

no blankets,

no beds

and no toilets. 

Some do not eat everyday due to a recent crop failure caused by drought. 

Water is not piped or treated. 

There is no electricity. 

The nearest bus is five hours walk away. 

Yet the villagers are friendly hospitable and generous. 

It’s been an ambition and dream of Kelly’s for as long as I can remember to work for a charity abroad.  She has saved a considerable amount of money to pay for her trip and keep whilst she is there. Her work whilst in Africa is unpaid.  If you want more information you can visit the web-site at www.villageafrica.org.uk

I ask you to consider supporting the project not for my daughter but for Village Africa.  She has been asked as a teacher to think about after-school activities and as she did in Bristol she wants to introduce them to rugby. Naturally she turned to me for help.

I will be formally asking FRFC Executive Committee to sponsor some rugby balls, and I will be rummaging through the lost property bags, for quality kit to go to Africa.  I ask you to consider what you can donate, not necessarily cash but good quality rugby kit, preferably FRFC, or both if you can.  She like me would like to see our green shirts in abundance on the kids.

If you think you can help us I would love to hear from you. 

I can be contacted through JILL SCOTT at the bar or any of the Club’s officers or coaches.

You can also email me by clicking here.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Hopefully you will feel you can help us. 

UPDATE

You can keep up with Kelly’s adventures in Africa by clicking here to go to her website.

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