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Soccer Balls for Kenya
Dear Claudio,
This is just a short note to explain the positive effect that the Ancaster Soccer Club's
recent donation of 27 soccer balls had on the Kenyan students who attend schools
affiliated with Connecting Countries Adopt-a-School.
Recently I visited each of our 10 primary schools in the Ol Joro Orok/ Nyahururu area of
Kenya. Ours was a humanitarian mission, to monitor, assess and plan "next steps" for our
various projects that assist and enhance education for over 5000 students. The students
welcomed the soup, school supplies and the new sanitation facilities our programs
provide.
Your donation of soccer balls added a whole new dimension to our visit. When presented
with your donation the usual very polite, complacent and reserved children lost their
composure and erupted in cheers and howls of joy. As one teacher remarked, they (the
students) have been given a great "gift". The students could not wait to pump up and start
kicking their new prizes.
All schools' existing soccer balls were fabricated by wrapping plastic bags into a
ball-shape and tightly secured with what ever twine was available. As you can imagine
these were very hard and with every kick one new layer of plastic bag would loosen and
blow away in the wind. Their new professional looking soccer balls actually were easier
to kick, especially in bare feet, and bounced on their heads and off their thin legs without
fear of injury.
Please accept the attached photos as a constant reminder of the positive affect your club's
donation of soccer balls had and will continue to have in the lives of my kids in Kenya.
You have proven again that kids are kids no matter where in the world they live. And,
that their inherent desire to play changes their lives.
On behalf of the children thank you again.
John P. Smith
President- Connecting Countries Adopt-a-School |
