by Steve Adshead
Former GCCC player, Steve Adshead has provided an exclusive report on his recent trip to Kenya.
It’s been nearly two months since I returned from my charity trip to Kenya with Cricket Without Boundaries. Whilst the demands of a new career outside the game on top of running a coaching business has given me little opportunity to sit down and write this report, the time has allowed me to reflect on what we experienced and managed to achieve.
On 29-30 January CWB held a Training weekend for all 25 of Spring volunteers at Bluecoat School in Harborne Birmingham.
Co-founder and trustee, Ed Williams has written an article for Al Jazerra about the Charity's journey from its formation and its first trip from Cairo to Cape Town, to its present state as one of the most innovative sports and HIV charities in Africa.
CWB celebrated our 5th Anniversary with a gala fundraising dinner at Lord's on 12th October 2010. It was a fitting setting as, 5 years before to the day, the 3 founding trustees of CWB arrived at the Grace Gate at Lord’s to meet with John Stephenson and Chris Cowdrey for a photoshoot before starting the first CWB project in Africa.
The next CWB Training weekend takes place on 29th and 30th Jan at Birmingham Bluecoat School. The venue has kindly been offered for free by the school, thanks to CWB Volunteer Richard Lynn, a veteran of CWB Kenya 2008 and 2010.
CWB have signed an Memorandum of Understanding with the Uganda Cricket Association. Meeting at the UCA’s offices in Kampala, CWB Trustees, Andy Hobbs, Chris Kangis and Ed Williams entered into an MOU which will commit both CWB and UCA to working together over the next 5 years. The agreement provides for regular projects by CWB, together with the delivery of equipment and clothing. In return the UCA will both organise CWB’s itinerary and act as host, as well as ensuring that AIDS awareness messages are incorporated into Ugandan Cricket.
We would like to thank Cricket Kenya for organising our trip and many other erstwhile mentions are well deserved. Notably Aliya, the Heads of all the schools especially Braeburn and Pangani, all the Chefs for making us drink more beer by taking stupid amounts of time to cook meals, to Mr Macdonald for inventing burgers otherwise Ghazi wouldn't have eaten, to the best driver ever …. Mr TTP, and to every single one of the 1170 kids we worked with over the 2 weeks.
Cricket Without Boundaries is a distribution partner for Cricket Kit4 Africa initiative.
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