By Isabel | Awareness Coordinator
Over the last two weekends of July, we took the Penalty Kick Challenge out to Kayole and the Mukuru slum, where we gave out another 47 balls donated by you to soccer-loving children from under privileged families. Combined with coaching drills that offered the children the opportunity to improve their soccer skills as well as learn about HIV/AIDS, the kids were quick to imitate the moves of their football heroes, expected on the continent next year for the FIFA World Cup, upon receiving the balls.
In total, about 200 children directly took part in the recently concluded challenge, which resulted in 87 quality leather soccer balls landing in the hands of some of the poorest of children in Kenya. Below are comments from some of the participants and recipients of the soccer balls:
I would like to thank the coaches who actually spent their time to teach us more about HIV & AIDS, and also appreciate them for the balls and certificates they gave us. Kevin O. Asava (Soweto, Kayole).
Thank you for taking the time to visit us. We have a lot of talent in Gatoto and with the balls and training you have offered the children, we can go far. We welcome you to come again. Teacher Josephat (Gatoto Community Primary School, Mukuru).
In football, we normally say that practice makes perfect, and with the balls we have received, we have already started practicing. I know that by doing that as a team, we will improve our talents and even it will create unity among the different tribes, which will therefore help our country. I am delighted to have a ball. Yours sincerely, Baraza Philip, Captain (Kayole).
For the smiles and excitement you helped bring to these children, we at Alive & Kicking, thank you. Moreover, for the part you played in enabling us to create health awareness among these children, and thus addressing their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, we thank you even more.
We hope to take the Penalty Kick Challenge out to more slum and rural areas around the country in November/December. However until then, we shall continue stitching and bouncing balls out of our workshop and into the playing fields of Kenya to engage more children and youth in their fundamental right to play.
As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions, and we are truly grateful for your continuous support.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
