Submitted by Romina Oliverio on 6 July, 2010 - 22:07
(The following is a story behind the football fundraising event held by Community Breakthrough Support Mission in Kenya on July 3. To see pictures of the day, please click here.)
Football Fever: A Fundraising Event
We have been experiencing further pressure from the landlord of our school to make the down payment towards the purchase of the land that our temporary facilities are built upon. If we do not manage to do so before September there is a real chance that we will be out on the streets, as it were, come the end of this year. [inline:foot.jpeg]
So far, ten community members in Kimilili have pledge funds (a total of 200 USD). Steve in the States has made a private donation of 100 USD. And we are hopeful that members of the betterplace.org might also find it in their hearts to contribute.
Even though the amounts given are a good start, we must show resilience and invent other ways to raise funds for the needed deposit (1,500 USD). With the help of Christina, a volunteer in the UK and two other local volunteers in Nairobi, we have requested CBSM Kimilili to organize a fundraising football tournament involving CBSM children and other schools in Kimilili Town.
The district sports officer of Kimilili is on board, as is the chief executive of the Citizen TV/radio station and they have promised to cover the event. As you can imagine we are very excited about this news and hopeful that we will raise the needed attention and funds to make the down payment.
The tournament will be held on July 3rd, 2010. There will be a total of 16 teams, each with 6 players (10-12 years old). Each game will be 20 minutes long and the winning team will receive a trophy.
We are also planning to run three other events in between matches - a singing and dancing competition, an art auction and a costume race using recycled materials.
We would appreciate it if you could please spread the word of this tournament to your friends and family. If they wish to learn more about the tournament or our project work they can read about this on our CBSM website (http://benando.weebly.com/).
In this time of football/soccer fever, it does well to think of about how this game is about good fair competitive spirit and how it can bring about positive change in children’s lives. Please do consider donating 5-10 dollars towards this cause. Every bit helps.
You can donate here - http://www.betterplace.org