Children's football team in Southam makes kit donation to children in Africa

A volunteer shows one of the Southam Utd Saints under-12s kits to children in Uganda.

Kit used by Southam United Saints under-12s was flown to Ngora, a town in the east of the African country, by the charity Mission Direct.

Volunteer Ruth Lowe, who has spent the last fortnight in the country as part of the charity’s latest mission to help build a school extension, said local children were ‘football mad’ and had been ‘delighted’ to receive the kit donation.

Prior to the summer break, Mrs Lowe, from Southam, had appealed through Southam St James Church of England Primary School for donations of old school shoes to take out to Uganda, and jumped at the chance to take the surplus sports kit too.

She added: ‘The children were absolutely thrilled with the kit. We spent most of our time painting and decorating classrooms at a primary school which was the focus of our trip, but the kit was given to children at a nearby school for the deaf.

‘They are very sporty kids there and they know all about English football. It’s one of only three deaf schools in Uganda - people travel a long way to go to it, it’s like a boarding school.’

Donated pairs of shoes were given to children at the primary school, where four groups of Mission Direct volunteers have constructed three new classrooms over the last 12 months.

Saints U12 manager Andy Dolan said: ‘The club has collected old kits for charities to take abroad in the past and these kind of projects are always something we like to support as individual teams.

‘It just so happened that I saw Ruth’s shoe appeal in my daughter’s school newsletter at a time when we had old kit lying around which the boys had outgrown. It made sense to give it to a charity who could make good use of it and we are all delighted that it has proved such a hit with the children in Ngora.’

The Saints play in the Coventry and Warwickshire Youth League on a Sunday morning, with training sessions on Wednesday evenings.

Anybody with children interested in joining the team is asked to email Mr Dolan at [email protected].

For more information about the Mission Direct charity click here.