Slum youth football project, Thika, Kenya
Just on the odd chance anyone here knows someone/organisation with just a few grand in their pocket, and who would like to help start a very exciting community project in Kenya, I though I'd post this (hey, who knows?).
Please find here - http://www.nakedchronicles.com/stuff/youthfootball.pdf - the overview document and funding proposal for the youth football project we are planning in Thika, a town about an hour north of Nairobi. There is a major issue with street kids in the area, originating for the most part from the adjacent slum area of Kiandutu, home to an estimated 50,000 residents. This program is aimed at addressing the needs of the vulnerable children, their families and communities.
As you will see from the document, this is the first (12 month) stage of a planned long-term program built around sports but aiming to deal with a variety of life skills and health education issues, community leadership and development, and local youth growth and capacity building. We are taking our inspiration from the long running Mathare Youth Sports Association program (www.mysakenya.org), which has been such a success over a long period of time. We will be working closely with key personal from MYSA to adapt parts of their program, as well as address local issues that we identify.
As you will see from the budget sought, the amount is very minimal for the first 12 months of a project of this potential. This is deliberately so, so that we can start off on a relatively small scale with the aim to learn much from this first period. While it's all well and good taking on the experiences of other successful projects, and even our own success in working with street children in the area, this is a unique project to this area, and as such should be developed with a high degree of input from local community members and youth volunteers. They are the future of this project, just as they have been so successfully for MYSA.
Any questions whatsoever please feel free to conact me via the address in the document.
Cheers,
Dave
