World AIDS Day: Glos coaches use cricket to raise HIV/AIDS awareness in Africa
1 December 2014
December 1 is World AIDS Day. Below two Gloucestershire-based coaches speak of their recent trip to Kenya with cricket development and HIV/AIDS charity Cricket Without Boundaries.
While most cricketers are enjoying a well-earned winter rest three coaches from Gloucestershire headed to Africa to use their skills to make a difference.
Luke Sellers – who is communications officer for Gloucestershire Cricket – and Julian Terry from Charlton Kings CC coached 4000 children during a two-week trip to Kenya while Ian Green from Birdlip CC shared his knowledge with more than 1000 kids in Botswana.
The trio were volunteering on projects with UK charity Cricket Without Boundaries who use the game as a vehicle for raising HIV/AIDS awareness in sub-Saharan Africa.
To listen to Luke Sellers interview live on the BBC Radio Bristol Breakfast Show click here and go to 2hrs 26mins.
First-time volunteer Julian Terry said that it had been an unforgettable fortnight and urged others to follow in his footsteps.
He said: “It was a fantastic team experience and I really enjoyed it.
“I had some reservations going in about how it was going to work – mixing cricket with HIV/AIDS awareness – but once you were out there it made a lot of sense. Because they were learning the messages through cricket and having a great time they seemed to really take them on board.
“Some people might be worried about their lack of cricket knowledge but you don’t to need to be a qualified coach or even to have played the game. I would urge anyone to do it whether they are involved in cricket or not. You just need to have to be a team player and have an interest in helping other people.
“It is definitely something I plan to do again.”
During Julian and Luke’s two week’s in Kenya they coached alongside Massai Warriors and encountered elephants on the way to ‘work’ in the remote rural area of Laikipia. They also visited a number of children’s homes and staged the first ever cricket festival in the agricultural county of Murang’a.
Luke, a three-time volunteer and project leader of the Kenya trip said: “Every project I have been on has been different but no less eye-opening, profound and enjoyable. The thing that struck me on this trip was the enthusiasm and curiosity of the children. The majority had never interacted with white people before and they were fascinated by everything from our hair to our voices!”
The team of eight volunteers also spent a day with Eva Kawira an 18-year-old who is HIV positive. She first came into contact with the charity aged eight on CWB’s first ever project. At the time she was seriously ill and she struggled to take part in the session. But the CWB coaches managed to fix the game so she could hit the winning runs.
The image of her smiling stayed with them long after they left and they had always wondered what happened to her until a CWB project tracked her down earlier this year.
Thanks to medication Eva lives a full life and plans to study to become a nurse to help others who have the disease.
Luke - who is player/coach at Lechlade CC said: “It was incredibly special to meet Eva, someone I had heard a lot about. Remarkably she told me that her experience all those years ago had been a life-changing moment. Instead of worrying about dying she began to think about living instead.
“It was incredibly humbling to think that something has seemingly trivial as cricket can have such a powerful effect on someone’s life.”
If you are interested in finding out more about Cricket Without Boundaries or volunteering for a project visit www.cricketwithoutboundaries.com or email luke@cricketwithoutboundaries.com.
