Kids are kids wherever you go. No matter where you travel in the world, and despite many cultural differences, there are some things that never change. One of those is that children love to play. During the orientation visit that I made with soldiers from Portsmouth Citadel to Kyamutwoi (Kenaya) in October 2010 we noticed that the children were playing – but with very different toys to those we see in the UK. We noticed simple hoops and tyres being rolled down the street – toy cars made from wire and old drink cans.
On our final Sunday we saw two young boys playing football – but the ball was not a football as we know it. Theirs was made of carrier bags wrapped around with elastic bands. It reminded us of the many things we take for granted at home.
Telling the story back home resulted in the young people of Portsmouth Citadel determining to raise some money to help buy sports and games equipment. In December 2010 the young people’s carol service became a fundraiser for our ‘sports equipment appeal’. This event generated just over £300! The employees at Denplan decided they would make a donation to the appeal rather than send Christmas cards to each other – so they added another £76, bringing our total to around £380. In the next few weeks we will be placing an order through our suppliers in Nairobi to buy footballs (£4.20 each), skipping ropes (£1.40) and basketballs (£4.60). We hope these news toys and sports equipment will make a difference to the young people in the Polytechnic and the corps.
