A fundraising football team is set to stay fit during lockdown while raising vital funds to fight the coronavirus in Africa
A football team has pledged to help those in Africa while staying fit during lockdown.
Fundraising football team Glasgow on the Ball is doing a collective run of 8,500km, the distance from Glasgow to Zambia, to raise money to fight coronavirus in Africa.
Stirling based charity Africa on the Ball (AOTB), which received its biggest donation from EuroMillions lottery winner Colin Weir last year, uses football to promote health and wellbeing, community development, gender equality and education in Kalingalinga, Lusaka, Zambia.
As it’s no longer possible to play football the charity is finding new ways to help the community and recently received a micro-grant of £500 from Corra Foundation to support the community to fight Covid-19.
This enabled Africa on the Ball to meet urgent costs such as soap, toilet roll, tapped buckets of water and PPE for medical staff and community workers. The charity also bought 300 washable face masks for members of the community, made by the Women’s Economic Empowerment Zambia, based in Lusaka.
Poor infrastructure and amenities in Zambia makes people particularly vulnerable during an outbreak and the chance of survival is significantly lower than in developed countries.
The country only has 17 ventilators for a population of over 18 million people, in comparison to the 5,900 the NHS possesses.
Africa on the Ball is also providing educational workshops in Kalingalinga about hygiene, sanitation and social distancing and distributing food and baby clothes to vulnerable people who have been most affected by the outbreak.
But there is still much more to do and that is why the charity’s Sunday League amateur football club, Glasgow on the Ball, aims to raise an additional £8,500 for the Covid-19 project by the end of May.
Kelvin Chasauka, AOTB project manager in Kalingalinga, said: “Covid 19 has greatly affected the community and things are not the same as they were a few months ago.
“The virus has contributed to a rise in house break-ins, not only in Kalingalinga, but many other communities. Because we can’t use football just now to promote positive social change we are finding new ways.
“We are leading the way towards reducing the spread of Covid 19 to give people hope and show them we are all together in this fight.”
Co-founder of Africa on the Ball, Andrew Jenkin, said: “Africa on the Ball’s work and educational activities have been greatly affected by the outbreak of Covid-19.
“We know times are hard and people will have been affected by the ongoing lockdown, but we want to ensure some of the world's most vulnerable communities aren't forgotten about.
“Therefore, any contribution you make will be greatly appreciated by everyone involved with the club and charity.”
For more details and to donate visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/to-zambia-from-scotland
