Everton in the Community’s Blue Family campaign has gone international with staff and volunteers from the Club’s official charity donating money to a Kenyan village to provide food parcels for local families.

In April 2019, a 20-strong group of EitC volunteers and NCS graduates visited Nakuru to carry out essential social action work and spent their time in the African country undertaking transformative renovation works at Jubilee Academy and West End Destiny Kids Academy, two rural schools for young children as well as installing a water pump in the village for local families.

Everton in the Community staff and volunteers planned to return to Nakuru in April 2020 until travel restrictions put in place during the coronavirus pandemic meant that the trip has been postponed until 2021 and upon hearing how hard the local people in Kenya had been affected by COVID-19, they gifted funds to West End Destiny Kids Academy to enable its staff to purchase 100 food parcels for local families.

A typical food parcel contains basic essential rations such as flour, rice, cooking oil, sugar, porridge oats, fruits and vegetables and the gesture has been well received by the families of the school children.

Everton in the Community’s visits to Nakuru are organised with the help of African Adventures and are entirely self-funded through fundraising. Last year’s inaugural visit saw the group help to create new and improved teaching spaces by remodelling classroom walls and floors, as well as delivering learning and physical activity sessions to pupils at both schools and teaching them all about Everton Football Club and its history.

As well as helping to transform their teaching spaces, Everton in the Community staff and volunteers forged many close friendships with the teachers and villagers and, thanks to mobile technology, have been able to keep in regular contact with their new friends despite not being able to be with them in person. After learning that their trip to Nakuru would be postponed, the group came together to film a video for their Kenyan friends to help lift their spirits during a difficult time.

After helping to distribute the food parcels donated by Everton in the Community, Valentine Adisa, Head Teacher at West End Destiny Kids Academy said:

“We thank God for today. With the help of African Adventures we were able to donate food to 40 families most in need and were even able to reach the families who have been observing social distance. We are very grateful for your kind gesture and thank you so much for putting a smile on our faces once again and making a difference.

“Thank you so much, you have a golden heart and put the lives of others first before your own – you are our heroes. We can’t wait to have you back – we are lucky because someone somewhere cares, and this is EitC."

Everton in the Community Volunteer Manager Adam Howard is one of the main organisers behind the charity’s trips to Kenya and he added:

“Our trip to Nakuru in 2019 was one of the most amazing and memorable experiences that I have ever had. Our 2020 trip was unfortunately postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic but this didn’t stop our staff and volunteers wanting to help the people of Nakuru as we understand that many of the children that attend West End Destiny Kids School are much less fortunate than ourselves.

“Many of the local families struggle to make ends meet and put food on the table so it was amazing to be able to provide 100 food parcels to support those most in need during these difficult and uncertain times. We hope to return to Kenya in 2021 to continue our work in Nakuru and reunite with our new friends.”

For more information on African Adventures visit www.african-adventures.co.uk