Soccer, school supplies needed for Ghana
Instead of mindlessly tossing all the kids’ soccer gear into a plastic storage bin for the winter, consider sending some of it halfway around the world.
The Rotary Club of Essex is collecting jerseys, shoes and balls among other items as it prepares for another goodwill mission to Ghana, Africa next month.
“The kids there are obsessed with soccer,” said Stephanie Gill who is not a Rotarian but making the trip with them. “They ’ll take string and make it into a ball so they can play.”
Gill saw the impoverished conditions many families in Ghana face daily from another humanitarian trip she made several years ago.
“Our problems are gold plated compared to the problems they face over there,” she said.
There’s a daily struggle to find clean, safe water. Part of the Rotarian mission will be to drill three wells and build a sanitation facility with toilets, sinks and showers for the town of Assin-Bereku.
Kim Spirou, the Essex Rotary’s president elect, said this year’s African delegation is 22 members strong.
They will also distribute mosquito nets to protect families from the deadly effects of malaria.
“I saw many children die from malaria on our last mission,” Spirou said. “I vowed to do something about it. A simple $5 mosquito net can save the life of a child.”
A chance meeting between Gill and Tyrone Thoms with Kinetic Konnection led to a generous donation of braces from Thoms.
Likewise, Gill crossed paths accidentally with Steve Hart, the director of soccer operations for the University of Windsor.
Through his connections with LaSalle Stompers Soccer, Hart offered up a number of jerseys, shoes and other equipment, including some from his own basement.
Hart himself made a trip to Ghana in 2014 through the Ontario Soccer Association to teach and develop local coaches.
Many of the logistics for that trip were arranged by former Lancer and Ghana native Ian OwusuOfuri.
Hart was particularly moved by a visit to an orphanage with just under 300 kids. “I left with just my shorts on,” Hart said. “I literally gave away the shoes I was wearing and the shirt off my back.”
Gill, who runs a marketing business, accepted a sponsorship from one of her clients, Home Instead Senior Care, to join them.
Involved in a number of different community service initiatives locally, Gill says an African mission brings another level of emotional gratification.
“It’s a different kind of give back than Canada,” she said. “You give a child a pencil case and it’s the world to them. It’s so touching and very spiritual.” Gill is holding a fundraising Halloween party at the Parks & Rec Gastropub Sports Bar on Forest Glade Dr. Oct. 29th with all proceeds going to the various projects in Ghana.
There are Herby Curby donation bins set up at several locations throughout Windsor and Essex County for anyone wishing to drop off the sought-after items. They’re located at Spirou and Associates on Ottawa St., Salon Brush on Ottawa St., River Town Times on Richmond St. in Amherstburg, Brady Pharmacy on Talbot St. in Essex, Tecumseh Fire and Rescue on Lesperance Rd. and The Country Depot on Sinasac St. in Harrow.