Foundation laid for work on equality

DURHAM County Cricket Club Foundation travelled to Kenya to help run a new gender equality programme which aims to use cricket to empower girls.

The programme, funded by fund management company Liontrust as part of their support of the Foundation, enabled the Foundation to join forces with the Cricket Without Boundaries charity.

CWB works in five sub-Saharan African countries to deliver cricket development initiatives and the Kenya Let’s Be Women Project, a project based on their pioneering work in the North East.

The programme originated from the work delivered by the Foundation in the UK.

The North East-based programme is run in four locations across the region – working in partnership with the Girls Friendly Society (GFS) charity and CWB – utilising cricket as a tool to empower young women and girls to achieve their potential.

The Kenya strand of the programme focuses on gender equality issues, insufficient access to education and the promotion of positive health and wellbeing.

The programme uses cricket as the medium to engage, educate and empower.

DCCC Foundation Manager Josie Pointon travelled to Kenya with a team of CWB volunteers to implement the programme – which aimed to establish highquality, progressive cricket leadership and which supported Pointon to develop her leadership and coaching skills – within the local Maasai community of Laikipia.

She said: “We were delighted to partner up with both the CWB and the Girls Friendly Society to run the new gender equality programme in the North East and pleased the programme provided a pathway to volunteer on the Kenyan programme.

“I hugely enjoyed my time in Laikipia and it was amazing to see the impact cricket can have on a community.

“The programme aims to inspire the next generation of globally-aware female leaders through cricket.

“It really gave me the chance to learn from other coaches and peers in a different context and was a big success.”