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Soccer club reaches out to Sudan players
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Aug 23, 2008 - 7:05:44 AM

Soccer club reaches out to Sudan players By KELLY PEDRO

A soccer group that helps children in the city is reaching out to help kids thousands of kilometres away, too.

The Kensal Park Soccer Club -- which runs leagues for children with autism and Down's syndrome -- is donating soccer balls and nets to children in the southern Sudan region of Africa. The club also asks kids who play in the league to donate the uniforms they wore this season.

"This is another way we can help children not just in our community. We saw it as children helping children," said league convener Deb Tennant.

Donations will be stuffed into two 13-metre containers being shipped to Sudan with farming equipment as part of the Canadian Economic Development Assistance for Southern Sudan's Jebel Lado project, which is developing a training farm to teach people how to grow crops.

Along with the farming equipment and soccer donations, the group hopes Londoners will help them stuff every nook and cranny of the containers with used light clothing, such as sandals, running shoes, hats, shorts and T-shirts for Jebel Lado, a region that runs along the Nile River.

"We're looking for anything that would help protect these little kids from the sun," said Jeff Lang, chairperson of the development assistance group.

One of the containers is set up in Greenway Park and will accept donations at the soccer league's wrap-up barbecue tomorrow.

For two weeks starting Monday, Londoners also can drop off donations at Giant Tiger stores in London, Para Paints in St. Thomas and London, the Benjamin Moore store in Pondmills Plaza and Fast Eddie's on Wharncliffe Road. The containers will be shipped in November.