We've created this video to say thanks to the players, parents and coaches of Hughenden Valley Football Club who have been so generous in their support of RVSA.
We think you'll agree that the RVSA kids look great in the new kit.
One or two have had trouble adapting to playing in boots but Phillip tries to enforce their use so the boys get used to it.
Today, on the evening of the Euro 2012 Final, Rifti Valley Soccer Academy is launching an appeal for funds and we're hoping we can rely on our friends in the UK for support.
Our goal is to raise £2,500 to fund the first phase in the development of the academy. This will help us to achieve the following goals:
Philip and Patrick are committed to getting the teams raising more money themselves; something the Page/Andrews family are offering advice and support on. We're also investigating ways to get costs down (such as borrowing a school bus for match day travel).
Would you please consider pledging either £25 or £50 today?
We're looking for:
... with all money to be paid up in the next 6 months (so plenty of time to save!).
If you are able to support us, the following great things will happen:
But most of all, you'll be joining our wonderful new football family out here in Kenya; helping Philip and Patrick to keep the young men of the Rongai slums busy, learning good values... and becoming a great football team.
To pledge, please write your name in the comments section below... or through Claire or Steve's facebook page, if you have access to those.
Thanks for your support, everyone!
In our first tournament wearing football boots, RVSA A and RVSA B have both made the semi-finals. We're guaranteed a place in the final as we meet each other in the semis!
The boys' promise to HVFC that they'd win the cup as a thank you to for the donated kit is starting to feel possible...
This calls for a football celebration, African style!
By Steve
HVFC would have been proud of their twin club, RVSA, today who fielded two teams in a local 6 -a-side competition; with our lads wearing their boots and HVFC strips for the first time.
The 'RVSA zebras' made a great start with both sides delivering comfortable 2 - 0 victories. Although the details of the tournament structure are a little unclear to me, it starts with a mini-league table and then moves to a knock-out stage at some point.
The day was full of chaos and controversy, I'm afraid. Team members have to present their birth certificats to prove their age and eligibility. There were numerous accusations of forged documents (apparently there's a good trade in these locally) including against three of our players. Patrick and Philip are confident our players will be vindicated and we'll avoid a points deduction.
Both games were notable for the great speed and impressive footwork of the RVSA players. Neither team ever looked in danger of losing.
Over enthusiastic support by the non-playing RVSA players nearly got the first team to play cautioned. Full-scale pitch invasions and a group dance were a bit much for the referee and organiser!
Patrick and Philip have decided to use the man of the match trophies donated by HVFC to be presented each week to the teams that win their games. So pictured below are the on-field captains of the two teams, Ali and Kimani, picking up the trophies from the management team.
So a great start but not without some off-field controversies to iron out!
To the Chairman, Coaches, Players and Parents of HVFC,
Tomorrow, Sunday June 10th, is a big day for Rifti Valley Soccer Academy, formally known as Rogai Ajax. The Academy is entering two junior teams - and play their first games - in a league competition for the first time.
The reason they can do this is due to the hugely generous and swift response from everyone at HVFC to our appeal for kit. Previously, the club were not able to enter because it is a tournament that requires all players to wear boots or trainers, a requirement that the Rongai team were not able to fulfil because the boys come from very poor backgrounds (they live in a slum area) and don't have boots. They have previously played in bare feet or slip on plastic shoes (a bit like Crocs).
Now, due to your extraordinary response to our appeal, the boys not only have boots but they have a black and white strip. As someone who has stood on the sideline cheering on HVFC teams, it brought a lump to my throat watching these young lads walking an inch taller in the same strip. You may have seen on our RVSA website that the newly named club also has a new badge, adopting a Zebra logo to match their HVFC colours.
These kids are not ferried to games by their parents and often play on empty stomachs. Previously, they have been unable to attend some friendly matches because the boys cannot afford the transport which can be around £1 per player. Part of the support we are hoping to provide is money for transport and food on match days. In the coming days, we are going to launch an appeal to fund these expenses which will add up to around £50 per game.
The second phase of our plans is to broaden the Academy into a club that will cater for girls as well; and which will be able to take in many more children. These are kids that need structure, support and a lot of love.
Through the RVSA website, we intend to update you on the progress of the RVSA teams, introduce you to the players and tell you a little about their lives. You will learn that while they are growing up in tough circumstances; these are boys that laugh a lot, have huge ambitions and just love their football. So please sign up for updates and send your messages of support through the comments sections.
The boys, who are all very religious, sent their thanks to you in their post-training prayers on Wednesday evening. They want to repay you by winning the league trophy. I fear they may need longer to learn how to play in boots!
Thankyou to everyone at HVFC. We knew you'd respond but have been truly humbled by the scale.
Best wishes,
Steve Andrews, on behalf of our family and everyone at RVSA.
PS. Special thanks to Jim and Angie Kraft for their big efforts to collect the boots and start the fundraising.
By Claire Page
The launch of the Academy was a long awaited event by us all.
Patrick, the manager had negotiated with the local school to let the kids out early. Paul Burniston, FA coach and dear friend, had flown all the way from the UK with suitcases of second-hand boots, balls, cones, bibs and strips (well, it was kind of a holiday for him too!) And we raced from our kids' schools, wedged in tightly amongst all the inflated balls to get there on time.
Paul admitted after the event that he was incredibly nervous. As we pulled up to the pitches, we were greeted with the site of over 1,000 kids of all ages running around. Paul rapidly started doing the mental calculations as to how many kids he could run drills with at one time. Luckily we soon realised that kids were starting to drift out of school and this was their route home. So, Paul soon got stuck in to drills with a more manageable 15 or so of the older kids. Meanwhile, I embarked on the unenviable jobs of dishing out boots to 30 or so kids who were literally bursting with the excitement of seeing all these bulging bags of cool boots.
We thought we were prepared. Paul's son, Jack, had meticulously organised all the boots by size in to different bags. Patrick had made sure all the kids were seated quietly on the pitch while he was armed with a list of all the kids and their corresponding boot size. And I had Anna, an able assistant for boot fittings, bearing in mind she has worked in a Clarks shoe shop back in the UK. I was sorted.
Ethan was sitting with the rest of the boys. He said he has never seen the boys so excited and ecstatic as I opened the first bulging bag to reveal an ubber-cool boot with a fluorescent tick down the side. The boys were restrained, but the sysyem of calling a boy up one by one, getting the correctly sized boot for them and then sending them away and ticking them off the list soon disintergrated. I felt like the Prince in Cinderella, as boys desperately shoved their feet into boots and willing them to fit. Boys would have toes bulging at the end of the boot insisting that they were fine then reluctantly, after some persuasion, relinquishing the ill-fitting boots as we deperately tried to find another one that were the right size.
We didn't quite have enough boots to go round. The boys took it well though. For the photo some of them wore boots that were far too big for them so they could look the part. We didn't quite have enough strips eithe but used bibs for the rest of the kids. I have promised them that I will get my hands on some more boots so everyone is fully kitted out.
The really emotional part of the evening was towards the end. As is the Kenyan way, all matches, training sessions and significant events end with a prayer and words of wisdom and thanks from various members of the club. As the light faded fast, both team captains, David, 17, and Ali, 14, stood up in turn to give their thanks to Paul and their sponsors and urged their team members to work hard in their new kits and stay focused on playing good football. Paul urged all players to listen to their coaches and captains and Patrick urged all players to carry their focus and discipline in football across to their school work. All the boys listened intently throughout.
Our house has become a bit of a sports cupboard these days. Patrick and Phillip have advised that the boys should have the boots for matches only and return them afterwards to the club. They feel they should show commitment to the club before keeping the boots. Also, these boys live in the slums behind Rongai and there is no guarantee that items of such value wouldn't go missing very quickly.
Still, it's the least we can do for these boys who have sovery little, but I am thinking seriously of investing in a shed.
By Claire Page
This blog entry originally appeared on a family blog... the story of how our family's involvement in the Rifti Valley Soccer Academy began...
"Mama Ethan you must come. We are waiting for you"
That was the text I received from Patrick, Manger of Rongai Football Club, inviting me to watch the match this afternoon. Well, how could I refuse? I have to admit I was a little bit nervous. Nell could not be persuaded to come (too many cold, wet hours spent at football and cricket matches in the UK, she is scarred for life), so Finn had to stay back to keep her company. Just Ethan and I then, with huge rain clouds looming over the Ngong Hills in the distance. Why did I put suntan cream on and not wear a jumper? Sure enough, when we turned up we were more than a little conspicuous. Not only were we the only wsungo (white people) and Ethan really does stand out like a light bulb in these situations, but I was the only woman too. Mums don't come and watch their sons play football or Dad's really in these sorts of communities. They have too much on in life, I think. A lot of these kids don't always know where their next meal is coming from. Their parents live life much closer to the edge than we could ever dream of and so watching their kids at a match doesn't really figure in their day plan. However, I didn't need to worry. Kenyans of all ages are incredibly friendly and welcoming. The whole team shook my hand and told me their names. I met and had a long chat with Philip, the coach and Patrick. For these guys, who set up and and run the club, they believe football is a life line to these kids. They play matches every Sunday and train four times a week (twice a day, every day in the holidays!). They say that if these kids don't throw themselves into football at this age they are more likely to get into the wrong way of life ie drugs, alcohol and crime. They want them to get really good at football now so they will join the senior team around the age of about 19. Again, playing football at this age tends to keep young men out of trouble. Boredom in these communities is a BIG deal. Schools are closed for 4 weeks now. These kids don't go to holiday clubs, their parents don't take them on nice fancy holidays, they don't have games consoles, computers, TVs, transport, and spare cash. Football gives kids and young men something to do, something to focus on which keeps them motivated and involved in the community. Patrick, the manager knows this and is incredibly dedicated. His son used to play for the team, although not now as Patrick sent him to a school near his parents' house where there isn't 100 kids per class, as there is at the Rongai School. In spite of the fact that his son no longer plays for the team, he still dedicates most of his spare time to the club. He goes to the match today, having worked all night as a night guard. Don't you get tired, Patrick? I ask, "No worries", he says, "Hakuna Matata". And his wife told me that when he isn't coaching at the club then he's watching Manchester United (or any other premiership football team) play on TV. The boys wouldn't let me take their photo until they had put on their (borrowed) strip. They were the proud winners today. Score? A well deserved 10-2. I don't know how they do it though. Many of them play in bare feet. How can that be possible on what is a stony, muddy bit of wasteland? But they are an amazing team. They were clearly playing kids that were a lot older and completely dominated them. As you can see in the photo, Ethan towers over most of these kids even though some of them are 16 years old and the opposition were mostly much taller. Ethan was chuffed as he did score a couple of the goals. I was chatting on the sidelines but knew to look up as all I could hear from his team mates was ANDERRRRRRROOUUUUUUU - Kenyans can't get their head around saying Ethan so at Rongai football club Ethan is Andrew. Apparently, I'm getting an invite to the next Rongai football club meeting. They are very excited about the possibility of having a team strip and some kit. They know that it will make the kids feel so proud. I have a feeling that I'm going to get roped into a lot more than I bargained for though. A massive thanks to everyone at Hughenden Valley football club who has been involved in organising the collection of kit. Having watched the game today, I know that it will have a massive impact on a lovely Kenyan community. Will keep you posted! Claire
By Steve Andrews
The Rifti Valley Soccer Academy is the new name of Rongai Ajax Football club. Our badge has been designed to reflect this.
The club wanted to change their name to reflect their new start and decided on Rifti Valley in tribute to Hughenden Valley, the English football club that has taken them to heart. The club is just a few miles from one of the world's most spectacular and famous valleys in the world: The Great Rift Valley... which is a little bit bigger than Hughenden Valley! The use of Rifti (as opposed to Rift) was the club's choice and reflects the Kswahili habit of putting an 'i' on the end of many English words.
The zebra logo was an inspired bit of thinking by Paul Burniston (he had to lie down for a while after having the idea). It reflects the black and white strip which Hughenden Valley FC have donated to the club. The logo was designed jointly by Finn Andrews (former HVFC U10 defender) and Jack Burniston (current HVFC U11 centre mid-fielder).