I have recently returned from Kenya where I spent 2 weeks helping out in a school in Kiberia and I can confidently say that football was by far the most popular past time for 98% of the male population regardless of age. Local bars and eating houses were rammed to capacity every time a premiership [...]

After visiting the last home – we were all taken back! It hit us hard – the desperation of these kids, the vibe and atmosphere of the home was quite draining to say the least! While we were waiting for our driver to come collect us we asked the security guard to please take a [...]

After running us ragged for 30min, where foot and ball were one; the children dropped what they were doing and ran into the dinning area for the eagerly awaited lunch, basic rice and tomato sauce. The older kids who we were playing football with were less eager to disappear and thrived on the external stimulus [...]

Calcio has definitely taken on a personality of his own, born out of a passion and enthusiasm to bring a sense of fun and life back into the some what desperate existence of these kids’ lives… Calcio was itching to come alive, get out there and rough it in the dirty sandy pitches and, most [...]

More than anything I quickly realised that Calcio was more than just a football – yes he would be hours and hours of joy to many children, boys and girls, but there was something more, something special that he represented! Firstly, before his journey even began he had made himself know and brought people together [...]

We had been running around non stop, between the school, Mashimoni (Mash) and the orphanage Thomas Bernardo’s Home (TBH) there was little time and attention give to the distribution of our beloved friend Calcio! Sure we had been playing with him non stop and he had made plenty of friends however these were all familiar [...]

The shear quality of game was impressive, at one stage we were directly underneath a tree where a male leopard was taking some time out! We had a herd of elephant gracefully walking towards us with a number of young calves in tow who were still trying to work out how their strange noses worked! [...]

Well when in Kenya… If you ever have the privilege of visiting Kenya and you have a spare couple of days, do yourselves a favour and go visit one of the most spectcular natural enviroments known to man! 4 hours from Nairobi by road you will find the wide open plains of the Masai Mara! [...]

Calcio was in for a surprise, the grass and astro pitches were a thing of the past and the idea of contending with the hard African surfaces was going to be interesting!! Grass was only a romour in this part of the world, and as for boots well the children have to be just as [...]