Cricketing ACEs Bat for Orphans

On 5^th September, Kentz entered a team in the third Action in the Community Environment (ACE) UK 6-a-side Cricket Tournament hosted at the famous Oval Cricket Ground in London. ACE hosted the tournament as a means of raising funds for their vital work in Kenya and Tanzania.

Kentz were one of eight cricket teams that participated in the tournament held on 5th September. The winning team was from Vitol, Europe's largest privately-owned energy trading company.£16,000 was raised as a result of the tournament. These are absolutely invaluable funds for the charity, particularly at this time when fundraising has become more difficult. These funds have given ACE a big boost for implementing programmes with orphans and vulnerable children in East Africa andwithout such funds, ACE would simply not be able to operate so effectively in East Africa.

Kentz Cricket Team

ACE Africa works at the grassroots level in remote rural areas of Kenya and from 2008 also in Tanzania, where poverty and HIV/AIDS are rife. ACE supports both the orphans of HIV/AIDS (to help them have a better life) and the communities in which they live (to strengthen their ability to provide care). ACE provides long-term interventions such as training in nutrition, in the production of vegetables and other foods. It provides education to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and upholds the protection of the rights of vulnerable children. In the short term, ACE also provides emergency support such as food, shelter and basic medication.

The proceeds from this event enabled ACE to provide clothes, blankets and mattresses to some households in the rural areas of Arusha, Tanzania. The most basic of items can actually make an enormous difference, as you can see from the pictures which show the joy that a simple blanket can bring!