These young cricketers have just left the country for a trip of a lifetime, thanks to the hard work and dedication of their club’s chairman.
When chairman, Ashraf Allie, informed the laaities of the Hanover Park Cricket Club that he was planning an international tour just four months ago, nobody took him seriously.
The odds were stacked against them, but on Wednesday their dream came true as the 14 boys boarded a plane for the very first time on their under-14 “Breaking Boundaries” tour to England.
Together with a team of seven support staff, the young cricketers have a packed 21-day itinerary that includes their Birmingham base, Devon, London as well as a trip to Istanbul, Turkey.
Community Chest helped make that dream come true with a R40 000 contribution from the A.W. Blekton Charitable Trust after the boys and the club worked tirelessly to raise funds with fundraising events, securing celebrity endorsements, doing traffic light collections and from individual and corporate donors.
“This experience will be the best education you will ever get,” Community Chest’s Yumna Toefy promised the boys at the cheque handover.
“While Hanover Park is your home, we want to show you that there is so much more out there. There are choices and options beyond our borders.”
BEST EXPERIENCE EVER: The cricketers on the flight to the UK. Picture: Supplied
Allie said for them the tour is about more than cricket.
“Our club is all about impacting lives by creating sustainable employment via coaching, administration, umpiring and management to help restore dignity and a sense of belonging and quality of life,” he says.
The boys will also be involved in global relief work via their Club Patron and host, England star and Cricket World Cup winner, Moeen Ali.
Their excited team captain, Carl Damon, said: “We still can’t believe this is true.
“We had so little time, but our chairman believed in us and believed we could make it happen. We’re excited, nervous, but mostly very thankful to everyone who helped us.”
Other sponsors include the Western Province Cricket Association, Islamic Relief SA, Fish Rite, UWC, the Cape Argus and Rushaan Toefy Financial Services.
The team returns on 21 August.
If you would like to contribute to similar Community Chest initiatives, contact [email protected].