Thanks to one seventh-grade student at Pentucket Regional Middle School, schoolchildren in Kenya can now play soccer.
Last February, Matthew Crawford, 12, traveled to Bura, Newburyport's Kenyan sister village. He was on an aid mission with his parents, doctors Glen and Sue Crawford. The family, of West Newbury, was volunteering with the Greater Newburyport-Bura Alliance.
While his parents provided medical services to the village, Matthew noticed something that he could help fix.
He saw children playing soccer with balls of trash, so he decided to take action. Matthew collected donations of soccer balls, cleats and uniforms in Newburyport and sent them to Bura in a 40-foot medical supply container.
"I can see how bad it is over there," he said.
Now, a year later, Matthew will return to Bura as the guest of honor in the schools' championship game, the GNBA Cup. His efforts to bring soccer equipment to the village have made him a hero in the Bura school community.
"It was very effective, for the teachers, parents and the children themselves," GNBA health coordinator Mary Kilei said in an e-mail.
Soccer is favored by the parents of Bura, who see the games as a way to keep children busy and away from drugs. The GNBA Cup expects to draw more than 300 students from 10 schools.
A soccer player himself, Matthew has been rallying the support of his Pentucket teammates and Seacoast United to collect more equipment. He also will bring old trophies from his siblings' collections to award to the winners of the cup, complete with certificates he typed himself.
"It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than nothing," Matthew said.
In addition to soccer equipment and trophies, Matt will bring several laptops for Bura's schools, as part of the One Laptop Per Child program. He has been trained on how to use them and will demonstrate the XO computers for teachers and students. The rugged, simple computers are ideal for developing nations and have software installed in both English and Swahili.
"I will show them a few of the basic things, but they can figure out the rest," he said.
Matthew will be packing the donations in his own luggage this time. He said the amount of soccer equipment he is packing surpasses his own luggage.
Matthew has been traveling internationally since he visited Vietnam when he was 2 months old. He plans to continue helping Bura and communities abroad.
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