Upholding the firm conviction of creating opportunities for young cricket players in Sierra Leone, the Kent Cricket Club have received another set of massive donation from Mike Pawley, Spotswood Cricket Club, and Seven Hills Toongabie Cricket Club.

This donation gears toward aiding players with equipment and clothing wear for them to utilize their potential in cricket.

The 8 full kit bag equipment constitutes, standard batting pads, standard bats, wicket-keeping pads, batting gloves, wicket-keeping gloves, and jerseys tops, as well as plastic bats and plastic stumps for beginners.

A member of the Spotswood Cricket Club in an interview said that he is fascinated by the fact that Sierra Leone is a cricketing nation and when he heard about the Kent Cricket Club through Emmanuel Pessima, he was very impressed with what the club had achieved.

“I think we must help developing nations get the equipment they need to produce cricketers of the future,” he added.

He furthered that, while cricket in Sierra Leone is developing well, there is still a lack of facilities and equipment for cricketers to use.

“We hope the equipment that had been sent will help the young kids of Sierra Leone develop their skills and help them maybe one day to represent their country in a World Cup,” he stated.

“As mentioned earlier we hope the equipment can be used by young cricketers who do not have the equipment to learn the game and be proud of the fact that they now have a bat to use a pair of pads to strap on or some wickets to bowl at. We know it is only a small contribution but hope it changes the lives of some young and developing cricketers in Sierra Leone.”

Scott Staples a Stage 2 girls coach of Seven Hills Toongabie Cricket Club, highlighted that Kent Cricket Club seems to be a club that is looking to further the game of cricket, bringing more kids in and passing on the passion for cricket and more importantly friendship and team building.

“We are hoping that the equipment we have sent will provide some enthusiasm for the younger members that do not have a lot, and they can now feel well presented,” he said.

“A lot of people I associate with know about the efforts of Kent Cricket Club and the strive to make the game more appealing, with them asking for worldwide help, I applaud the Club and its members for what they are trying to achieve.”

Scott furthered that, they have no expectations as they are excited about the little they can provide in enhancing the growth of the beautiful game in Sierra Leone, and they create time for people that will attempt what they are and not give up on their dreams and that is the reason they give support to them.

The head coach for Kent Cricket Club, Coach Joseph Pessima expressed his profound gratitude to the sponsors as this will make his job easier.

“I am happier about the beginner’s equipment that was donated, as the old saying goes, catch them when they are young, I will now be able to add more kids into my fold both boys and girls and train them with the use of this equipment,” said Coach Pessima.

He added that this equipment will as well be shared with our senior and young players that are being called up for national duty but are without personal kits, they will as well benefit from this donation as they have been struggling to have personal kits.

Sierra Leone women’s cricket vice-captain Fatu Pessima said she is happy to have received her kits from the donation, she thanks the donors for their timely intervention as she has been wanting to have a personal kit to help improve her skills.

She added that as they have an upcoming competition slated in September 2023, at Botswana, she will use these kits to the best of her ability, and this has been one of their major constraints.

Emma Kamara a player at Kent Cricket Club stated that she felt so happy when she received her kits, as it has been over 2 years that she has been yearning for personal kits, she is grateful to the donors for their kind gesture towards young players especially female players as this will allow them to be training regularly.

“This kit will help me to not only love the game but as well to have the ambition to be part of Sierra Leone’s national team in the future” 8 years old young Daniel Tommy stated.

“This is my first time seeing these kits, thanks to the donors, and also thanks to Coach Pessima for the opportunity and exposure. I love the game but the lack of equipment made me not focus much on the game I am now super excited as I will now be the first person to be on the training grounds to practice.”

Parents of the kids who received kits as well thank the donors and appreciate them for the donation as this will help move their kids to the next level in the game, they also thank Coach Pessima for his ability to nurture their kids by helping them to not only love cricket but playing it as well.

The Kent Cricket Club expresses its gratitude to Mikhail Kallon, the Founder of the Madiba Project, for his unwavering support and dedication in coordinating the collection of items from Kent’s partners in Australia, as well as shipping them to Sierra Leone, completely free of charge.

It is worth noting that this is not the first time that Madiba has generously shipped items for Kent Cricket Club. Madiba Project’s unwavering commitment to promoting education in Sierra Leone is truly admirable, and we are grateful for their continued support and dedication to this noble cause.