Lemoore kids, South Valley Church lend big hand to effort for Nairobi Community Center

Sunday, March 9, 2014 - 12:00pm By Ed Martin, The Leader Editor

There is one community center in Nairobi, Kenya and a bunch of eager soccer players who will be thrilled when they hear that a bunch of soccer balls and sports equipment will soon be headed their way, thanks in large part to a bunch of youngsters and the South Valley Community Church.

The church, Lemoore High School Soccer Coach Janet Brown and many of her soccer players hosted what they expect will be an annual event to raise money for the Furaha Community Center in Nairobi, which is need of sports equipment, particularly soccer balls.

Over 100 local youngsters, ages 4-12 took part in a soccer camp at the Lemoore Sports Complex where high school soccer players, parents and coaches put on a camp from about 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

“The South Valley Community Church supports a school in Kenya. Of course they have really big needs. They have basic needs like food and safe living and health. We just thought that some of those kids – there are 500 kids in the elementary school and 80 kids in the high school – they don’t really have fun things, they don’t really have soccer balls and they don’t have a lot of the stuff that of course we have so we as a group were inspired to try to raise some money to get them some soccer balls and some soccer equipment.”

And judging from the turnout Saturday, the Furaha Community Center will be getting plenty of both. The camp had a goal of $3,000 and they met that goal even before the start of Saturday’s camp. As of about 2:30 p.m. the camp hoped to raise more by the end of the day.

Another camp organizer, Katrina Morshead said that South Valley Community Church partnered with an organization called “When I Grow Up” based in Reedley, California and that organization stumbled upon a group of Kenyans who put together a school in Nairobi and since 2007 “When I Grow Up” has been financially supporting them and growing friendships and relationships with these guys who are providing educational and health needs for the orphan kids in their community.

Morshead has visited Kenya and the school and along with Brown hopes to make this an annual event to help the school.

“Our goal was $3,000 and we blasted through that,” said Brown. And with about 100 kids today we’re probably up to today. We went way past our goal.”