‘The kids were running for a better way of life’ - Navan man's mission to Africa

MICHAEL KEAVENY

After watching an RTE documentary on the life of the late Barney Curley, where he saw the racing legend dedicate much of his life to helping those less fortunate in Africa, former Meath footballer and Navan man Sean Tobin decided he wanted to emulate him by helping underprivileged kids there.

“Barney had big cars, and big house but he decided to put it into projects in Africa and he said it was one of the best things that he ever did. I had always wanted to do something like that, so it spurred me on. The very next day I rang a company called Global Working Travel to volunteer.”

After being vetted, Sean ended up spending four weeks with the Future Stars Academy in the Arusha area of Tanzania, which uses sport as a vehicle for kids in the area to improve their lives. It caters for over 150 boys and girls from the age of 5-20. Future Stars also have a partner organisation called The Jaffrey Organisation, where a couple of the kids have shown talent in different sports and they hope to send them to the Special Olympics for things like running or swimming.

Before travelling out Sean researched the area but was still stunned at the level of poverty he saw. “I looked into the place before I went out so I had an idea of what it is like, but nothing can prepare you for what it’s like in person. Even though things like education have improved recently, there a still few opportunities for a better life."

He said: “The Future Stars Academy takes kids off the street and gives them an opportunity at a better life through football. A lot of the kids are hoping to make it in football professionally, which is very tough.

“They have kids in the Spanish second division and one in Aston Villa. They are seeing results. Every December they host a competition called the Chipkidzi Cup, where scouts come and look at the kids”.

While he acknowledges that the chances of the children making a career in professional football are low, the skills they learn in the Academy can be applied to life off the pitch.

“The Academy knows that the chances of kids getting a trial and then a contract is very low, but through sport, they hope to teach the kids values that they can use in their personal lives, so if the soccer doesn’t go well they can teach skills that can be applied towards getting an education and employment,” according to Sean.

Sean has a background in business and marketing, so he used those skills to help work in the office at the Academy and used his other time to train the kids on the soccer pitch.

“They don’t view this as a hobby for the kids. Their motto is “no school no play”, you can’t come and go as you like, you have to turn up day in, day out and put in the work. They also train kids who have a real love of the game to become coaches. They have to travel very far to get there so Future Stars run a bus, free of charge which they pick up around the nearby city of Arusha.”

To raise funds for the academy, Sean organised a half marathon on the slopes of nearby Kilimanjaro, something which he says the kids were delighted to be a part of.

“We decided that it would be a good idea if we showed that the kids were willing to work, not just take charity from people. We decided to run a half marathon, so we picked a strong crew of lads to take part. We were running at altitude on the same height as Carantoohill, on a steep incline.”

Given that daytime temperatures regularly exceed 30 degrees, it’s recommended that any outdoor activity takes place early in the morning. But given the time difference between Ireland and Tanzania Sean wanted to maximise the social media audience for fundraising purposes, he organised the event for 11.30am local time which was 8.30am Irish time. Despite the difficult conditions all of the participants finished the event, which Sean says was a testimony of their willingness to help themselves.

“It was the hardest half marathon I ever did. A lot of the kids said it was the best day of their lives, it was the first time that they had ever completed anything before. In Ireland, we might do an event like it and think nothing of it but it meant everything to them.

“We raised €4,000 which we put towards getting passports for the coaches, getting them their next level of FIFA Pro badges as well as health insurance for one of the coaches and we got the kids who ran the half marathon a pair of football boots for them. For some of them it was the first pair of boot they ever owned.

“Some of it’s going to marketing, further courses and the Jaffrey organisation. None of it is going to waste. It was just a half marathon for me but it felt like the kids were running for a better way of life.”