Devon Cricket Board - Gidney taking cricket to Cameroon

A Brand New Adventure

In 2015, I am going to do something a bit different. I will travel to Cameroon and coach cricket to children in local schools in October.

Why am I doing this?

There are 22.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. There were almost 2 million HIV/AIDS-related deaths in the region in 2009 alone and 14.8 million children have lost at least one parent to AIDS/HIV since this epidemic began. It is easy to feel helpless contemplating numbers such as these. How can we possibly do anything to help?

Then one day I came across Cricket Without Boundaries, a cricket development and AIDS awareness charity. They provided me with the numbers you have read above but also showed that in a small but significant way, it is possible to make a difference.... and better still to do it by teaching kids cricket! I have always wanted to go to sub-Saharan Africa. And so, wonderfully, all three good things came together and I found I could not refuse a wonderful opportunity.

So what will I be doing?

Every year since 2005, CWB have been sending project teams to Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. Its people have coached cricket to tens of thousands of children from among the poorest communities in the world as well as training up thousands of local coaches. While doing so, they spread awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention by incorporating these messages into their coaching sessions.

If you want to know more about them, go here:

http://www.cricketwithoutboundaries.com/

In October, I will join a project team for 2 weeks, being sent to the wonderful country of Cameroon. Will my UKCC2 qualification and coaching skills be enough to prepare me for several hundred kids turning up to play cricket on a rough playing field in the middle of Bamenda? It will be very different from running sessions in a large and well-equipped North Devon sports hall. I have read lively accounts of previous projects and I know it is going to be challenging but also mind-expanding and a lot of fun.

Would you like to help me and support the project?

Every coach is asked to raise a minimum of £975 for the charity to cover the project costs including transport, accommodation and most important of all, the equipment that is left in the country and helps to ensure the maximum impact from our trip. In addition, each coach pays for their own flights and other related travel costs.

CWB believe that through our fund-raising, we should spread awareness of the project among our families, friends and local communities. However, I am going to disappoint those of you who were hoping I would undertake public humiliation or death-defying stunts in search of funds. I have a simple plan for my main fund-raiser.

I will walk from my own club Chulmleigh on a round trip to all the clubs with Youth sections affiliated to the North Devon Cricket Youth Association between 23^rd and 28^th May.

This will take me to Filleigh, Barnstaple, Braunton, North Devon, Bideford, Newton Tracey, Hatherleigh and back again to Chulmleigh, an estimated distance of at 100-120 miles taking into account wrong turns and diversions and more than enough for my dodgy 52 year old knees. I hope to camp overnight on a few grounds and meet many people for a chat (and maybe a beer) along the way (but no I am not going to carry a pig all the way or anything like that).

Here is my probable route plan:

	Day	Date	Start	End	Est Mileage	Walk time	Start Time	Arrival time	Overnight
Day 1	Sat	23rd May	Chulmleigh CC	Filleigh CC	15	5	10.00	19.00	Filleigh CC
Day 2	Sun	24th May	Filleigh CC	Barnstaple CC	12	4	8.00	13.00
			Barnstaple CC	Braunton CC	9	3	15.00	19.00	Braunton CC
Day 3	Mon	25th May	Braunton CC	North Devon CC	15	5	8.00	16.00	North Devon CC
Day 4	Tues	26th May	North Devon CC	Bideford CC	6	2	8.00	11.00
			Bideford CC	Newton Tracey CC	15	5	13.00	19.00	Newton Tracey CC
Day 5	Weds	27th May	Newton Tracey CC	Hatherleigh CC	21	7	8.00	18.00	Hatherleigh CC
Day 6	Thurs	28th May	Hatherleigh CC	Chulmleigh CC	21	7	8.00	18.00

I will also be hosting a Cameroonian Kitchen throughout the Chulmleigh CC annual Under 25 vs. Under 25 cricket match on Sunday June 14^th to raise additional funds.

Now, if every one of you were prepared to support me with just £5 each, that would mean I need the backing of just 195 people to raise my funds. It is easy to donate. Simply click on my Just Giving link below:

https://www.justgiving.com/David-Gidney/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=fundraisingpage&utm_content=David-Gidney&utm_campaign=pfp-share&fb_ref=Default

What will you get in return?

Well firstly, a fiver is not a bad investment for watching me stumble around North Devon for a few days? More importantly, it will mean you can play your own part in the project. And I promise I will give every one of my supporters a full and unedited account of my trip and tell you of the impact your donation has made to these communities, providing you, I hope, with some entertainment along the way.

I do hope you do not think this is the craziest idea I have ever had and that you will support this noble cause.

Many thanks,

David Gidney