Teaching orphans is Amy's goal during the World Cup

Published on Tuesday 8 June 2010 09:52

AS THE World Cup approaches, most young football fans are gearing up for the event with a comfy sofa and a six-pack of beer.

But Amy Henderson, 20, has instead been inspired to pack her bags and head for Africa to teach football to orphans.

Amy will set off on Thursday for three weeks in Uganda, where she will help out at the Namugongo orphanage.

The Spartans Community Football Academy youth coach will arrive bearing gifts from the children she teaches in Edinburgh – more than 60 pairs of old football boots they have grown out of, which will be given to the Ugandan orphans.

The trip has been arranged through the Muirhouse Youth Development Group, where she is a volunteer. Another youth worker from MYDG has already been volunteering with Namugongo for about a year, organising breakfast clubs for the youngsters, and Ms Henderson decided to follow in his footsteps.

She secured a 2,600 grant from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, which offers fellowships to people wanting to gain experience overseas in order to help their community. As well as meeting her costs during the trip, the money has helped buy bibs and cones for football games at the orphanage. Goalie gloves have been donated by Spartans keeper Chris Flockhart, and she also has ten footballs to take along.

She said: "I'm kind of going open-minded because I'm not sure what to imagine, the kids are going to be so different, because they're going to really want you there, so they appreciate you much more.

"It was part of the plan to go during the World Cup, because it will be such a great scene for football, there will be a good buzz, because it will be on everywhere."

She said she hoped the visit would build links between young footballers in the two countries: "I've got some of the kids at Spartans to devise football sessions to teach there with their favourite activities, like King of the Ring and Football Tennis, so it'll be like taking a bit of north Edinburgh over there and hopefully I'll bring a bit of Uganda back here as well."

Children from Namugongo are due to visit MYDG next year, and Amy, herself from Muirhouse, hopes to bring the two groups of footballers together: "I'm going to have a big theme day here (at Spartans] with two lots of kids in together, showing their love for football."

The former Craigroyston Community High School pupil will be joined for the first two weeks of her trip by Jonathan Ssentamu, a health and lifestyle activity coach who works at MYDG, and is, by coincidence, from Uganda.

He said: "Amy's project is going to be on using football as a tool of communication. I think she's quite excited about what she wants to do, it's going to be a challenge for her, but I think she'll get a lot out of it.

"I think she'll find a positive attitude from the young people in Uganda, because the environment she works in here is quite different – the children in Uganda are very receptive, because they will be scrambling for her services, she will be much needed."