Academy tourists raise £10k to aid young people in South Africa

The Edinburgh Academy’s first XV rugby squad raised more than £10,000 for a South African charity before their tour of the rugby-mad country this month.

As the tour drew near, the squad and their supporters decided to raise money on behalf of The Goedgedacht Trust, which works from a busy community development centre, set on a beautiful Cape Dutch farm where the core aim of the Trust is to help farmers and their families escape the perpetual cycles of poverty.

The Academy identified The Trust’s Path out of Poverty Programme (POP) as a worthwhile project to support and be associated with on a long-term basis. The project works with the children from newborn until they are self-sufficient young adults. Their three key goals are education, health and personal Development.

All the funds raised by the 32-strong squad and their supporters have been donated to the POP Programme by the boys and they visited the Trust’s Centre during the tour. The funds will be used to equip a new youth centre’s IT facility, where currently three PCs are shared by 200 children.

The tourists arrive back in the UK this weekend.