Westmeath GAA stars in Africa to 'Plant a Million Trees'
Two of Westmeath’s leading GAA stars are in Africa this week, in a bid to plant a million trees and raise awareness of the impact that climate change is having on some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
Boidu Sayeh (Rosemount) and Jennie Rogers (Milltown) joined 50 sportsmen and women from across the country on a week-long trip to Kenya that included playing a series of GAA matches billed as the ‘Plant the Planet Games’, in Nairobi at the weekend.
Participants are collectively aiming to raise more than €350,000 in sponsorship support to plant a million trees in Africa and support the efforts of Irish development charity Self Help Africa to combat the effects of climate change among small-scale farming communities.
The event is being organised by ‘Warriors for Humanity’ (the charity headed by former Galway dual-player Alan Kerins), the Gaelic Players Association and Self Help Africa, and will also include a programme of sports sessions with children, tree planting days to rehabilitate degraded lands, and visits to agricultural projects being implemented by Self Help Africa in Kenya.
Alongside the Westmeath players on the inaugural ‘Plant the Planet Games’ are Limerick hurler Sean Finn, Kerry’s Stefan Okunbor, Clare’s Podge Collins, Kilkenny’s Grace Walsh, and Niamh O’Sullivan from Meath.
They played a series of exhibition games at Nairobi Rugby Club on Sunday, and were the guests of honour at a reception hosted by the Irish ambassador to Kenya that night.
Alan Kerins said: “Gaelic Games has an ability to bring communities together for a greater good, and we are sure this event will be no different.”
Director of Business Development at Self Help Africa, Martha Hourican, said that tree planting in Kenya would do much more than remove harmful greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, as the trees being planted would provide alternative sources of food, additional crops that could be sold for income, and would help restore degraded land and improve soil quality for farming in Kenya and elsewhere on the continent.
Self Help Africa planted one million trees in Africa last year in a collaboration that by yogurt brand Glenisk.
Gaelic Players Association CEO, Tom Parsons, said that a key element of their role was to empower inter-county players to realise the bigger picture beyond sport. “Not only will this campaign allow the players to come together and experience something entirely different, but in doing so they will also be able to leverage their influence off the field of play in support of the planet and some of the world’s most challenged communities.”
To find out more about the upcoming trip or make a donation to the cause visit: www.selfhelpafrica.org.