By Vic Mills
Project Front Foot is delighted to announce the continued support for our Kit 4 Kids campaign by national carriers British Airways. The airline has again waived the excess charges on five bags of equipment. When you add this luggage concession to my own personal allowance, I will be able to take another 140 kilos of kit to Mumbai when I return for a six-week stay on 4th October.
First cab off the kit rank back in April was Sally Mundy, junior co-ordinator at the Lindum (Lincoln), with donations collected during junior registration evening. The Lindum's bi-annual Summer Ball in early June brought further kit from former club members as far afield as North Wales, Shropshire, Hampshire and Yorkshire.
A week later I undertook a 250-mile round trip from Reading to the small village of Kington near the Welsh border to collect, courtesy of the Genders Family efforts: 32 new cricket balls (bought from donations), 103 shirts (for ages 11-15), 76 new Herefordshire Cricket Board caps, 18 pairs of flannels, 12 pairs of batting gloves, 11 pairs of pads, 6 pairs of boots, 10 bats, 13x3 stumps, 4 thigh pads, 3 helmets, 2 arm guards, and a further 30 used (but in good nick) cricket balls.
In early July I headed back to Reading with two large cricket bags donated by Lincs player, Aaron Onyon, to add to the one from Matt Gill of Sulhamstead CC in Berks. With a piece of astute packing I managed to get all the Kington kit re-packed into these bags. Okay, so getting them off the luggage carousel in Mumbai might be a small problem, but I'll worry about that in October.
Monsoon season in Mumbai at the moment, but the planning continues for PFF's second season at the Gymkhana Club, King's Circle starting in early October.
Our partners in Mumbai, Chris Way and Krishna Pujari of Reality Gives, are currently in the process of renting further premises in Dharavi to serve as both a base for their sporting activities (of which PFF is an integral part) and as a meeting venue for youngsters.
High on our list this close season is planning for our Big Bash tournament set to be staged in Mumbai on 24th October. We hope to use the King's Circle ground. Although at an early stage, the make-up of the tournament (most likely 10/10 as opposed to 20/20) will involve at least one team from Dharavi, a team from the Chembur orphanage (where we also donate kit) and at least two other teams associated with children's NGOs in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, the search continues to provide fixtures on a fortnightly basis for the Dharavi children for next season. Reality Gives are also close to appointing a co-ordinator for their various sporting activities. The job will involve, among other things, running our coaching sessions, arranging fixtures, and the appointment and supervision of volunteer coaches.
Finally, Chris has asked me to mention that, due to there being another charity with the name of Reality Cares in the USA, he has had to rename his Reality Gives. His new website can be found at www.realitygives.org
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