Tipperary players amongst GAA stars leaving a legacy in Kenya

The universal language of sport built bridges that spanned cultures and thousands of miles, when a group of some of Ireland’s best known GAA stars travelled to Kenya recently with Self Help Africa - including Tipperary’s inter-county players Maria Curley, Barry Hogan, Samantha Lambert, Mary Ryan and Conor Stakelum.

Their trip was part of the Plant the Planet Games initiative to plant one million trees and raise awareness of the impact of climate change on some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.

The week-long journey included showpiece exhibition matches in Nairobi between the visiting stars and Kenyan Premier League football team AFC Leopards, as well as training sessions for the visiting players with some of Kenya’s elite long-distance runners, and visits to Self Help Africa projects in the country.

The visiting group - which included hurling, Gaelic football, and camogie players - planted trees during their visit to local communities and were the special guests at a reception hosted by Ireland’s Ambassador to Kenya, Caitríona Ingoldsby.

The players met Ireland’s missionary priest, Brother Colm O’Connell who has been described as ‘the godfather of distance running in Kenya,’ and visited non-profit ball manufacturer Alive and Kicking, and projects run by Irish charity, Brighter Communities Worldwide.

The Plant the Planet Games were organised for the second successive year by former Galway dual player Alan Kerins’ Warriors for Humanity, and the trip was also supported by the Gaelic Players’ Association and sponsors Optimum Nutrition. Team gear for their trip was sponsored by McKeever Sports and match day sustainability sponsor were Kerry Group.

“The work that Self Help Africa do is incredible,” Mary Ryan said.

“It was hugely inspiring and humbling to be able to support this. It was massively rewarding to meet with local farmers on whose land we planted trees and to see the joy and hope among families, young and old. We continue to raise funds with the aim to support tree nurseries and tree planting in the regions, providing food, income, shade and shelter to thousands of families and communities and continuing to tackle the impact of climate change.”

Maria Curley added: “It was amazing meeting all the local kids and planting trees together to help give them a better future. My eyes are well and truly opened to what’s important in life. Thanks to everyone for their support, together we can leave a legacy.”

Reflecting on the week, Alan Kerins said: “It was another amazing Plant the Planet Games, from the match in Nairobi, tree planting with the communities in Iten, running with the Kenyan athletes, soccer matches against local communities, seeing the wonderful work that Self Help Africa do on the ground. That’s really special, tree planting with the communities. It dawned on many of the players - this is the impact of our work. Meeting families who are going to benefit from these trees long after they are gone.

“Planting trees with children, who will reap the rewards of these trees. The sacrifices and the challenges of raising the money, it was all worthwhile. To see the connection between Irish and Kenyan people, it was very special. The players are exemplary role models. They should be very proud of themselves, and we should be very proud of them.”