Two brothers initiate Boot Drive project

Two brothers, Kwabena and Ekow Enti of the Ghana International School with the support of their friends donated 200 football boots to three football teams in Accra.

The teams are the Dynamic FC, Phoenix FC and Ascona FC. The boots, which were donated under the "Boot Drive" project are for less-privileged boys who cannot afford to buy pairs of boots to play football matches.

Kwabena, 11 and Ekow, nine, told the Junior Graphic that the Boot Drive project was conceived after they played soccer with the Dynamic FC in the La community two weeks ago.

According to the brothers, anytime there was a substitution, the player being substituted had to unlace his boots, remove it and hand that as well as the shin guard over to the new player coming onto the pitch.

That, they said, made them realise the need to support children with boots which they began by donating their old boots to charity.

However, after a discussion with their parents and teachers at school, they decided to take it a step further by appealing to their friends at school to support the initiative.

“We were marvelled at the response as we didn't expect such a turnout. We took it even further by approaching students in other schools and the response again was impressive,” they said.

They expressed the hope of making the donation an annual affair.

“Our parents have taught us to understand that we are blessed and so anytime we have the opportunity, we should extend kindness to other persons in need,” they added.

Receiving the boots on behalf of Dynamic FC, the Secretary of the team, Mr Joseph Oppong, thanked the siblings and their friends for the support.

He called for more support for other underprivileged children in society to help all children discover their talents.

The Vice Principal of the Junior School of GIS, Ms Nadia Bruce-Muller, said she was proud of the initiative by her pupils and hoped that it would challenge and inspire other children to be selfless.