Football coach Sam Loomes has volunteered to spend two weeks in Africa passing on his skills and enthusiasm to youngsters in Ghana.
Sam, aged 21, leaves next month but in the meantime he faces another challenge –cycling 100 miles on Sunday, April 26, to raise money to help fund the trip and to buy resources, including sports equipment, for the children he will be meeting.
His sponsored ride will take him from Terrington St Clement to Norwich and he expects to complete the route in somewhere between nine and 12 hours.
Sam works for King’s Lynn Community Football and is heading for Ghana as part of Projects Abroad delivering football sessions to schools, orphanages, football clubs and villages.
Sam said: “The resources, facilities and quality of football and sports coaching in Ghana is very limited due to it being a Third World country. I hope to give these children the experience they deserve in a country with very few opportunities.”
While Sam is volunteering he will be living with a Ghanaian family for the two weeks and absorbing the African culture and hoping to forge valuable long-term relationships.
At the end of his project he hopes to return with a better understanding of the country he’s volunteered in and its people.
On his cycle ride, Sam hopes to raise some money to help fund some of the trip and to buy items for the children in Ghana including sports equipment, school resources, water, food and clothing.