How a Preston volunteer urges people not to take things for granted as she persuades Soccer Manager and Kappa to support a community in Ghana

A woman who works for a Preston-based sports company has raised £1,000 and organised for a giant sportswear brand to donate football shirts to underprivileged children in Ghana.
Michelle Chan with the donated T-shirts from Kappa in GhanaMichelle Chan with the donated T-shirts from Kappa in Ghana
Michelle Chan with the donated T-shirts from Kappa in Ghana

A partnership manager based in Preston has raised £1,000 and organised for a giant sportswear brand to donate football shirts to underprivileged children in Ghana.

Michelle Chan, who works for Soccer Manager, a football games studio, spent almost three weeks volunteering at a school and orphanage in Tetrem, Ghana and says the experience has changed her outlook in life.

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She raised £1,00 by taking part in a 10k, selling food at work and a £750 donation from stake.com.

Children in Ghana say thank you to StakeChildren in Ghana say thank you to Stake
Children in Ghana say thank you to Stake

The 30-year-old, who commutes to Preston twice a week from her home in Huddersfield, said: “For the past few months I’ve been fund-raising to help a village school in Tetrem. “Working for a mobile game studio, I understand the importance of technology, so I raised £1,000 to purchase eight computers and a printer for the school and arranged for Kappa to donate 40 football jerseys by Soccer Manager to donate some footballs.

“I paid for the flights and accommodation myself, rather than going through an agency.

“One of my friends had travelled there to volunteer before, so I then spoke to the principal of the school directly.

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“The school is also an orphanage, giving children a home and a place to learn.

Michelle Chan with one of the children in GhanaMichelle Chan with one of the children in Ghana
Michelle Chan with one of the children in Ghana

“It is built with wooden planks which have holes in, so when it is the wet season, sometimes the school cannot teach.

“I believe education is the way to get out of poverty, but some children don’t have that chance, as their villages are left behind.

“My volunteering taught me so much about being grateful about what we have in life. The conditions over there are really bad. People in Ghana don’t have a toilet, shower, cooker, a bed and so on. They wash with cold buckets of water daily, urinate in a bucket, eat with their hands, and hand wash their clothes with soap.

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“They don’t have a proper doctor, and the village has no water and drainage systems so the children have to fetch over 10 buckets of water daily and much more.

“I was teaching kindergarten children the basic ABC song and nursery rhymes. I also taught children how to use the material I’ve brought over to earn programming.”

To make a donation and help Michelle raise funds for more computers for the school, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ghanatetrem

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