Transforming lives overseas

In 2021, we launched a transformative project to support young Syrian refugees in Lebanon by funding cricket Hubs which provide skills, hope, and opportunity to children living in the Bekaa Valley and Shatila refugee camps. All of these Hubs are delivered by Alsama Cricket, and provide six hours of coaching and match play every week year-round. The Hubs are a lifeline for the young refugees struggling to survive in the challenging environment of these camps after witnessing the unimaginable horrors of war.

The children of Alsama are truly inspirational; their ability to smile and show great strength and perseverance in the face of everything they have been through in Syria and are now enduring in the camps is remarkable.

Shatila, a 1km square encampment housing between 20-40,000 Syrian and Palestinian refugees, sprawls vertically. Its poorly constructed homes are perched impossibly one on top of another in a desperate bid to house its abandoned people, until the sky is obliterated and the damp seeps in, pervading every inch of habitation. Living here is an existence, a survival, a life devoid of hope. It is a similar story at the two other camps out of which Alsama works - Bekaa and Bourj el-Barajneh.

Cricket goes hand in hand with the education offered by Alsama at the three camps and surveys consistently showed how those who play cricket thrive in the classroom. The cricket offers so much - not just the confidence and sense of a team, the self-discipline and the mental wellbeing from playing a sport, but a real chance to forget any anxieties and to be a child.

The young cricketers are fiercely competitive and totally committed and play every week of the year. There is no green space in the camp, so buses are arranged to take the children to playgrounds. Now, some of the original players are so good, that they have become junior coaches to the new Hubs and are developing great skills as teachers and leaders. It is incredible how many children are playing cricket and how many of them display real talent. It is an inspiration for us to see our projects in action and to realise that all our efforts to support are bearing such fruit and bringing such joy.

Alsama have recently launched an urgent appeal to ensure that its 880 students continue to receive support throughout this extremely challenging time. The ongoing conflict has forced Alsama's education centres and some of the cricket pitches used by the children to close, with students and staff being displaced. The students' school lessons will be moved online, while MCCF will continue to support Alsama's cricket Hubs where possible, bringing much-needed much joy and hope to boys and girls who are once again forced to endure the horrors of war.

If you would like to support this appeal, please click here or on the button below.

SUPPORT THE ALSAMA APPEAL

Watch the short film on our 2022 trip to Lebanon with MCC

2022 DIRECTOR'S REPORT

There is huge passion for cricket in Nepal, but a lack of investment and infrastructure. Working with key partners including Kidasha, Cricket Without Boundaries, and MCC, we are providing life-enhancing opportunities through cricket for young people and supporting Nepal's ambitions to become a great cricketing nation.

We are currently delivering in schools across Pokhara, Koshi Province and Madhesh Province, helping young people to access and progress through the game by building facilities, providing kit, up-skilling local teachers and coaches to deliver cricket, and running festivals and competitions. The cricket sessions also incorporate gender equality messaging, and are empowering girls to take part in sport and reach their full potential.

Many of the children we work with are from some of the country’s most disadvantaged slum communities, and lack access to sport and recreation. Cricket gives them a rare opportunity to play and escape their daily struggles while also improving physical and mental well-being. Several players have gone on to be selected for district and provincial cricket teams and now dream of playing for their country after playing cricket for the first time through one of our projects.

Watch highlights from MCC's Legacy Tour to Nepal in 2019

2023 DIRECTOR'S REPORT

In 2022, we were thrilled to launch cricket projects in Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya. We have already seen an incredible impact with close to 7,000 players engaged on our programmes each month. We aim to help bridge the gap between soft ball cricket and the talent pathway, providing support to National Cricket Associations in the region.

Our delivery partner, Cricket Without Boundaries, has been conducting ICC level 1 accredited courses for young leaders from the Mahama refugee camp in the South of Rwanda. There are now 14 ICC accredited coaches running weekly sessions for youngsters living in the camp. As ever, we are using our programmes to drive home key messages on mental health and locally-relevant social issues. We look forward to seeing how cricket in East Africa evolves from strength to strength.

In February 2024, MCC Foundation set off to Rwanda and Uganda to visit its East African cricket projects. The MCC Men’s touring team joined them for the Rwanda leg of the trip to play the National Team sides and coach some of MCCF’s beneficiaries.

Watch the short film on our 2024 trip to Rwanda and Uganda

2024 DIRECTOR'S REPORT

In early 2023, MCCF partnered with the CATCH Trust (formerly known as the Gary Kirsten Foundation) to launch a Women’s Empowerment Programme in Khayelitsha township, Cape Town, South Africa. Bringing together women and girls from township communities, the programme is providing individuals with access to high quality cricket coaching and a life skills programme over a 12-month period. Covering topics including mental health, nutrition, sexual and reproductive health and more, the modules are focused on key issues identified by the communities themselves.

The programme launched with a township trophy tournament planned to coincide with the Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa. 60 girls from four different townships came to play on the only green space in Khayalitsha and displayed some competitive cricket skills as they battled it out for victory. The atmosphere was wonderful, with all the girls singing in full voice, encouraging their teams from the boundary.

The programme follows a successful launch in February 2023 to coincide with the Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa. Players from our programme we able to meet, quiz, and play with members of the England team prior to their fixture against the West Indies. MCCF Playing Ambassadors Heather Knight (Captain), Sophia Dunkley, and Maia Bouchier spent time getting to the know the players and discuss why cricket is so important in communities like Khayelitsha.

Over the year, the players and coaches from these township communities will come together to share in the power of cricket and to work through issues that are important to them. The Foundation is delighted to be working in collaboration with the CATCH Trust to deliver this vital programme and transforms lives through cricket.

Watch the short film on our 2023 trip to South Africa

2023 DIRECTOR'S REPORT