Once-in-a-lifetime Gambia coaching trip for Darwen students

11:46am Thursday 1st March 2012 in News

THREE teenagers from Darwen have returned from a once-in-a-lifetime football coaching trip to Gambia.

Lewis Atkinson, 18, Damien Moulden, 19, and Kyle Jackson, 18, of Darwen Spartans FC, taught ball skills to African youngsters, as well as helping them to clear fields for crops, building fences, and digging water holes.

Lewis, an Accrington and Rossendale College sports academy student, said the week-long trip with charity Football Gambia had changed his life.

He said: From the moment we stepped off the plane, we were treated like celebrities.

There were 50 to 60 children singing and dancing for us, and that happened again in the village we camped in. The days were very tiring because of the 40 degree heat and the physical jobs, but its completely changed the way I think about things.

We gave the children sweets, and they had never seen them before, and the adults were given new T-shirts, instead of the rags they had been wearing for two years. It makes me realise how much more kids have in the UK, and now I wont waste a scrap of food on my plate.

The Darwen lads started off with simple tasks, such as races, and dribbling balls Spartans manager and Lewis dad, Mark Atkinson, said: I have seen such a change in the attitude towards life of these lads in terms of maturity, lifes core values, and respect for the basic things we all take for granted. Some of the situations they got involved in certainly made them feel humble.

As a club we are extremely proud, and also wish to thank all of those who helped them raise the funding to carry it out.

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Once-in-a-lifetime Gambia coaching trip for Darwen students