A Tyneside architect and his wife have helped to save a junior football club nicknamed the 'Mfuwe Mags'... 5,000 miles away from Newcastle in Zambia.
Crispin Mason-Jones and Dr Ellie Bond fell in love with the project supporting the remote African community, whilst Ellie was working as a volunteer at a health centre there, giving vital jabs and medical treatment. Now, the senior side from Mfuwe is playing in the Toon's very own black and white thanks to their fundraising in the North East.
They have helped to secure the future of the football and netball teams - for this season at least. Ellie spent four months this year as the doctor at the Kakumbi Rural Health Clinic in Mfuwe, having lived in the country as a child.
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She has just returned from the sabbatical from her role as a Palliative Care Specialist at both St Benedict’s Hospice in Sunderland and the CHIPS Paediatric Palliative Care Service at the RVI in Newcastle. African artist Pam Guhrs, whose father Norman Carr helped to establish the National Parks in Zambia, told the couple how she was fighting to ensure the survival of the stArt Football and netball junior teams.
They could not afford to travel to fixtures and were on the verge of withdrawing from competition. So Crispin and Ellie pledged to raise the necessary funds for team travel and much needed kit and equipment.
Family, friends and North East businesses rallied around to answer their appeal for help. Very quickly Ellie, a mum-of-two from Newcastle, and her artist sister, Ruth Bond, were able to deliver 28 pairs of much needed hard-pitch boots.
Steve Trainor, of Tyneside-based plastics firm UK Extrusion and a keen NUFC fan, sponsored black and white strips for football and netball teams. He was supported by fellow benefactors, including financial consultant Dave Gunning of Denton Woodhouse Ltd in Newcastle, another Toon season ticket holder.
Ellie’s colleague, Judith Jeffries, delivered footballs and training equipment kindly provided by Sunderland AFC's Beacon of Light charity. The donations have transformed the fortunes of the teams in Africa, and meant they have been able to continue to compete this season.
The netball side has won a cup - which brought a spectacular trophy and £1,000 cash prize - and the football team is looking to secure an unlikely promotion against all the odds. Around £10,000-a-year is needed to secure the club's long term future.
Crispin and Ellie hope to foster links with North East donors, companies, schools, and medical volunteers.
Crispin explained: "The senior boys team continue to defy the odds and currently lie in 4th position in Division Three of the Eastern Region. The top four teams are promoted to the National 2nd Division - the third tier of Zambian football.
"It is made all the more remarkable by the fact that the oldest member of our team is 19. Several are only 15, playing in a senior men’s league.
"Two of the 15 year old members of the squad made it to the last round of selection in Lusaka for the Zambian National under-16 team. The netball girls are flying and do not now need to change clubs.
"The objective is to provide sporting opportunities for as many of the boys and girls as possible, and help the club to grow."
Crispin, 60, who has lived in Newcastle for more than forty years, said that the Mfuwe area is rich in wildlife and natural beauty.
But the children taking part in sport, many of whom are orphans, come from poor backgrounds.
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He added: "In the short time I have spent in Mfuwe, I have been struck by the parallels there are between the North East of Zambia and the North East of England. Both are surrounded by amazing natural beauty and boast spectacular National Parks.
"Both are home to wonderful people, kind, generous, resourceful, ingenious with a great sense of humour and fierce pride in the place they call home. Both, sadly, share considerable financial hardship and social deprivation.
"Both share a love of art and creativity and have a passion for sport, and football in particular.
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"So we are looking to gain long term support from sporting institutions and North East businesses to foster links between the two regions."
The club aims to develop under 12, under 15 and under 19 age groups for football and netball. To raise the funds needed, there are plans for sponsored events and gala evenings.
The refurbishment of a house in Kapani, by the stunning South Luangwa National Park, could also bring in much needed funds through future rental, with the region reliant on tourism but hit hard by Covid.
The Mambwe District Hospital is currently under construction in Mfuwe. It is hoped to foster links with medical professionals on Tyneside through Ellie's work in the region, and to also forge educational links with schools.
Anyone able to help can visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/start-art or contact Crispin by email on cmasonjones1962@gmail.com to discuss the project.
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