While Galway stars Damien Comer and Alan Kerins have been pulling up trees in the form of their storming sporting careers in the maroon and white of Galway, now they are part of a noble drive to ensure that one million trees are planted on the continent of Africa.
The planting campaign will bring immeasurable benefit to local African communiti9es, providing soil repair, potential for new crops and a chance of sustainable lives for thise impacted by climate change on that beautiful continent.
Alan Kerins is no stranger to massive humanitarian gestures — the dual Galway star is a man of immense humanity that this county is glad to call its own — and this magic has spread to other intercounty stars who have given of their time and energies to be part of it.
The initiative was kicked off with an historic game played on Sunday featuring over fifty male and female GAA players from all four codes and in the process became the first ever inter-county game to be played in Kenya.
“Thin unbelievable moment for the GAA and a dream come true after years of planning,” said Alan Kerins (Founder/CEO, Warriors for Humanity and All-Ireland winner with Galway ) after the first ever Plant the Planet Games in Nairobi, Kenya.
Those playing included Limerick’s Sean Finn, Wexford’s Matthew O’Hanlon, Kilkenny’s Grace Walsh, Niamh O’Sullivan from Meath, Kerry footballer Stefan Okunbor and Galway’s Damien Comer.
The aim of the trip is to highlight the impact of climate change and raise sufficient funds to plant one million trees in Africa. The GAA players in Kenya this week staged a number of fundraising events across Ireland in recent months and also received support from national and local businesses.
“The funds raised from this historic trip will go to Self Help Africa to support the planting of trees, essential not only to combating the increasing impact of climate change but also as a way of providing sustainable income for local communities. I can’t thank the players enough who worked tirelessly over the past few months raising money for this trip,” said Alan.
In addition to the game, the players will also take part in a series of cultural events this week to highlight the work being done by charities such as Self Help Africa and Brighter Communities Worldwide in the country.
Director of Business Development for Self Help Africa, Martina Hourican said they are delighted to team up with Alan and Warriors for Humanity in support of our tree planting programme.
“The benefits of trees are wide-ranging. Not only can they provide an alternative source of food, offering families better nutrition whilst also providing additional crops that can be sold for income, trees can also restore degraded land whilst improving soil quality.
“We are very grateful that so many of our GAA stars and role models have chosen to bring their influence to bear in combatting this hugely important issue through their participation in the Plant the Planet Games.”
Former Mayo football star and CEO, GPA, Tom Parsons, said that at the GPA, whilst we know that Gaelic Games are a huge part of the lives of our members, a key element of our role is to empower inter-county players to realise the bigger picture beyond sport.
“We are therefore delighted to partner with Alan and Warriors for Humanity and Self Help Africa.
“Not only does this historic trip allow the players to come together and experience something entirely different but in doing so they have leveraged their influence off the field of play in support of the planet and some of the world’s most challenged communities.
