THEY may be thousands of miles away in Africa but children in Kenya are wearing Hull City's kit with pride.
Youngsters at Swanland Village School in Nairobi have been kitted out in kits donated by City, thanks to links with an East Yorkshire charity.
The African school, which is named after Swanland Primary School in the East Riding, is benefiting from a series of link-ups forged by the Swanland Education Africa Trust.
The trust's chairman, Richard Swain, is preparing to travel to Nairobi next month to visit Swanland Village School and Esther's School, which are supported through regular donations to the charity.
Mr Swain, an engineering manager from Swanland, said: "It's about getting links between our own community here and the two schools we support in Nairobi, whether it's through football kits from Hull City, or with uniforms from Swanland Primary School.
"All these things can make a difference and make a connection, whether you see the kids playing football in Hull City shirts or going to school in Swanland sweatshirts.
"It makes you realise in one sense how much we have in common.
"These are kids in a school getting education and having fun playing football.
"You also see the differences and these links help bridge the gap, it gives them some of the opportunities that our kids take for granted."
Swanland Village School is in the Ngando slums of the Kenyan capital, where children live in extreme poverty.
Mr Swain, 46, is set for a week-long trip with his son, Robert, 16, to visit the two schools and visit families supported through a HIV/Aids community project.
He said: "We will be visiting the two schools, checking on progress and seeing at first-hand how the money from the trust is being spent.
"We will also be looking at what the next steps are and what things we need to do to help them.
"One of the big things we are planning will be getting electricity to the site, which will need funding. It will open up a lot of other opportunities."
Mr Swain, who is a governor at Swanland and South Hunsley schools in the East Riding, has been invited to give out prizes for academic achievement at the Nairobi schools.
He said: "Swanland Education Africa Trust is all about bringing care, education and hope to the lives of poor and vulnerable children through the two schools we fund.
"Seeing their smiling faces brings so much satisfaction that we are making a difference.
"Although we know that life may remain a struggle for so many of them, it is good to know that with the support of our regular donors their future is a bright one."
Seventy five people across East Yorkshire make regular donations to the trust to support its work but more supporters are needed.
Mr Swain said: "At the moment we get about 50 per cent of what we need through regular donations.
"We have people who give as little as £3 and others who give as much as £200 a month by standing order.
"Ideally, we need a few more people giving regularly.
"If lots of people gave a little we can make it sustainable.
"At the moment, the other 50 per cent of the money we need comes through fundraising.
"If we could get people giving £15 a month that covers a child's food and their teacher's wages – that's only 50p a day, which is just the price of a bar of chocolate.
"It makes such a difference to a child's life."
• To contact the charity, email Mr Swain at richardmswain@gmail.com or call 07881 508472. Visit swanlandschoolnairobi.org for more information about the school.
Hull firm's irrigation work
DURING next month's visit to Kenya, Richard Swain will be looking at field trials for an irrigation project launched by Mike Brown, of Hull firm Liquid Lever.
Mr Swain said: "Mike has developed a drip-feed irrigation system and we will be visiting the field trials and reporting back on the irrigation project.
"He is hoping to arrange for us to meet some UN representatives when we see the irrigation project as he is keen on accessing UN grants and funding for his long-term vision for getting the product used across developing countries."
The drip-feed irrigation kits are for suitable for communities in developing countries where resources, such as pressure filtered water and electricity are limited or non-existent.
MP Alan Johnson recently visited Liquid Lever to learn about the project, which is benefiting from support from the Business Growth Fund.
Mr Brown said: "A few years ago we had a display in the House of Commons and Alan Johnson was very keen. He came to visit us recently to see how things are going."
