Scotland’s Men have started well in their pursuit of a World Cup in Zimbabwe, but some of the playing squad took time away from cricket earlier this week to visit a school set up by the Our Neighbours Project in Bulawayo.
Our Neighbours is a charity created to serve the poorest of poor in the country, providing support with food, medication, and education. The players spoke with the children about their studies, and joined a school assembly filled with music and song before hearing about what they’d learnt about Scotland.
The school was created to provide opportunities for local children who have not been able to afford education, or whose families struggle to fund three meals a day. It serves as a base for those attending to receive the education required to reintegrate back into the wider schooling system, as well as provide them with basic skills required to move forward in life.
Bulawayo is a twinned city with Edinburgh, which played a pivotal role in creating this visit. Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh has had a working relationship with the Our Neighbours Project for several years, and the Scotland squad in Zimbabwe includes two former pupils, Chris Sole and Tom Mackintosh, while Ally Evans is on the teaching staff at the school as Head of Cricket and Hockey.
Ahead of the visit, the Scotland squad organised a collection of basic clothes, medication, band aids and stationery, all of which the community desperately needs. The visit concluded with the children being put through their paces as they gave cricket a go for the first time; the power and joy of cricket and sport was clear to see from all present.
If you’d like to find out more about the work that Our Neighbours is doing to support people in Zimbabwe, including the school Scotland’s players visited, as well as the babies’ home set up to help abandoned children in the city and the soup kitchen available for all, you can visit the organisation’s website below for more information.
