Aussie NRL players off to Rwanda for charity work
A group of players from Australian National Rugby League club Parramatta will leave next week for troubled Rwanda to perform charity work, the club said on Saturday.
By Agence France-Presse
MSN-SINGAPORE
October 17, 2009
Led by new signing and representative forward Justin Poore, the group plans to build two new houses from money it has raised and distribute shoes to widows and orphans in the capital Kigali.
Poore made his first trip to war-torn Rwanda last year where he helped build houses with a Rwandan foundation for survivors of the 1994 genocide which claimed about 800,000 lives.
"I had a charity night three months ago through my charity organisation, Poore Rwanda, and we raised about 33,000 dollars (30,000 US) which will help build two new houses for widows and orphans of the genocide," Poore told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"We've also got 1,200 pairs of shoes and we're going to go to an orphanage and help them out.
Coming after a season dominated by damaging headlines of group sex, domestic violence, racism, doping and drug abuse scandals involving NRL players, Poore said he hoped the actions of his group would present a positive influence.
"I think rugby league players get a bit of a bad rap, but 99 percent of blokes are always doing charity work and not many people know about it," Poore said.
"It means everything to me. I've got to be able to play football, but you go over there (Rwanda) and see how they live and you shake your head.
"I don't think people in the western world realise just how hard it is for the Africans, especially the Rwandans, with what they went through."
Related Materials:
October 17, 2009
Led by new signing and representative forward Justin Poore, the group plans to build two new houses from money it has raised and distribute shoes to widows and orphans in the capital Kigali.
Poore made his first trip to war-torn Rwanda last year where he helped build houses with a Rwandan foundation for survivors of the 1994 genocide which claimed about 800,000 lives.
"I had a charity night three months ago through my charity organisation, Poore Rwanda, and we raised about 33,000 dollars (30,000 US) which will help build two new houses for widows and orphans of the genocide," Poore told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"We've also got 1,200 pairs of shoes and we're going to go to an orphanage and help them out.
Coming after a season dominated by damaging headlines of group sex, domestic violence, racism, doping and drug abuse scandals involving NRL players, Poore said he hoped the actions of his group would present a positive influence.
"I think rugby league players get a bit of a bad rap, but 99 percent of blokes are always doing charity work and not many people know about it," Poore said.
"It means everything to me. I've got to be able to play football, but you go over there (Rwanda) and see how they live and you shake your head.
"I don't think people in the western world realise just how hard it is for the Africans, especially the Rwandans, with what they went through."
Related Materials:
Poore leads charity tour to Rwanda
Rwandan peasants on the brink of extinction
Rwanda: Elementary school students take classes under a tree
Rwanda: Driven by Poverty Mothers Throw Away Their Infants
Striving for growth, bypassing the poor?A critical review of Rwanda’s rural sector policies
Rwanda Today: When Foreign Aid Hurts More Than It Helps
On The Myth of Economic Prosperity in Rwanda
Rwandan peasants on the brink of extinction
Rwanda: Elementary school students take classes under a tree
Rwanda: Driven by Poverty Mothers Throw Away Their Infants
Striving for growth, bypassing the poor?A critical review of Rwanda’s rural sector policies
Rwanda Today: When Foreign Aid Hurts More Than It Helps
On The Myth of Economic Prosperity in Rwanda
posted by Mamadou Kouyate @ 4:45 PM
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