Jamaica

'Making a Difference'

In November 2009, a group of coaches and staff from C4C and the 2nd Chance Project went out to Jamaica (with the support of British Airways) to help launch the Courtney Walsh Foundation.

The launch of the foundation took place in Kingston, Jamaica on November 20th and was a grand affair with over 500 people attending including two government ministers, the British High Commissioner and the Mexican Ambassador. Also present were West Indies cricketing legends Wes Hall, Jimmy Adams and of course Courtney himself.

Banks of TV cameras filmed the proceedings and the launch received extensive coverage on Jamaica TV and radio. In addition there were prominent features in Jamaican newspapers, the Daily Gleaner, the Saturday Gleaner, the Sunday Gleaner, the Daily Observer and the Sunday Observer.

 The Foundation’s target groups are; Young people with a disability / Young people living in poverty / Young offenders and young people at risk of becoming involved in criminal activity.

The Foundation’s programmes
The Courtney Walsh Foundation will replicate the following groundbreaking Cricket for Change programmes which have been developed in the UK and implemented in countries around the world including Sierra Leone, Israel, Sri Lanka, Rwanda and South Africa. Through these programmes the Foundation will target males and females aged 8 to 21.

In addition it was announced that Cricket for Change’s Head Coach Mikey Thompson would be joining the Foundation to help establish the programmes island wide.

This is something of what happened when we were there - Making a Difference in Jamaica  - Nov. 2009