Member Article

Partnership lights up the night

Football is not the only way to light up life as Sunderland AFC have found out as they lend a hand in a conservation project in Nigeria, in partnership with local charity, the Nuru Fund, and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

The partnership between SAFC and the Nuru Fund, set up in 2013, has proven to be extremely beneficial, with Sunderland sharing its knowledge and valuable connections in Africa to help improve health and education and create a safer environment in which to live.

The Nuru Fund is a charity set up by Gentoo Group offering small customised loans to allow rural households in Africa the opportunity to purchase solar powered lamps. Replacing traditional kerosene with safe solar lighting can improve education, health, income and encourage a more planet smart way of living amongst vulnerable communities. For example, the new lamps, help save households 10-25% of their income and enable children to study for longer, under better conditions.

Through its various activities in supporting community football and many partnerships, Sunderland AFC has become one of the most respected professional football clubs across Africa and has now turned their support to wildlife conservation.

SAFC and the Nuru Fund have teamed up with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), a global conservation organization saving wildlife and wild places in more than 60 countries worldwide, in the fight to protect one of the world’s most iconic creatures, the African elephant.

Nigeria’s premiere game reserve in Yankari is home to the country’s last viable elephant population and one of only two lion populations in the country. Their mission is to have the last viable elephant population by protecting the animals from poachers with an elite force of Rangers.

To support the Rangers in their attempt to stamp out poaching, Sunderland AFC and Nuru Fund will be sending 25 solar lamps to the Rangers and their families to help eradicate the use of harmful kerosene lighting. This sustainable solution in turn will provide health, educational and income benefits to the Rangers and their families alike.

The game reserve in Yankari is run by WCS’s Nigeria Country Director, Andrew Dunn, who is originally from Sunderland.

Andrew said: “This generous donation means that 50 families a year can benefit from the lamps, financially, physically and educationally.

“WCS has been supporting conservation and conservation-related research in Nigeria since 1996 and by working closely with Sunderland AFC and the Nuru Fund we hope to successfully help protect the last remaining elephants in Nigeria.”

Sunderland AFC’s commercial director, Gary Hutchinson, said: “The Wildlife Conservation Society do a magnificent job and we are proud to support their initiative in Nigeria.

“We have a strong relationship with the continent of Africa and have seen first-hand the beauty of Africa’s wildlife. Through our partnership with the Nuru Fund and WCS we hope to help stop the poaching of such majestic animals.”

Gentoo Group’s chief executive, Peter Walls said: “We are pleased to announce this new partnership which sees the Nuru Fund working in a new country. Expanding the charity like this enables even more people living in rural, off grid communities to benefit from clean, healthy and safe solar lighting.

“Nigeria faces many challenges and we are proud to be able to help these families to reduce and hopefully eradicate their use of kerosene for lighting.

“We are delighted to be continuing this vital work with SAFC and our new partners WCS and look forward to getting started.”

Graeme Patterson, Deputy Director of WCS’s Africa Program, said, “Across Africa, threatened species like elephants, lions and more rely on wildlife rangers to secure the protected areas in which they live. WCS is grateful for partnerships with groups such as Sunderland AFC and the Nuru Fund to support these rangers in their dangerous but vital work.”

If you would like to donate, or get involved with the work the Nuru Fund are doing please visit www.nurufund.com or get in touch by emailing info@nurufund.com.

For more information about Sunderland AFC and its work across the globe, please visit www.safc.com/safcglobal.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Laura Facey .