Ottawa Primary School Project
Ottawa Primary School Project
Cricket legend Mike Procter brought joy to many during his career with Gloucestershire and South Africa.
Now Mike is changing the lives of young people in Africa through the work of his Foundation. One of his projects is at Ottawa School.
Mike Procter Foundation: Using sports to make a difference in the lives of the children in Ottawa School.
Mrs Mathe- Deputy Headteacher Ottawa School
Rodney Malamba – Head Coach
The Mike Procter Foundation works in disadvantaged communities where opportunities for children to excel are scarce. At Ottawa Primary School, a significant proportion of the children come from families who are affected by HIV/Aids and many are orphans. Many also rely heavily on the food they receive at school, often the only main meal they can reliably expect.
Meet two former students of Ottawa School who became assistant cricket coaches with the Foundation
Running Between The Wickets Training – Ottawa
At Ottawa, the 10am meal is the only food many of the children will eat. During school holiday times The Mike Procter Foundation has stepped in to provide food for the children. During the Covid-19 pandemic Mike Procter led efforts with Hollywoodbets and other supporters of the Foundation to provide food parcels to the families of the schoolchildren. In April and May 2020 six tonnes of food and other essential everyday items were distributed to these families.
Visit our news hub for more information on our recent food drops and more Foundation updates.
Our work in Ottawa has had some great results so far. Two former students at Ottawa school were taken on by the Foundation and trained as coaches. This provided them with paid jobs and responsibility and a career pathway and through their wages, put money back into the local community.
The Foundation has recently taken on two new coaches, a man and a woman. Both are also from the local community in which the school is situated.
How you can help
One of the Foundation’s aims is to develop a sports club for the local community based around the school but not part of it. The vision is that the club would be owned and run by the local community and would provide sporting opportunities for the local children, especially once they have left Ottawa Primary School at the age of 13. We are currently exploring this with the local leaders.
A longer term aim of the Foundation is to provide a multi use games area for the community, either within the School or as part of the community sports club. We estimate that this will require around £40,000 and we will explore this in greater detail when funds permit.
As Mike Procter has said “Sport is primarily about fun and fulfilment but I believe it is also about character building. Cricket in particular requires individual responsibility within a team ethic. We want to inculcate sporting principles into the lives of the children and improve their self esteem and confidence and give them opportunities in life they wouldn’t otherwise have.”
Can you help?
Cricket clubs in the UK donate their old kit from time to time so if anyone can help in getting the kit out to Durban or in sponsoring freight costs please get in touch with the Foundation.
Mike Procter and Ottawa School Head Teacher – Ms Msane