As part of ‘Rams in Kenya’, ‘For Men To Talk’ founder celebrates award
‘For Men To Talk’ founder, Luke Newman, is celebrating after attending Derby County Community Trust’s Annual Awards on Thursday 21 September 2023.
The Annual Awards celebrates and rewards standout participants, projects and programmes. From football coaching for the youngsters, to the supportive sessions on health and mental wellbeing for various communities across Derbyshire, the Community Trust works with over 25,000 people each year through over 40 programmes.
Luke returned home from Kenya with the ‘Rams in Kenya’ volunteers in May of this year where he helped build a better future for children living in a deprived environment. Luke, 42, has now visited Nakuru, 85 miles north of the capital city, Nairobi, eight times. The awards recognised the volunteers achievements over the years with the ‘Special Recognition Award’.
This year, ‘Rams in Kenya’ celebrated its 10th trip anniversary. Since the trips launched in 2012, over 500 volunteers have visited Nakuru, raising over £150,000 which has been invested in eight partner schools that they were supported over the 10 trips
The unique model of fundraising means ‘Rams in Kenya’ is the most impactful African Adventures trip in terms of finance and support and investment. Not just to the trip’s partner schools back to the local Derby economy and unemployment.
Since the first trip ‘Rams in Kenya’ have purchased new land to give two schools permanent bases to grow and develop and volunteers have built 30 new classrooms, allowing local children access to vital education.
The trip has also supported the construction of new toilet blocks, a dormitory, numerous perimeter walls, water butts and guttering, a library and kitchens. Volunteers have also restored numerous chairs and tables and completely redecorated many buildings.
Approximately 20% of each volunteers fundraising target contributes to Derby County Community Trust’s (DCCT) programmes at home, supporting many different product of the past 10 years.
Some of the income redirected to DCCT is reinvested back into the ‘Rams in Kenya’ trip to fund places allowing those who otherwise may not have had the means all the confidence to raise the necessary funds to participate in the trip. This has seen DCCT fund places for young people who have been a victim of online exploitation, recovering substance misuse participants, long-term DCCT volunteers and others that have overcome their own personal challenges and circumstances to experience the trip and all that it offers.
Luke has written a day-to-day blog on all his trips and they can read on the ‘For Men To Talk’ website at https://formentotalk.co.uk/fmttken/
Derby County Community Trust are just one of a number of groups that partner with over 20 schools in developing areas of Ghana, Kenya and Zanzibar with African Adventures and will be returning to Kenya in 2024. For more information, please visit on 2024, please visit https://www.derbycountycommunitytrust.com/fundraising-and-events/rams-kenya
Luke will be returning in 2024 for the ninth time to continue his work and help build and renovate classrooms in schools, as well as teaching and playing with the Kenyan children. He needs to raise over £2500. If you would like to donate, please visit https://bit.ly/LNAA2024