Burundi orphans take to field in Welsh football shirts

The Coleg Menai kits have been given to 22 orphaned boys in Burundi, Africa

A group of orphaned boys in Africa have received football kits from a Welsh college.

Coleg Menai's sports hall supervisor Jamie Jones arranged the contribution through Annie's Orphans, a charity based in Bangor, Gwynedd, that supports 22 boys in Burundi.

Inspired by a previous donation of 500 kits from Anglesey's Llangefni Town FC, Mr Jones made sure the college's old kits found a meaningful new home.

Founded in 1997 by Reverend Pauline Edwards, the charity has improved thousands of lives through education, with major projects in Pakistan, Myanmar, Nigeria and Burundi.

Coleg Menai teacher Jamie Jones presenting Reverend Pauline Edwards with a football kit outside Annie's Orphans shop in Bangor

In 2021, while volunteering with Llangefni Town as a community development officer, Mr Jones helped donate 500 kits after the team updated their strip.

After chatting to the assistant director of Annie's Orphans, he arranged for the kits to be delivered to Central Africa.

When Coleg Menai's football team also changed their kit at the end of last season, he knew the charity would be grateful for another donation.

He added: "They were thrilled with them, and it was good to know that the kits were going to be reused.

"It's cool to think you're sending kits on to a place where they might be more used to seeing the shirts of teams like Barcelona, United, Bayern Munich, Juventus.

Instead the kits have got the names of local pubs and businesses in Llangefni - it has a different feel."

While children worldwide wear Barcelona and Man United shirts, young fans in Burundi wear Coleg Menai, Welsh Colleges Sport, Llangefni Town, and Llanerchymedd colours

Annie's Orphans has built and funded orphanages, schools and colleges in India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Burundi and beyond.

Having started with a one shop on Bangor High Street, the charity now has 16 shops across the UK, which raise money to fund education and essential services in developing countries.

Since launching the Burundi Street Children project in 2013, the charity has housed 22 boys, some of whom have gone on to earn university degrees or train as bishops.

It has also built two primary schools in Burundi and continues to prioritise education, with most funds going toward paying teachers.

In Pakistan, the charity has constructed 22 schools to help free children from lives of bonded labour.