A Load of Balls
There's nothing quite like a night of rip-roaring comedy to make you forget the lousy weather, a crushing sporting defeat, an (inter)national crisis or all three. If laughing yourself stupid can spread a little health and happiness further afield, all the better and we present just such an opportunity next Tuesday with Alive and Laughing in aid of African football charity, Alive and Kicking.
Alive and kicking is a shining example of how the simplest of ideas and enterprises can generate a chain of far-reaching benefits to change the lives of many. It all starts with hand-stitched footballs. The genius of it is that making them keeps 140 people in Nairobi, Lusaka and Accra, many of whom have never had a real job before, in full-time work. Those people support an average of six people with their wage, meaning the charity directly supports a community of over 800.
It doesn't stop there. The footballs are printed with messages that help to combat HIV/AIDS and malaria and to promote a range of causes, from peace and reconciliation to wildlife conservation. Which also keeps skilled screen printers in business and earning a fair wage, supporting their families and communities and so the goodness spreads.
Then there are the opportunities for play brought to schools and community projects who have been given balls and who would otherwise have been unable to afford them.
So why not come along on Tuesday 5th July and do your bit to make the good stuff happen by having a riot of a time watching some of the funniest acts you'll ever see?