Netball for All breaks ground on new netball court

 

We’ve had a busy few months during lockdown, working to ensure that our projects and support could continue despite the challenges presented by COVID-19. 

The team has been meeting regularly – virtually of course! – and we have some exciting updates to share with you.

𝐖𝐞’𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐥𝐮 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐬 (pictured). The Kalulu Queens are a team based in Lilongwe, who have around 24 regular players. Earlier this year, they were officially brought in as our second sponsored team, and we’re absolutely delighted to have them as part of the Netball for All family. We’ve since worked with the Kalulu Queens to provide them with essential netball equipment, including nets, balls and bibs. We hope you agree that the team looks fantastic in their new, Netball for All sponsored kit! The Kalulu Queens regularly compete against our other sponsored team, the Scores Queens, as well as others in the local area– and we are working to establish an annual Belinda Weller trophy cup.

You can see a short video of one of their hotly contested matches here.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐰𝐞. Feedback we received from our teams and contacts in Malawi highlighted the need for a safe, high-quality playing ground in Lilongwe. Having identified a suitable site, and agreed terms with local leaders and officials from the Netball Association of Malawi, the project was given the green light last month! Work is now underway with our locally-based contractor, and we hope to be able to share progress updates over the next few months. We’re really excited about this project and believe it will leave a really positive, long-term legacy that will benefit the whole community. We can’t wait to (eventually) get out to Malawi and see it for ourselves!

𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏. We are so thankful to everybody who has donated to Netball for All so far – thanks to you we’ve been able to raise over £6,000 which has gone towards providing teams with netball kit, playing balls and other essential equipment. But we know there’s more to be done - and so today we’re relaunching our fundraising efforts. We are hoping to raise a further £3000 this year so that we can complete construction on the court, continue to support our sponsored teams, and (hopefully) expand to promote netball more widely across Malawi! As a reminder, the Weller family and friends are running the Hackney Half Marathon in September, and would hugely appreciate any sponsorship -https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/netball4all (thanks again to those who have already donated to this) Beyond this, we have exciting plans to host an in real life event(!!) in Edinburgh in August to bring supporters of Netball for All together (Covid dependent). More details to follow.

None of this would be possible without the incredible support of our Netball for All team here in Edinburgh - Sally R, Steve C, Barrie T, Richard T and the wider Watson’s Malawi Partnership - and our ‘men on the ground’ in Malawi, Aaron and Paul. They really do keep the show on the road and we’re so grateful to them for all their hard work.

Once again, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support of Netball for All. As we approach the 2-year anniversary of Belinda’s passing, this project continues to provide a positive outlet for all of the pride we feel for her.

Please do keep following along for further updates on our work, and we hope to see you all very soon!
Thanks, Tristan, Phoebe, Maddy and David