An Abu Dhabi resident is in pole position to help a school in Uganda after recruiting her football club to help her make tracks. Well, one track specifically.
Sixteen-year-old Holly O’Shea got her Abu Dhabi Thistles FC teammates to help raise money for her charity trip to the African country by lacing up their boots and doing a sponsored ‘dribble’ around Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit.
The Al Yasmina School student organised the challenge around a 1km section of the famous track to help fund her ‘World Challenge Expedition’, a programme that takes pupils from the school to help out at a partnered school in Uganda every year.
Each participating student needs to raise AED 13,000 to fund the trip and pay for the materials needed for the project, so this year, the U-18s defender went on the attack and decided that her family-friendly club would be a great place to get help.
“The coaches and families at Abu Dhabi Thistles have just been incredible,” said O’Shea. “All of the younger kids who came along for the day were enthusiastic because they knew they were helping me and the school in Uganda. Some of the kids went around three times!”
As the ‘Thistles’ is run solely by volunteers, this also gave the club the chance to generate some much-needed funds. However, O’Shea explained how the club would be giving the majority of the donations to her challenge. And as this is O’Shea’s first time working to raise finances, she’s sure this won’t be her last.
“I’ve never done anything like this before and I’ve heard going to Uganda is life- changing,” she said. “I really want to help the school over there by working hard here; whatever I can do to help when I arrive I will do it. We are hoping to have raised around AED 5,000 from the dribble which is unbelievable. But there is still a long way to go, so I need to do even more to make this trip happen.”
To find out more about Holly’s World Challenge Expedition, or believe you
can help in any way email: [email protected]
