A group of girls from a Kenyan-based charity organisation have been declared the winners of a Ksh6 million charity contest organised by AC Milan.
In a statement released by the Italian football club, Alliance for Change, a community-based organization that focuses on the empowerment of girls living within slums in Nairobi County were announced as the winners of the ‘From Milan to the World’ contest.
The football club went ahead to state that the Kenyan organisation had garnered 53.2 percent of 27,000 votes cast by the clubs’ fans all over the world.
"AC Milan and Fondazione Milan are delighted to announce the winner of "From Milan to the World", the international charity contest that invited the Rossoneri fans across the globe,
"The projects taking part in the contest - all united by a belief that sport can be a tool for change, education, and inclusion - received over 27,000 votes in total, 53.2% of which went to Alice for Children," read the statement.
Additionally, Milan stated that they were pleased by a football project that the community organization presented to the club during the contest.
"The latter presented a sporting project that aims to respond to the needs of girls living in the slums of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, helping them chase their dreams.
"For the past 15 years, the organisation has been providing food, clothing, and medical and educational support to 2,500 children that have been empowered through their programs," read the statement in part.
With the help of the funds, Alice for Girls intends to create the first professional female league for Kenyan girls living in slums. The organization explained that its one-of-a-kind tournament would help them in their noble course of empowering the girls.
"The donation will help Alice for Children to implement a vast programme of medical and psychophysical support aimed at valuing girls and combating psychological challenges,
"Alice for Children project is set to involve over 1,300 girls from ages 10 to 18, who attend six schools in the slums, with the aim to create the very first football league for girls who live in the slums of Nairobi," read the statement in part.
Through the league, AC Milan noted that sports would make great a difference in the lives of the Kenyan girls adding that the cash reward would help the organization in creating role models for Kenyan communities.
“The foundation of the initiative is the belief that sport can become the perfect tool to allow girls to become - in the future - strong and independent women,”
"The competition on the pitch will become a pretext to the recognition of the girls' own strength and value, allowing them to learn how to advocate for their own rights and a more inclusive society," the football club stated.
