While tutoring Kenyan kids online in 2017, 17-year-old Tom Sweetnam developed a profound interest to help children passionate about football.
While studying at Radley College in Abingdon in the United Kingdom, Tom Sweetnam taught the kids, Maths and English via Zoom.
Together with his friend, Archie Barrow, he collected football kits from their friends in the UK and arranged for their shipment to Kenya.
“I could see these kids didn’t have much, but they were all crazy about football, so I and my friend Archie decided to send them some kits," he stated.
The duo founded Kit4Kenya, to boost the initiative and secure more kits for the kids.
The organisation has partnered with various European football clubs to boost the initiative including; Arsenal, Manchester United, AS Roma, Oxford United, and England Football, among others.
"We eventually got in touch with professional football clubs for support," Sweetnam explained.
So far, they have donated Ksh177,625,017 (£1 million) worth of football attire for kids in Kenya.
Sweetnam revealed that it costs about Ksh177 (£1) to send a full kit inclusive of shorts, a top, and socks after acquiring the free attire from the football clubs.
Additionally, Kit4Kenya is seeking to construct a stadium in Nairobi for the kids.
"We hope to build the pitch in Nairobi, but we have a few potential sites we are looking at. We are fundraising for it now," Sweetnam revealed.
The organisation called on interested individuals to donate kits to needy children as well as offer financial support. It takes about two months to ship the sports attire to Kenya.
Besides serving as the CEO of Kit4Kenya, Sweetnam has worked for different companies as an employee and intern.
He is set to graduate from the University of Exeter in October 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Management.
