Brockenhurst father and daughter go in to bat for Lesotho HIV

A BROCKENHURST father and daughter have brought All-Stars children’s cricket to hit HIV and AIDS for six through health education.

Martin Sampson, who plays for Brockenhurst Cricket Club, and his seven-year-old daughter Ellie, who is a pupil at Brockenhurst Primary School, taught basic cricket skills 400 kids from different primary schools around Maseru, Lesotho.

The fun cricket sessions included health education which included covering HIV and AIDS. Lesotho has the second-highest HIV rates in the world at 25%.

The dusty conditions were a world away from the green grass where Brockenhurst Cricket Club play outside the Balmer Lawn Hotel.

Martin told the A&T: “Having already been to Lesotho seven years ago where I had the chance to use football as a way of delivering HIV education, it was always my goal to return to work further for Kick4Life – a charity co-founded by my old school friend from Southampton.

“The simplicity of the All-Stars cricket curriculum allowed Ellie and I to carry out fun sessions to primary school-aged children as well as deliver HIV education through games.

“To be able to put a smile on the faces of 400 vulnerable children from six different schools surpassed all expectations.”