Children in Burundi are playing football in Coleg Menai kits thanks to staff member Jamie Jones and Gwynedd-based charity, Annie’s Orphans.

Jamie Jones, a sports hall supervisor at Llangefni campus, arranged for the kits to be donated.

The kits were taken to Burundi by Annie’s Orphans, where the charity provides a home, food, schooling and medical care for orphaned ‘street boys’.

Jamie had the idea when Llangefni Town changed their kit a few years back, after talking to Annie’s Orphans assistant director George Benjamin.

He said: “I was volunteering with Llangefni Town as community development officer at the end of 2021, and we had 500 spare kits. So I contacted different places to see if they wanted them.

“Then I came across Annie’s Orphans. I spoke to George a couple of times and dropped off a load of kits. They were thrilled with them, and it was good to know the kits were going to be reused.”

When Coleg Menai’s football team changed kit at the end of last season, Jamie knew Annie’s Orphans would welcome the donation.

“It’s class,” said Jamie. “It’s cool to think you’re sending kits on to a place where they might be more used to seeing the shirts of teams like Barcelona, United, Bayern Munich, Juventus. Instead the kits have got the names of local pubs and businesses in Llangefni - it has a different feel.”

Annie’s Orphans was founded in 1997 by Reverend Pauline Edwards to raise money for an orphanage in India.

Since then, the charity has built and funded orphanages, schools and colleges in India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Burundi and beyond, changing the lives of thousands of children.

Having started with one shop on Bangor High Street, Annie’s Orphans now has 16 shops across the UK, which raise money to build new schools and pay for teaching, electricity and other essentials in developing countries.

The charity started the Burundi Street Children project in 2013, providing a home for boys who would otherwise have to scavenge to stay alive.

Ten of the boys have since graduated from university with degrees including computer science and electrical engineering, while another has trained as a bishop thanks to a scholarship funded by Annie’s Orphans.

The charity has also built two primary schools in Burundi, and is continuing its work with the next generation of street boys.

Reverend Pauline Edwards said: “We’ve got 22 boys in a house so we’ve sent the football kits to them. They’re all mad about football, so it’s awesome, they can’t believe it.

“But education’s the way to push them forward, and they’re very serious about their education. We pay for teachers, that’s where most of the money goes - we’ve got to keep that coming.”

Another major project for Annie’s Orphans is in Pakistan, where the charity has built 22 schools to help the children of brick kiln slaves escape lives of servitude.

For more information about the work of Annie’s Orphans, or to donate, visit anniesonline.org.uk