LIMERICK’S five-time All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship medal winner Dan Morrisey is among a group of GAA players currently in Africa as part of an initiative to plant one million trees in an effort to combat climate change.
The group collectively aim to raise in €350,000 in sponsorship support, with Morrissey to hoping to collect €10,000.
At the helm is former Galway dual-player Alan Kerins, with involvement also from the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) and Self Help Africa.
During their time in Africa, the players – along with members of the Kenyan Premier League football team, AFC Leopards, and leading long-distance athletes- will participate in Irish brother Colm O’Connell’s elite training camp.
Kerins said that “gaelic games has an ability to bring communities together for a greater good, and we are sure this event will be no different.”
Self Help Africa’s Martha Hourican explained that tree planting in Kenya would do much more than remove harmful greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, as the trees being planted would provide alternative sources of food, additional crops that could be sold for income, and would help restore degraded land and improve soil quality for farming in Kenya and elsewhere on the continent.
GPA CEO, Tom Parsons, added: “Not only will this campaign allow the players to come together and experience something entirely different, but in doing so they will also be able to leverage their influence off the field of play in support of the planet and some of the world’s most challenged communities.”
To find out more about the upcoming trip or make a donation to the cause visitselfhelpafrica.org.
