I want to support the children and coaches. How can I help?
There are many ways you can support the project. If you would like to get a feel for the community in Sierra Leone, you can travel to Freetown to hold training camps. By making a donation, you can help us cover the recurring costs of supporting training camps and matches or shipping larger pieces of equipment and used hockey donations to Sierra Leone. We collect used equipment from time to time, which you can donate. Lastly, share the story with your friends and club. Maybe they are willing to help as well.
I don’t play hockey, but I would like to help. What can I do?
You can directly help improve the infrastructure by donating a small amount of money to finance the transport of a used hockey pitch from Germany to Sierra Leone. Alternatively, if you have any general sporting equipment that could be used for hockey, e.g. running shoes, general sportswear / apparel, please do not hesitate to reach out. Everything is better than playing with rundown Nike sandals on dust and dirt. Finally, sharing the story via our website or the video also helps a lot - so don’t hesitate to spread the word.
What is the difference between the Sierra Leone Hockey Trust and the Association?
The Sierra Leone Hockey Association is the legal entity in Sierra Leone that represents all clubs and coordinates all activities related to hockey in the country. It is exclusively led by Sierra Leonean officials and accredited by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). We, the Sierra Leone Hockey Trust, are a group of European hockey players supporting the local association by collecting equipment and developing the infrastructure in order to make the game safe for all children. In this way, we want to enable the Sierra Leone Hockey Association to develop a sustainable platform.
In-kind donations
Are you collecting equipment right now?
No, thanks to all of you who have donated your old equipment and started a charity run in your local clubs, we were able to achieve our collection goal within three weeks. We are incredibly grateful for your incredible support and are focussing our efforts on ensuring a swift and safe transport of the equipment to Sierra Leone via sea freight in a container. We will be sharing updates of this in our newsletter and on Instagram. We will be starting new collection runs in the future. All other questions below relate to these. In case you still want to help then we very much appreciate.
Donations & Infrastructure
How do you plan to improve the infrastructure?
When hockey clubs in Europe renew their pitches, oftentimes the old turf gets thrown away or recycled. We received an old turf in good condition, which we shipped to Sierra Leone where it is stored and lies ready to be rolled out.
When do you expect to have a first hockey pitch in Sierra Leone?
We already have a pitch ready for assembly in Sierra Leone, kindly donated by THC Münster. Construction on the foundation is about to start, with the aim to have it ready to be played on by early December 2022
Other
What is your legal status?
We are a registered association with charitable status in Germany. Our Association code is VR 20490. Feel free to reach out if you need further details.
Whats the difference between the Sierra Leone Hockey Trust and AYPAD Hockey Germany?
While we work under the name Sierra Leone Hockey Trust we are registered as Africa Youth for Peace and Development Hockey Germany. This was the working name of the project as the association was founded. We are currently in the process of changing the registered name to Sierra Leone Hockey to avoid any confusion.
How can I stay up to date about the project?
You can sign up for the newsletter (see homepage), which we will be sending out every 4-12 weeks with major updates. We will also share pictures, videos and smaller updates via Instagram. You can find us via @sierraleonehockey
I have a question not contained above. How can I contact you?
You can send us a direct message on Instagram or write an email to administration@sierraleonehockey.org. We will try to respond as soon as we can.
Bring Sierra Leone's hockey teams to an international level