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Jude Bellingham: England ace to be cheered by Kenyan schoolchildren

Rita Fowler Children at the Miche Bora nursery and schoolRita Fowler
The Mustard Seed Project charity helps support more than 300 children

Children at a school in one of the most impoverished parts of Kenya will be cheering on England as they go up against France in the World Cup quarter-final in Qatar.

The Miche Bora nursery and primary school, in Mombasa, is supported by England and Borussia Dortmund player Jude Bellingham.

The 19-year-old, from Stourbridge, had been involved since he was 15, said founder Rita Fowler.

"He's just a lovely guy," she added.

The retired teacher said she and her late husband Geoff had set up the project after visiting the area on holiday in 2009.

"We started off with 17 children and two teachers in two classrooms in somebody else's school," she explained.

The school, run by the Mustard Seed Project charity, now supports 317 children aged three to 14.

Rita Fowler Rita Fowler pictured with Jude Bellingham and her late husband GeoffRita Fowler
Rita Fowler, pictured with Jude Bellingham and her late husband Geoff, says the children are thrilled to be associated with the England star

The 77-year-old had been introduced to the midfielder, who starred in England's 3-0 victory over Senegal on Sunday, via his father Mark, she said.

"Jude's father was working with my daughter and so he introduced us."

The children at the school were "so excited" about the association, she said, "they were just gobsmacked".

"Because Kenyans are football mad and all boys [hope they] are going to be famous footballers and escape from the poverty they're in, they were just so thrilled and amazed."

The school had received football kits and balls due to their association with the player.

"Until Jude started supporting us I had never actually watched a football match - I'd sat in front of the telly facing it but not watching it," she said.

"But then I went to see Jude play at Birmingham, and since then I've watched every game that he has been in," added Mrs Fowler, who has just returned from a month in Kenya.

"He's just amazing, he's a clever player, even I can see that."

She said the organisation was struggling due to the drought in East Africa, the after-effects of Covid and the war in Ukraine which had doubled the price of basic food.

"Without our feeding programme many of our children would starve and we also feed some of the families during the school holidays."

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