Money raised in memory of Stroud soldier Jack Mitchell, who was killed in Warehouse Nightclub four years ago last week, has enabled five orphaned Kenyan children to finish high school and another six to enter the youth Olympic rugby team.
Children in the town of Nanyuki, Kenya, where Jack was posted for six months, often cannot afford to attend secondary school unless they are admitted on a rugby scholarship – a sport Jack loved to play with Painswick RFC.
His family held a fundraising day at the club last summer and have used the £1585 raised to buy rugby equipment for children in Nanyuki, including a bus to transport them to tournaments and training.
“I always say that I would rather we starve, walk in torn clothes, walk for kilometers to training, train with logs and water bottles, but have the girls in school,” said the children’s coach Gem Dennis, a friend of Jack’s in the British Army.
“But you have decided to bless us and grant us all of it - a bus, balls, training clothes, jerseys, boots, trainers and school fees. Thank you so much,” he wrote in a message to Jack's family.
The Clothiers Arms, Motorfix and Horsfall House day care centre donated to the fundraising day, and Gloucester Rugby put up a signed shirt for raffle which brought in £675.
Jack’s dad, Julian Mitchell, wanted to thank everyone who had donated both in person and remotely.
“Following his death, the people of Stroud and the wider community responded with fantastic generosity and compassion," he wrote.
“We feel very lucky that rugby, a sport that Jack loved, can make so much difference to the lives of those less fortunate in Kenya.
“Jack always stood up for the underdog and, for a young man, had an understanding of real-world issues and politics beyond his years.”
The Jack Mitchell Memorial Fund has now helped 16 Kenyan girls win a scholarship to high school.
A classroom at Nanyuki school has been named the Jack Mitchell Computer Room, after some of Jack's fund was used to supply all of the computer desks and furniture.
Due to Covid-19, Jack’s team mates at Painswick RFC and his colleagues from the army were not able to hold their annual commemorative rugby match, but the family hope the event will be able to resume later this year.
For more details, you can visit the Nanyuki Children’s Charitable Trust website.
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