Celtic fans fundraise for school water tank in Rwanda

The Celtic Supporters' Club in Greenock hosted a fundraising night for the Aid for Education charity and collected £3,000 for the cause.

Local couple Sarah and Douglas Kakooza, who run the charity, set up the Tubarere Nursery and Primary School in Rwanda back in 2017 and the money raised by the Celtic supporters will be used to buy a new water tank for the school so they have clean supplies for washing and cooking.

Douglas said: "The water tank will be an amazing asset for the school.

"It can be very hard to find water during the dry season.

"This tank will allow the school to collect water during rainfall season so that it can be used all year round.

"We'll use the remainder of the money to buy equipment and materials for the classrooms."

The Celtic Club's race night for Aid for Education has been running since 2014.

It was shelved in 2020 due to coronavirus restrictions but was back last month bigger and better than ever.

Donations came from people all over Inverclyde and their friends and families, and many local businesses sponsored races on the night.

The event was organised by Jim Friel, Jim McCall and Colin Watt from the club and Aid for Education supporter Arthur Docherty, who all gave up their free time.

Douglas says the support the club gives to the charity is invaluable.

He added: "The Celtic Club has been an amazing support to us for a number of years, the guys have been a wonderful help.

"I'm really proud of what we've all achieved together."

Jim Friel from the club says the race night is one of the most popular events in the calendar every year.

He added: "It's a very important evening for us.

"It's always the first thing we put in the calendar and people are always asking us when it will be.

"The money raised in the first fundraiser in 2014 helped build the first classrooms in the school.

"Douglas always keeps us updated on its progress.

"It's been fantastic to see the impact the money has on the youngsters."