Glad's House co-founder Cliff Ferguson
‘Glad’s House’ helps the street children of Mombasa, Kenya return to a ‘normal’ way of life. See the Difference has helped raise the funds to rebuild a football pitch for the local community and is now supporting them in their efforts to raise funds that provide ‘away’ days for the kids. Joe Fowler met co-founder Cliff Ferguson.
Described as a force of nature Cliff Ferguson’s friendly and frank manner is refreshing; not only does he admit that he knew nothing about street children until five years ago, he also describes his first impressions of Mombasa with vivid candour:
“I couldn’t believe it was the 21st century if I’m honest. Dickens would be hard pressed to describe it there. You’re talking about genuine poverty, with thousands of people living in and amongst rubbish tips.”
Originally from a sales background, he made the move into business over 25 years ago training future business leaders through his consultancy firm, Rainmakers UK. It’s a move which has seen him travel all over the world; his pHD was undertaken at International Management Centres, he lived in Sydney for five years during the mid-70s. But what was it that inspired him to set up Glad’s House?
“I was stood at the back of the building crying like a little baby.”
Cliff and his wife Jan first went over to Mombasa in January 2006 to visit their daughter, Vicky, who was 11 months into a gap year spent working with various charities and individuals across Africa. Vicky had been working at a refuge for local street children. His first visit was pivotal:
“Given that it was just after Christmas, we decided to take sweets for all the 72 kids living there. After being introduced to everyone, I started handing them out. The first kid took the sweets, opened the bag, looked inside and offered me one first. And the next kid and the next. I managed just three bags. My wife had to give out the rest, as I was stood at the back of the building crying like a little baby. These kids, who had nothing in the world, were offering me their food before they would take any themselves…”
“Imagine that, 15 years of age and never having had something new before”
They’ve worked in Mombassa ever since and Cliff tells me about Medi, a boy he considers to be one of the charity’s biggest success stories. He gave a football kit to Medi, who quickly pulled on the shorts and the socks, but refused to put on the shirt.
“I couldn’t understand it so I asked him why. After much cajoling, he revealed that he’d never had something in a bag before.” Cliff leans forward. “Imagine that, 15 years of age and never having had something new before. The world has gone bonkers. I’ve been a lucky man in life, I’ve made a good living and I suddenly realised that it was my turn to start giving something back. It was a real tap on the shoulder for me.”
From there, Cliff, his wife, his daughter and an ex-boxer Bokey have gone on to build Glad’s House to support street children. Their plans for 2011 include getting people to sponsor their own footballs to send back to the UK, as well as setting up an elaborate community cooker which will be fuelled by the local village’s rubbish. They are also continuing in their efforts to raise funds for the ‘papasa’ away days for the local street kids – you can find out more here.
When I ask Cliff if he has a message for readers, he says:
“Whatever you donate really does make a difference. It’s that simple. Just 85p will provide a child with food, water and healthcare for a day. As Mother Theresa said, if you can’t feed the world, feed one.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
You can find out more and make a difference to Glad’s House’s projects here.
and see what’s already been achieved so far here.
