Most kids in Rubengera have never had a coach. Some have never had a ball that isn't flat, or ever worn a pair of goalkeeper gloves when playing in goal.

I'm Calum, a goalkeeper coach from Dundee. On 12 October I fly to western Rwanda with the charity Scottish Football for Rwanda to help build a football academy there, alongside SFA coaches delivering coach education.

Twelve years of coaching has taught me the same thing over and over. Football isn't really about football. The right session and the right environment leave a kid walking away with confidence that outlasts anything that happens on the pitch. I've coached players in Scotland who had extremely challenging beginnings who grew into capable, confident adults and football is a big part of their journey. There's no reason it works differently in Rwanda.

What matters to me is what's left behind. I'm not flying out to run a few sessions and come home. The local coaches need to still be running those sessions next year, with the equipment, the training and the funding to keep going for the long-term.

I'm paying my own flights. Accommodation out there is covered by the charity. Every pound donated here goes into the programme, not into getting me on a plane.

Your donation goes towards...

Training and kit for local coaches, so the work continues after we leave.

Equipment that is used daily in Rubengera.

Daily meals for the children attending sessions - for some of them, it's the only meal they can count on.

Running costs once we've gone.

What it buys

£10 - a ball and cones

£25 - training kit for a child for the season

£50 - provides a child 6 months worth of meals

Clubs, coaches and families across Scotland have already donated more goalkeeper gloves and kit than I can physically carry, and I'm grateful to every one of them. That part is done. Funding is what's left, and it's the half that helps decide whether the academy is still standing long after I'm back home.

Anything at all helps, and Gift Aid adds 25% if you're a UK taxpayer.

Thanks for reading. I'll post updates while I'm out there so you can see where it went and who knows, you might be helping develop Rwanda's first Premier League goalkeeper.