What you need to know about the Kenyan charity that has a unique and important place on the European Tour
The European Tour has spent the past few seasons working alongside Glad’s House, a charity which has transformed the lives of thousands of young adults and children in Kenya.
For some of those children golf has played a key role, and each year the European Tour welcomes a number of former street children to caddie during the week of the Magical Kenya Open.
Here’s what you need to know…
What is Glad’s House?
Formed 13 years ago by Victoria Ferguson and Frederick ‘Bokey’ Achola in Mombasa, Glad's House has dramatically changed the under privileged lives of young adults and children around the coastal city of Mombassa by offering them counselling, training, and most importantly a home.
Glad's House - named after Ferguson's grandmother Gladys - started as a sports club but after registering as a charity, it established a partnership with golf resort Vipingo Ridge, allowing the young people it was working with to be caddies at the club.
“We first started a sports club,” said Cliff Ferguson, the father of co-founder Victoria who is now the Chairman of Glad’s House.
“To help we started shipping sports kit, shoes, clothes, and then we started sending over money when one day my accountant said to me that we should become a registered charity – so we set up Glad’s House.”
Glad’s House on the European Tour
From there - helped by funds from the European Tour - three professional caddies helped train the children and the project was taken further, with some going on to caddie in the Kenyan tournament in recent seasons.
“I went to the European Tour to ask if they would help us fund this, and they said yes, and we spent that money on three European Tour caddies who came to Kenya for ten days to train them – that’s where we started with 50 of our guys working in golf,” said Ferguson.
“Since then the European Tour have invited a numbers of our kids to caddy for their players at the Kenya Open, and each year six have come along with their chaperones who help them through the week.”
Last year, Anna Achieng was one of a number of caddies at the Magical Kenya Open, and caddied for Swiss player Marco Iten.
We started on Monday and Tuesday with the practice rounds,” said Iten.
"I was told she was one of the best caddies here and she did a perfect job. She helped me out a great deal."
