Due to the unstable political climate in Burkina Faso, Madhu Kazony set about finding a new venue to create a sister club for Maleny Rangers FC.

Ghana borders Ivory Coast and Burkino Faso in West Africa and has a hot and humid climate not unlike Queensland. This region has a history of guinea worms disease (dracunculiasis) a parasitic worm infection occurring mainly in Africa which is caused by a large nematode (roundworm) which penetrates the gut wall after having been ingested by people who have been drinking infected water. This is a painful and debilitating disease and the cycle is ongoing due to the lack of safe drinking water in some areas.

On arrival in Ghana Madhu met with an Ananda Marga monk who has built, with the help of overseas donors, a water filtration plant which provides potable water to 26 communities in the area. This same monk also created a soccer team, under the name of Red Scorpions of Mafi-Zongo, comprising of players between 16-20 years, to help motivate the youth. When Madhu left Maleny earlier in the year, he took with him some items donated by our club including some jerseys which were worn during a recent ‘friendly match’ he organized between Red Scorpions & ‘Maleny Rangers’, the result of which was a 3-0 win in favour of ‘Maleny Rangers’.

With the help of donations and fund-raising efforts we hope to be able to send some much needed equipment to the Red Scorpions to assist these very enthusiastic soccer players, many of whom have no proper footwear – some have none, to continue to build their club. Maleny Rangers is proud to be the sister club to Red Scorpions; they may lack basic equipment, what they don’t lack is motivation and a passion for the game!