Former Chelsea star Salomon Kalou buried himself in charity work back home in Ivory Coast during the festive season, as per reports. The Hertha Berlin forward has a foundation he started alongside his brother Bonaventure, who used to feature for Feyenoord, Auxerre and Paris St-Germain.
The Kalou Foundation has been active since 2010, working to help orphaned girls and patients with kidney issues. They claimed to have helped over 100 girls living in Grand-Bassam, 30 km from the capital Abidjan. There are also dialysis sessions for natives in hospitals in Abidjan.
Kalou said when he started the foundation, he was keen on making lasting impact and not just something that would last for a few years. The 32-year old is working on more dialysis centres in the country as many have to travel all the way to the state capital. He said the travel increases expenses as they also have to feed and get accommodation.
The Kalou Foundation fund a centre in Bouaka, which is in the middle of the countries boundaries. The foundation also fund centres in Abidjan which aside being the capital is by far the largest city. So far the foundation has reached out to about 700 patients. The foundation’s efforts have helped citizens pay just 3 euros compared to the 100 euros they would have paid in private hospitals.
The foundation donates clothing, kit, bags, sporting equipment and such to the orphan centre. They hope to help the females from other dire alternatives, helping them become female soccer stars. The foundation was able to get other sporting celebrities to partner in their events to raise funds and publicity.