The skills of leadership learned through playing sport have been a strong foundation of Alan Kerins’ establishment of a new role in social entrepreneurship through the Alan Kerins Africa Projects.
He tells the story of how he switched from physiotherapy to finding water for African communities in an interview published today on www.playerpulse.ie as part of PwC’s sponsorship of the GAA and GPA.
Kerins is the latest in a series of interviews with past and present GAA players embarking on journeys of entrepreneurship off the pitch.
Zambia
Alan Kerins was a dual inter county player with Galway, winning a football All Ireland medal along the way. His career as a chartered physio working in University College Hospital in Galway took a turn after working in a voluntary capacity with disabled children in Western Zambia.
When the time came for Kerins to leave he learned from the Presentation Sisters managing the facility in which he was based that access to clean water was their biggest problem.
Within 6 months after this return to Ireland and sharing his story with friends, business contacts and the GAA community, over €50,000 was raised and the Alan Kerins African Projects was established as a registered charity.
Downturn
Like many other charities, resources are limited with only two people actively managing it. Kerins admits, “With the recent downturn in economy many foundations, corporates and philanthropists have focused their giving to Irish based NGO’s and organisations which has meant it’s been very difficult for small overseas NGO’s to secure funding and support.”
“My relationship with the GAA has been very beneficial in terms of access to Croke Park and a lot of our major fundraising events such as “Sam to the Summit” have been GAA focused and incredibly well supported by the GAA community.”
When talking about combining running his own social business with his sporting career, Kerins acknowledges that the charity became his main focus.
Sacrifice
“Looking back on it now I suppose I did sacrifice my sporting career to an extent but I have no regrets as I am hugely passionate about the work I do and immensely proud of the massive positive impact we have had on so many vulnerable young people and their communities.”
In terms of the life lessons from sport he has taken into the entrepreneurial world, he remarked, “I think my career in sport has also helped me develop hugely as a person in terms of leaderships and interpersonal skills, along with teamwork and discipline and most importantly it gives you huge coping skills in terms of the dealing with pressure and the up and downs of life.”
You can find more information on this interview and other GAA related information on the PwC GAA/GPA sponsorship website, www.playerpulse.ie PwC signed an extended relationship earlier in the summer and are using the relationship with the players organisation to good effect in terms of supporting their campaigns and highlighting the opportunities that the organisation itself provides for personal and professional development.
