LFC Change Lives In West Africa

Liverpool FC and Oxfam have joined forces to change lives in West Africa.

The Standard Chartered strip, which was worn proudly by the likes of Luis Suarez and Dirk Kuyt last season, has been donated by the club's award winning Community Department to Oxfam.

The full strip, including training gear and boots, is going to a project in Dakar, Senegal, called Frip Ethique.

The football kits will be sold in the local community by a project supported by Oxfam which will help to create jobs and re-inject cash in the local economy.

Serena Tramonti from Oxfam, said: "We are extremely grateful to Liverpool Football Club's Community Department for giving us the kit.

"About 14 months ago Liverpool FC Community Department and Oxfam went to South Africa just before the World Cup and we visited various projects there. Together with the LFC community coaches, we worked with local organizations and small football clubs to raise awareness of HIV and Aids.

"Everyone loved the community department and all of the coaches were absolutely fantastic with the kids, so it's a real pleasure to work with them again on this project.

"The Liverpool badge is famous all around the world and it grabs everyone's attention. It's a great way of being able to communicate with people.

"The kit will go Frip Ethique, a textile recycling centre in Dakar, Senegal where Oxfam provides work for over 40 women sorting clothing for the local markets. This is an important project in a country where half the population is jobless and below the poverty line.

"In a country like Senegal which has been devastated for years by conflict, being able to inject money and generate employment is vital to make a difference long term and help people to get themselves out of poverty.

"Frip Ethique is very unique as normally donated clothes get distributed through our shop network, but the Liverpool kit is going to go directly to the people of Senegal and will make a huge difference there."

Liverpool FC Community Coach Eddie Sullivan said: "It is a pleasure for the football club to give this kit to Oxfam. They are an organization that is renowned throughout the world for the work it does.

"It is a very humbling experience when we go all around the world and meet these people. They are fantastic and we are just delighted to be able to make a difference.

"We have been all over the world with the community department including Russia, China, India, Sudan, South Africa and we work with underprivileged children and homeless children as well.

"When the kids see the badge of the club their eyes light up and it's fantastic for us to help try and make a difference to their lives."