On 13th June 2005, Kevin ‘Banana Man’ Allen started feeding over 800 orphans and impoverished children with fruit in schools in Zululand entirely out of his own pocket. Four years on, Kevin is now feeding over 1,500 Zulu children a day and has credited this success to joining business social network Ecademy two years ago.
Kevin Allen, 38, from the Wirral, started his incredible journey in February 2005, after seeing the terrible plight of aids orphans in South Africa on a TV documentary, which quite literally sent him bananas!
“I watched in horror as a young boy (called Sne) witness his father die of AIDS in front his of eyes. He had to walk miles back to his home, a filthy mud hut with no running water, gas or electricity. Distraught and starving, he soon broke down in tears – so did I. His mother had already died of AIDS and his brave sister, aged only 11, tried to comfort him in vain,” says Kevin.
Six days later and with less than £1,500 of life savings, Kevin found himself standing in rural Nkandla, Zululand, face to face with Sne and thousands of other hungry and desperate orphans, many of whom had AIDS.
As he travelled, Kevin bought hundreds of bananas and gave them to the hungry children he past on the roadside. The local Zulus’, and the nuns, started calling him ‘Banana Man’, a name which would later stick.
By January 2007, Kevin was feeding a thousand children a day and had provided over 400,000 school meals of fruit without any fundraising at all; but in reality, he was burnt out, at his wits end, and shamefully close to giving up.
“At that time I had no real idea how to help the children and I had no money, so used some of the proceeds from the sale of my home, and then took on an additional part-time job simply to maintain the food to school projects which I had set up. I then came across Ecademy and I can honestly say without the support of many of its members, I would have certainly failed,” says Kevin.
Kevin and his charity Banana Appeal have come leaps and bounds since joining Ecademy. One of many achievements includes publication of his book ‘Banana-Man’ (£9.99, Ecademy Press) for which every book sold feeds a hungry Zulu child for a whole month.
“Since February 2007, Ecademy members have helped us to feed 700,000 meals of fresh fruit to hungry children,” reveals Kevin who has recently returned from his latest visit to Zululand.
Banana Appeal is currently feeding over 1,500 children across 3 schools and Kevin is now hoping to raise funds for a fourth school, at which 750 children are currently provided with nothing.
“Our goal for 2009 is to feed one million school meals of fresh fruit. Many of these children owe their lives to the advocacy and support I have received from members of Ecademy. My deepest thanks to all those who have helped me over this time,” says Kevin.
“Kevin is a truly inspiring individual and we are proud that Ecademy has been so instrumental in helping him to achieve so much success with his work in Zululand. It confirms that Ecademy is a movement, not just a social business network,” says Thomas Power, chairman of Ecademy.
ENDS
Notes to Editor
About Banana Appeal
Banana Appeal is a registered charity, number 1122157.
Banana Appeal currently operates fruit to school programmes at three schools in Zululand, which feed 1,586 hungry children a day with meals of fresh fruit.
They want to increase this to ONE MILLION school meals per year by raising the £40,000 needed to do so. They will then move to more regions of Africa to feed the many more children in need. All monies raised go towards benefiting improvised and orphaned children.
For more information visit www.bananaappeal.org.uk
About Ecademy
Ecademy connects business people all over the world. It is a self-development, business and branding tool, which enable business people to achieve immediate visibility. The relationships, advocates and knowledge subsequently shared through the network provides individuals with the credibility they need to grow their business.
Ecademy’s core intention is to help business people to be more successful and promotes the values of a business community who no longer wish to be broadcast to, but demand engagement and conversation.
Founded in 1998 by husband and wife team Thomas and Penny Power, Ecademy is privately owned and sustains itself through subscription, with only ten percent of Ecademy’s revenue coming from advertising and partnerships. The Ecademy business model is a classic example of a 21st Century business, operating virtually, with minimal operational costs.
For more information visit www.ecademy.com
For press information, hi res images or to arrange an interview please contact Rebecca King on 01603 283 506 or email rebecca@mediajems.co.uk
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