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My Plans for Kanu Heart Foundation … Kanu Nwankwo
By
Uche Nworah
For a man gifted with soccer skills, you would think
that Kanu Nwankwo, the lanky Portsmouth striker will be
eating and breathing soccer 24/7 but no. As the most
highly-decorated African footballer, with over 10 awards
including a UEFA Champions League medal, Olympic gold
medal, African Nations Cup winners medal, a UEFA Cup
medal and two African Player of the Year awards, perhaps
one could forgive the man his fans call Papilo if he
wishes to discuss other subjects but football sometimes.
His preoccupation these days is with his pet project
The Kanu Heart Foundation (KHF), a project he says
he plans to take to the next level. We met up on Easter
Monday and the day that Portsmouth received a thumping
(4-2) from lowly placed and relegation-bound Watford and
try as much as I did to bring the subject of our
conversations to football, the Super Eagles and his
captaincy, his thoughts on the Berti Vogts era as well
his future plans, Kanu will not bulge insisting that our
conversations remained light-headed and off football.
I obliged knowing that perhaps the Watford defeat was
still weighing heavily on his mind, but as soon as I
mentioned the Kanu Heart Foundation, his eyes lit up
like a kid in a toy shop. “That is really the number one
thing occupying my mind right now’, he says. That surely
is understandable considering the sad experiences that
almost ended his football career leading to his
undergoing heart surgery in November 1996 to replace an
aortic valve.
“I believe in giving back to society, I quite recognise
that I have been blessed not only in my football career,
but also with the gift of a second chance in life”.
And how has the project been faring, in terms of success
I asked him. “We have done well so far, although we
could do better. I think that about 400 heart patients
have been treated through the foundation with about
2,000 still on the waiting list. Funding and resources
remain major challenges”.
So what is the way forward, how can the KHF outlive Kanu
Nwankwo I asked next? “We are currently looking at other
ways to raise funds for the foundation and would
therefore welcome constructive ideas from well meaning
Nigerians”. “I know that we have got some talented
Nigerian heart surgeons all over the world, we are also
exploring a situation where such surgeons can offer
their services to the foundation during particular
months for the operations in Nigeria”.
Kanu hoped that such Nigerians wishing to volunteer with
the KHF would get in touch with the foundation to be
included in their database. “Nigerians are very nice
people, although we can do better in the area of giving
back”.
As the evening wore on, Kanu kept looking at his watch
and picking the cue, I knew that it was time for him to
start making the one and half hours journey back to
Portsmouth and to his young family. I tried one last
time, “So do you think that Berti Vogts is the right man
for the Super Eagles job?” He chuckled as he hauled his
6 foot 5 inches frame up, and uttered casually, “You
won’t give up, will you?”
I wished him a safe journey back and wished also that
his era as captain of the Super Eagles alongside the
dawn of the Berti Vogts era will finally bring Nigerians
good fortunes, at least in the area of soccer.
To contact KHF see
www.kanuheartfoundationng.com
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posted 18 April 2007 |
