Event: Frenchy Cocktail with Serge Betsen at Boulangerie Christophe in Washington DC!

The Boulangerie Christophe in Washington DC hosted a fundraising cocktail on 26 April 26 2019 to raise funds for our charity. Serge Betsen who was travelling in the US on this date was therefore delighted to represent us alongside Odile Prevot.

$4,719.38 were raised during this Frenchy Cocktail with Serge Betsen for our young people in Cameroon! Delicious canapés were lovingly prepared by the chefs of the bakery and served with carefully selected French wines. Christophe and Didier gathered many guests around a so Frenchy yummy cocktail, who came to find out more about our actions in Cameroon and shake hands with the  rugby legend.

A big thank you to the Boulangerie Christophe for organizing this warm evening where guests had lively and passionate discussions! Thank you to our donors and to all participants for their enthusiasm and generosity. It’s so inspiring to spend such nice evenings like this one.

During his trip to the USA, Serge also had the honor of meeting with Odile Prevot, His Excellency Mr. Mahamadou Nimaga, Ambassador of Mali to the United States during an audience to present our actions in Cameroon to eventually apply our model in Mali. And of course Serge could not resist playing rugby during his trip so he joined the DC Touch Rugby team on the pitch for a nice training. This great team helps us to raise awareness about our association there, so we are grateful to them.

A big thank you to everyone for your support!

Let’s celebrate our 15th anniversary together!

2019 is the 15th anniversary of our charity: 15 as the XV de France and of course the rugby 15s, the sport that taught Serge Betsen the values of solidarity and teamwork. The SBA has officially been working for 15 years to enable young Cameroonian girls and boys to have access to free education, healthcare and regular rugby trainings!

All this has happened step by step thanks to our board, volunteers, donors and patrons but of course also thanks to our children and their great desire to make progress. We are proud of what we have achieved so far and there is still much to be done.

The children in Cameroon are the future but they are also the most vulnerable. In 15 years, we have helped 5,000 children in our 5 centers around the country and we need your help to improve our services to welcome even more students, because many are still in need.

To celebrate our 15th anniversary, we will share 15 highlights with you, and we also invite you to share your best memories using the hashtag #SBA15ans.

We are also delighted to invite you to join us on July 23rd for our Gala Dinner at the Hôtel du Palais in Biarritz and on July 24th for a solidarity rugby day on the occasion of the opening of the Fêtes of Bayonne to celebrate rugby in the Pays Basque, where everything started for Serge!

This campaign is also the opportunity for us to raise funds for our charity. We aim to raise 15,000 euros and need all the support we can get, please donate on our helloasso platform. Thank you 15,000 times!

Partnership: Recycling Rugby, the recycled rugby balls initiative will be in full swing for our 15th anniversary!

To celebrate our 15thanniversary, Lionel Quenardel and his acolytes of Recycling Rugby will be manning stands selling bags, cases, wallets,… made out of rugby balls, recycled at various end-of-season rugby tournaments. This will be an opportunity to purchase nice gifts! All the profits from these sales will be donated to our charity.

Dates for your diaries:

– Saturday 27th of April: for the Grand Est regional finals, from 12 noon at the Stade Matter of Nancy (54). The stall will be manned by Anne-Lise and her children, new volunteers whom we warmly thank.

– Sunday 5th of May, on the last day of ProD2 ‘Rugby Club Massy Essonne – US Carcassonne XV’ (Jules-Ladoumègue stadium, kick-off at 2:30 p.m.) with students from the rugby section of the Diderot College in Massy.

– Sunday 12th of May for the Nancy 7s finals. Come and meet our new volunteers: Anne-Lise, François and their children.

– Sunday 26th of May (Mother’s Day) for the schools of Sainte Geneviève Sports Rugby XV (91) 13th ‘Papa Allex’ tournament, all day.

– Saturday 22nd of June for the 10th Challenge du Vignoble (Vineyard Challenge) (Paul Chandon stadium) in Épernay (51), all day.

We are counting on your support!

Translation by Katy Birgé-Wilson