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Event: over 11,000 € collected during the Rugbusiness Club event, held on January 19 at the Servette Rugby Genève

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On Thursday, January 19, the Servette Rugby Genève and its two sponsors, Helvetia Environnement and Pelichet organised a Rugbusiness Club event, an evening to raise money for charity. The Serge Betsen Academy was the beneficiary association of the event. Serge Betsen had the pleasure of participating to the evening where over 11,000 € were collected for our disadvantaged children in Cameroon and Mali.

 

 

 

 

During this event mixing rugby, solidarity and charity, works of art from our SBA Cameroon artists, bags and cases from Recycling Rugby, three collector jerseys and seats in VIP boxes were sold at auction.

We would like to say a big thank you to the Servette Rugby Genève team for their welcome and support, to the partners and to all the donors who participated in the auctions or made a donation on our platform. It was a very beautiful evening in Geneva, rich in encounters!

 

We want to thank especially:

  • Alain Studer, Alain Vuarnet, Adrien Vigne Donati, Anne Levenard from the Servette Rugby Genève for the organisation of this beautiful event and for their welcome,
  • Vincent Chapel and Mike Sebaut from Helvetia Environnement for their support as a partner of the evening,
  • Stéphane Disant and Régis Serriere from Pelichet for their support as a partner,
  • Quentin Delhoen and his team of Prime & Co.,
  • Etienne Mouthon and Marc Bouchet for their roles as auctioneers,
  • Patrick Lachaussée of the Consulate General of France in Geneva, Philippe Spanghero, Julien Malet, Alexandre Toussaint, Odile Prevot, Jérôme Teiletche for their help prior or during the event,
  • Xavier Lamy, Nora Merad, Etienne Mouthon, Alexandre Ober, Julien Malet, Bernard Bosseau, Mike Chris, Gérard Gabet and Valcoeur Invest, Arthur Bataille, Valéry Ecuyer, Jean-Marie Bouchet for their donations,
  • Gaël Fickou and Romain Taofifénua for their jerseys and their efforts coupled to those of Emile Ntamack to collect the signatures of the internationals of Racing 92 and of Stade Toulousain,
  • Our artists, Philippe and Christelle from the Cameroon SBA-Craft for their works sold at auction, as well as Recycling Rugby for their bags, purses and kits made from recycled rugby balls.

You can watch the video of the event here.

 

Translation : Katy Birgé-Wilson

Cameroon: The HHH of Douala organised a charity walk by in support of our children!

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A charity walk took place on Sunday, October 23, at the Douala motocross terrain during which material donations were collected for our association.

The Douala HHH Committee organised this event and we would like to thank them for choosing the Serge Betsen Academy as their beneficiary association.

 

Around sixty walkers took part in this sports and family morning and we thank them all warmly for the donations they brought for our young people. On the partner side, we would like to thank ICRAFON who donated pens and supplies, the SABC Group for the drinks, ADC Mx Park who allowed access to the cross country field, and finally The HHH of Douala for their donation of hygiene products and the organisation of this beautiful event, with the help of Hubert Gonella as point of contact.

Vanelle, a former member of the SBA from the class of 2009 and who now works in Hubert Gonella’s company was present to represent the association; together with Baudouin, a former member of the Bangangté centre who is now a computer science teacher, and Djibril, the manager of the Eau Claire centre in Bangangté. Djibril held a stand about the association and presented the work of Philippe, our deaf and mute protégé who creates decorative objects in pearls and bamboo furniture in the workshop intended for him at the centre.

 

The generous donations, the majority of which were school supplies, hygiene products and clothes, were shared between our centres of Bangangté (Eau Claire) and Bafia.

The distributions have already taken place, and it was a joyful moment for all the children who want to say a massive thank you to the donors. Our team of young rugby players from Bangangté have not been forgotten either, they received soaps in order to be able to wash their sport equipment; they also convey their thanks to the donors.

 

 

Translation: Katy Birgé-Wilson

Event: Thanks to Ovalies UniLaSalle for their support of 16,666€!

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The Serge Betsen Academy would like to convey a massive thank you to Ovalies UniLaSalle and all its partners for all the support! This 50,000€ check to be shared with two other great associations, “Une ballade pour Justine et Lou” and “L’Arche à Beauvais ” will change many lives!

 

Remise du chèque des Ovalies UniLaSalle 2022 !

 

Our President Serge Betsen was delighted to participate in the Ovalies adventure this year and to represent the association on 6 and 7 May in Beauvais, these are his words:

 

“It is always a real pleasure to participate in a rugby event and watch brilliant students practicing my sport! Congratulations to all the participants of the Ovalies UniLaSalle and the PURPAN School of Engineers (VII female and XV male), LéoRugby (VII male), VetAgro Sup (Pompom) for their respective wins.

It is wonderful to see young people participating in this project which combines sport, solidarity and sharing by helping associations such as “Une ballade pour Justine et Lou”, “L’Arche à Beauvais ”, and the SBA.

A big thank you also to Dimitri Yachvili and Fanny Horta for their time and to all the curious people who came to our stand to find out more about our actions in Cameroon and Mali. It was a real pleasure for me, and Charles-Edouard whom I thank for his help, to meet you.

Many thanks too to the Ovalies team, Paul Vincant and Albane Tenneson for their warm welcome and support. Thanks to Coucou Hibou and Paul-Louis de Juglart for supporting the SBA through its collection of Olympia jerseys.

Congratulations to all for the success of this great charity tournament of students’ rugby.”

 

Translation : Katy Birgé-Wilson

Event: An evening with Serge Betsen & Friends, Dinner, live quiz and legends Q&A, 19 May 2022, M Victoria Street London

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We are very pleased to let you know that we have set a new date and a new location for our event.
Our “Evening with Serge Betsen & Friends – Dinner, live quiz and legends Q&A” organized by TFA Ltd will take place on Thursday 19th May at 6:00pm at M Victoria Street, 74 Victoria St, London, SW1E 6SQ, UK. This event will be sponsored by Audio Network, as Event headline sponsor, along with STH (Sports Travel & Hospitality Group), as Quiz round sponsor.

 

The rugby legends will discuss, dispute and digest what’s been happening on the pitch, and we hope you will be able to join us. It should be a fantastic evening which includes a delicious 3-course meal, opportunity to mix and quiz our Rugby Legends and the chance to win the title of SBA Quiz Champions.

 

Please join us from 6pm. Upon arrival please advise the concierge you are attending the Serge Betsen Academy event and they will show you the cloakroom and the Grill room, where the event is taking place. You will be able to have drinks and pay for them at the bar. The dress code is smart casual.

 

Please register your team and book your dinner (£99), table (£500) or online quiz spot (£10) here! You can pay for your tickets via our donation page here.  We would really appreciate if you would be able to do this prior to the event. There will be an auction organized by Go Fundraising so get ready to bid! All proceeds will go to our charity.

 

Also, please note that the menu will be the following. If you can let us know in advance your preferences by email (mailys@sergebetsenacademy.org et sba-quiz@tfaltd.co.uk), by Friday 13 May 5pm, it would be great.

 

– STARTERS
1) FRIED CHICKEN BAO Fermented Chilli Glaze | Kaffir Lime
or, 2) BURRATA & RADISHES Black Curry | Honey | Walnuts (V)
– MAINS
1) BRITISH ASHDALE FARM Sirloin 300G | Black Garlic | Chips | Sauce
or, 2) CACIO E PEPE Pecorino | Butter | Pepper (V)
– DESSERT
CHOCOLATE BROWNIE Raspberry Gel | Honeycomb | Snickers Ice Cream

 

For those who cannot join us, it will be possible to take the quiz online, however, you won’t be able to join the evening from your screen.

 

We can’t wait to spend the evening with you and your friends. Please spread the word!

 

Event: The Ovalies UniLaSalle 2022 are supporting us!

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We are very happy to have been chosen as one of the beneficiaries of the Ovalies UniLaSalle 2022 with the charities, Une ballade pour Justine et Lou and L’Arche à Beauvais.
We can’t wait to attend this event on 6 and 7 May in Beauvais! It is the biggest uni rugby tournament with a charitable touch and we fell very grateful to be part of it!
Serge Betsen will be present at the tournament.

Thank you to the Ovalies UniLaSalle team and to their partners for their support.

 

 

Ovalies UniLaSalle

Event: A recognition from The French Development Agency at the New Africa-France Summit

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The Serge Betsen Academy (SBA) had the honor of attending the New Africa-France 2021 Summit on Friday further to an invitation from the French government (Elysée) and The French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement).

This recognition at the highest level is the result of several months of work, and of a success story in Cameroon for 17 years and in Mali for almost 2 years. The support of The French Development Agency offers an exceptional support to the Serge Betsen Academy in terms of growth and to the well-being of girls and boys in Cameroon and Mali.

The children of the SBA, Odile Prévot, CEO of the charity and all the other volunteers join Serge Betsen, Founding President of the Serge Betsen Academy and Sébastien Lovy, Treasurer of the  charity who both had the privilege of speaking at the New Africa-France Summit, in thanking French President Emmanuel Macron, The French Development Agency and Sport en Commun for their support and investment.

 

Le Président Emmanuel Macron et Serge Betsen

Serge Betsen, Sébastien Lovy et Didier RetièreOdile et les enfants de la SBA

 

Event: The SBA, a solidarity partner of the Anglet Beach Rugby Festival

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The Serge Betsen Academy (SBA) was this year, once again, thrust into the limelight during the Anglet Beach Rugby Festival which was held on the Plage des Sables d’Or in Anglet on 23-24-25 July. On the occasion of this special “African rugby” edition, a team of ace volunteers held the stand of SBA goodies and Confections signed by Recycling Rugby. A raffle was even organised this year on our stand.

Serge Betsen attended the Festival on Saturday and Sunday. He had the pleasure to meet up the staff of the Festival, spend time with the volunteers of our stand, follow with interest the different matches on the sand, meet players and spectators, visit the stands and play rugby with the French Legends.

Our President, Serge Betsen along with the SBA warmly thank all the buyers who supported us, the curious who came to learn more about our mission, our volunteers for their enthusiasm and the Anglet Beach Rugby Festival team for their invitation and their donation of £1702 (2000€).

See you all next year!

Serge Betsen and the SBA X Recycling Rugby volunteers

SBA X Recycling Rugby Stand

French Legends team

Donation from the Anglet Beach Rugby Festival

Fundraising: The International School of Toulouse supports the Serge Betsen Academy

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The entire Serge Betsen Academy (SBA) would like to thank the management of the International School of Toulouse, its students from classes ranging from Early Years (maternelle) to G5 (CM2) and their families for their support.

Their end of school year cross-country racing which took place on Monday 21 June was an opportunity to collect rugby balls and raise £172 (201€) for the SBA. The balls will be recycled into bags and pouches of all kinds by our partner, Recycling Rugby. As for the sum of £172, it will fund after-rugby-training snacks for all our centres in Cameroon and Mali for the two summer months.

The management’s choice went to the SBA for two major reasons. As part of a sports week, the school wanted to support an association which had links to sports, and as you know, we love rugby. Moreover, as the school is engaged in an eco-citizen project, the management wanted to make the children aware of the many ways of recycling – in this case the recycling of sports equipment, through Recycling Rugby. We are delighted to have been the happy beneficiary of this united and green approach that we can but only applaud.

Thank you everyone!

And for those of you who wish to order a pencil case, a bag, a wallet, a purse, a toilet bag… made from recycled balls: just go to the Recycling Rugby Facebook page or the Recycling Rugby Instagram account pending the launch of the website which will arrive shortly.

Translation : Katy Birge-Wilson

Event: We’ve received a donation of £3990.90 further to the SA2021 Preview Lunch!

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During the SA2021 Preview Lunch aboard the Belmond British Pullman luxury train on 23rd June, RugbyUnites.com ran an online auction to raise vital funds for the Serge Betsen Academy (SBA) and the South African Legends Food Program.
On 23rd June, guests of Victor Ubogu, former Bath and England rugby union player and Managing Director of VU Ltd gathered aboard this unique train to talk about the British and Irish Lions’ stories and also raise funds for good causes.
We want to thank everyone who bided in aid of our charity and the South African Rugby Legends food program to vulnerable communities in South Africa, or who have made a donation.
Between bids and donations, the beautiful sum of £3990.90 (4655,48 €) was allocated to the SBA and £2890.45 (3371,78 €) to the SA Rugby Legends, which is brilliant! We feel very grateful to all our donors and friends who are supporting our children in Cameroon and Mali. The 2020 year has been very difficult for our children and their families, and we have sadly not raised the money we were hoping to raise because of the crisis, so this sum will help us a lot.

Well done Victor Ubogu for putting all this together! It was a pleasure to collaborate with you and your team. And once again, many thanks for supporting our charity!

Proofreading : Katy Birge-Wilson

 

SA Preview Lunch aboard the train