Ipswich brothers raise £4,000 for Ghana children after 18-hour padel marathon
Two brothers from Ipswich have raised more than £4,000 for a charity supporting vulnerable children in Ghana after completing an 18-hour non-stop padel challenge.
Charlie Hughes, 24, and his brother Tommy, 25, spent 18 hours on court at The Warehouse in Ipswich, raising £4,127 for The Akwaaba Foundation as part of the organisation's tenth anniversary celebrations.
The charity provides education, healthcare and sporting opportunities for children in Accra, Ghana, supporting more than 250 young people every day.
For Charlie, the challenge was deeply personal.
After travelling to Ghana last year, he extended what was initially planned as a two-month stay and now works full-time supporting the charity's work on the ground.
'The impact they have is vast'
Charlie said he was inspired by the charity's direct approach and the impact it has despite being a relatively small organisation.
"It was the small size of the charity," he said.
"It's simply run by two guys, Jordan and King, who founded Akwaaba Volunteers in 2016. But the impact they have is vast.
"It's simply two guys running it. It doesn't have a managing director or a CEO or anyone like this. It's simply two guys who started it with a passion, still running it and still making a huge impact every single day."
The foundation supports three key areas – education, sport and healthcare.
Charlie said more than 75 children are currently sponsored through the organisation's education programme, which covers school fees, transport, uniforms, books and meals.
He added: "One of the biggest things for me was seeing where the donations, where the money goes.
"I think that's a really important part and it has to be transparent.
"Seeing where the money goes on a day-to-day basis, how it helps the children is incredible. It's really rewarding."
Playing through the pain
The brothers chose padel because it was a sport they both enjoyed and wanted to use as a way of engaging supporters while marking the charity's milestone anniversary.
Tommy said they originally considered attempting a 24-hour challenge before settling on 18 hours from 5am until 11pm.
"We had some hard games in there, we had some friends and family that have never played before," he said.
"We had a nice mix of people that could play. It was a really big challenge in terms of playing hard games and then people that haven't played before.
"We had the odd five-minute break here to kind of change outfits or have a drink or some snacks, but for pretty much the whole 18 hours we were on the court and on our feet playing against people."
Friends, family and supporters joined throughout the day, with many watching a documentary created by the brothers explaining the charity's work before taking part in matches themselves.
Rebuilding a family home
The money raised will now help fund the rebuilding of a home belonging to one of the families supported by the charity.
Charlie said severe flooding in Accra recently caused the property to collapse.
"There's seven children with a single mum living in the house," he said.
"We're currently paying for temporary accommodation for them, but that's not sustainable long term.
"So we are looking to rebuild the girl's house for them with the money raised from our event."
Giving children opportunities
Reflecting on why charities like Akwaaba matter, Charlie said he had seen first-hand the difference access to education and support can make.
"To give children as many opportunities as they possibly can.
"Fortunately, in the UK, we get a lot of opportunities that we take for granted, but I've seen firsthand out here in Ghana the opportunities for children are very limited.
"So charities like Akwaaba, who are doing the right things, who are putting the money into the right places, are so valuable and give kids a brighter future essentially."
The brothers say they are already considering future fundraising events, although plans for their next challenge have yet to be confirmed.