Mark Frost talks about recent cricket charity work

We catch up with former Glamorgan player and current Community & Development Manager Mark Frost with regards to his recent cricket related charity work.

Can you tell us a little more about the charity you volunteer for?

The Gateway School & Ignite charity is an idea that my friend Nigel James and his wife Gill started up about 10 years ago when they were approached by the local pastor of the Rajahmundry area, a chap called Prasad. They wanted to help put a school in this area because there wasn't one there, so children were either walking a ridiculous number of miles or not going to school at all, hence having a really poor start in life. Over the 10 years Nigel and his wife have built this school which now serves 300 children from reception age up to 16 year olds. The school now also has a small hostel for children that are orphaned, and it's just an amazing place based in a very rural area on the East coast of India down in the south.

What's your role for the charity in the UK?

I've been helping with fundraising events over that period of time and Nigel, who absolutely loves his cricket and is a big fan of Glamorgan, has been asking me to go over to spend time with some students and I agreed to do that this winter.

What did you do whilst you were there?

Nigel wanted me to train 16 students, aged between 16-25, to be competent cricket coaches, so that is what we did. We spent 3 days going through a course devised from ECB modules looking at how to prepare, run and deliver good coaching sessions. By the end of the 3 days it was really pleasing to have been able to go through and teach so much to these new coaches.

The conditions were perfect for coaching weather wise and we did it all on a rough school yard in the city. On the fourth day we took the coaches to the Gateway School which is located out in the country. I split the coaches into four stations with 10 pupils each, doing warm ups, skills, and games. As coaches they were able to coach 80 children but more importantly gave the new coaches a chance to show what they had learned.

What was it like to see cricket play such a big role in bringing happiness to so many people?

It was an immense amount of fun and very fulfilling to see 80 young people have a great experience and it was great to see the rest of the school and teachers take a real interest and the time off to watch the games and coaching. The best thing is that these sixteen coaches are now able to run sessions and games and build cricket in the area.

It was great to see sport helping the school, at one point the whole school were either playing or watching, even the teachers. Nigel's and my aim is to see these guys go out and organise some cricket for youngsters either coaching sessions or inter village/church matches. Organised junior cricket is a rarity in the region. There is a lot played in school playgrounds with tape balls, but there is real lack of coaching.

We know that for a lot of young people having the chance to play cricket is a great boost for them, so we hope the new coaches can set up a real legacy of cricket in that area.

What will you remember most about your time in India?

The two most moving movements were; when we arrived we had such an amazing reception and we got the chance to go around the classrooms and see presentations that the children had prepared. It was also great to spend time in the hostel with the orphaned children as you could see that they were so keen to receive the comforting attention we could offer. I would absolutely love to go back and help out again.

Where can people find out more about the charity?

The school is relying on UK funding for staffing but through the charity there are options to support the children and the school facilities. If you want to read more or support please visit: http://www.igniteindia.org.uk/giving/index.php