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From Valleys to Township

From Valleys to Township

To join the celebrations of the inaugural Prince William Cup is an incredible partnership between local Welsh charity Valleys Kids and the exuberant South African percussion group Amampondo.

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Wales face Rugby World Cup champions South Africa for the Prince William Cup for the first time this Saturday at the Millennium Stadium, and to mark the momentous event the Welsh Rugby Union has invited 30 children from the Rhondda Valleys and musicians and dancers from the group from the Langa township in Cape Town to perform for Prince William before the match and on the pitch before the national anthems.

Amampondo, Nelson Mandela’s favourite band, have been working closely with children from Valleys Kids, holding singing, dancing and drumming workshops, and all are very excited to be given the opportunity to perform in the Millennium Stadium.


The youngsters are all involved in Valleys Kids Artworks projects in Penygraig, Rhydyfelin and Penyrenglyn and attend schools in Rhondda Cynon Taff.


Yesterday (Thursday) and today (Friday), Amampondo and the children were putting the finishing touches to their performance, which involves percussion, singing and dancing, at the Elan Community Centre, Rhydyfelin.  


Kate Pritchard, 16, from Hawthorn Comprehensive School said, “I heard about this project from friends and thought it was be great experience so I got involved myself. I’ve never been to the Millennium Stadium before, I usually watch the matches on the telly so it will be amazing, but quite scary to actually perform on the pitch.”


Ashley Bevan, 13 from Penygraig said, “I love playing the drums and meeting the African people. It’s something you don’t get to do every week and I’d love to go to South Africa myself one day.”


Valleys Kids began working with Amampondo two years ago, and are hoping to raise enough money to build a permanent base for Amampondo in the Langa township, Cape Town, which would be used to benefit young people in the township.


Denise Lord, Development Coordinator for Valleys Kids said, “It is a fantastic opportunity for the children to perform at the inaugural Prince William Cup. The fact that Amampondo have been able to come over and rehearse and perform with the children has given our aim to build a community centre in Cape Town a real boost.”


Part of the bucket collection conducted at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday will go to Valleys Kids.


The youngsters will perform for Prince William on Saturday with the musicians and dancers from Amampondo – and again on the Millennium Stadium pitch just before the teams take the field.


Ticket sales are going well for the inaugural Prince William Cup match between Wales and South Africa. If you want to be part of a very special occasion then tickets are available to Personal Callers only to the WRU Ticket Shop (98, St Mary Street, Cardiff), Thursday 9am-7pm, Friday 9am-7pm and on Saturday from 9am to kick off.


Tickets, priced at £20, £40, £45, £50 and £60 for this unique match against the reigning World Champions, will also be available on Saturday from the Cardiff Blues ticket office from 9am to kick off and from booths around the Millennium Stadium from 9am to kick off.

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