FORMER Celtic favourite Victor Wanyama has opened his heart about his attempts to curb the spread of Covid-19 in his homeland of Kenya. 

The Victor Wanyama Foundation is working to provide masks, create jobs and spread awareness regarding the virus in some of the poorest areas of the African nation. 

There have been more than 36,000 confirmed cases and 624 deaths in the country, although it is feared that a lack of widespread testing could be obscuring a far higher number. 

And Wanyama, now plying his trade with Montreal Impact in MLS, is working alongside UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlement Programme, to make a difference. 

He told Impact Media: “Our Foundation has been going around the ghettos and the slums of Kenya.

“We’re there to educate the children and provide them with masks, also providing them to anyone who doesn’t have any. 

“We are also there to empower women who lost their job due to Covid-19, by providing them with the necessary tools to sew and brand these masks, which ends up creating jobs.

“The most important part for us was to get into homes, educate them about Covid-19, and then provide them with face masks.

“Because once it gets into the house, once one person has it, it spreads very quickly. So, the education part is extremely important.

“Once you teach them that and they’re aware of the consequences, they can manage to protect themselves well. That’s our aim.”

Wanyama’s charity is also seeking to build houses for those living on the streets of Korogocho, Kenya. They have overseen the construction of 10 so far, and intend to erect another 40. 

He continued: “Part of the Foundation’s mission now is to try and build homes, so they have somewhere to sleep and take shelter. 

“We’ve built a few of them so far. It costs about $1,000 per home and we’ve built 10, but we’re still pushing for more.”

Wanyama made 91 appearances for Celtic after arriving from Germinal Beerschot in 2011, winning three major honours and helping the Hoops reach the last-16 of the Champions League in 2013. 

Wanyama’s subsequent move to Southampton saw Celtic bank around £12.5 million for the combative midfielder and, following three years at St. Mary’s, he landed a dream switch to Tottenham.