IT started as two brothers from Southampton embarking on a fundraising adventure.

Ten years on, it has turned into an international charity, raising millions of pounds and saving countless lives.

In 2005, Steve and Peter Fleming set themselves an epic task - they decided they would kick a football 250 miles through the African country of Malawi.

With the help of their friend Dave Light in their support crew, they completed the marathon journey in 10 days and raised £15,000 for charity.

Dave said: “I have known Steve for a long time, since we were kids and we were always going off on adventures together.”

But when the team got home they realised they did not want to stop raising money for charity and that football could be used as a way to communicate with people from all walks of life.

Because of this Steve and Pete, who grew up in the Shirley, founded the charity Kick4Life and their friends Dave Light, 39 and Ben Fishlock, 34, both from Bitterne Park, became founding trustees.

Steve, 38, explained what happened: “I was working in London at the time in local government, it was OK but I didn’t get up in the morning excited about what the day had in store.

“So I thought of this challenge and it was meant to be a one off challenge and I had always loved football and sport so came up with this idea. I roped my brother into doing it as well.

“On the back of the challenge we thought that this is a lot more fun than our regular jobs and we decide to start up Kick4Life.”

Kick4Life is now a charity that educates people in Lesotho, southern Africa about HIV and the need for test and treatments.

Pete, 34, said: “I moved with my wife Susie to Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, to set up the project on the ground when it first started.”

The 10 years since the charity began it has grown rapidly with a host of well-known faces getting involved including Prince Harry and David Beckham.

They now employ more than 50 staff and deliver a wide range of activities for orphans and vulnerable children in Lesotho.

These include health education, life-skills development and HIV testing to mentoring, literacy and support towards long-term education and employment.

The charity has worked with more than 100,000 vulnerable young people and has picked up multiple awards for its work including a Best Practice Award from the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund.

They also have a long-standing partnership with the Saints Foundation which has seen two groups of Saints fans visit the project in Lesotho, with another tour heading out in September next year.

In 2011 Kick4Life opened the Football for Hope centre in Lesotho’s capital city Maseru thanks to a grant from FIFA's 2010 World Cup legacy initiative.

The centre includes a five-a-side artificial pitch, 11-a-side grass pitch as well as classrooms and counselling rooms.

Steve said: “We use football in education and to get people to a HIV test and get them the medical treatment they need.

“We also work with the most vulnerable groups in the society like the homeless.”

They have even opened a hotel and restaurant called No.7 which they use to employ young people and teach them about the catering industry.

It became the top restaurant in the country and all the profits it makes go back into Kick4Life.

On top of all this the charity set up its own football team that competes in the Lesotho premier league.

Ben said: “I've known Pete and Steve since I was a young child and loved what they were planning, so when they invited me to become a founding trustee I literally jumped at the chance.

“The HIV testing is the really high impact stuff, when a young person is referred to medical treatment and given a chance to lead a normal life.

“Without that intervention these amazing kids might only live a few years.

“Kick4Life really is saving and changing lives - as a father of young children this intervention really does blow me away and it's very hard not to get emotional.”

Now having raised more than £5 million for the charity, the four Southampton friends are celebrating their ten years of helping people with a charity event, taking place in London on October 15.

Pete said: “The event will be a great time to reflect on what has been achieved so far and to thank the vast number of people who have helped make those achievements possible.”

They are also looking for any fundraisers to join their Land's End to John O'Groats cycle challenge in September 2017.

PANEL

Proudest moments

Steve said his proudest moment was when former England coach Fabio Cappello visited the centre and gave two young boys there the chance to see the England team train.

Steve said: “They got to go to a behind closed doors England training session.

“We got to watch Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard and Terry training and these lads had never even left their village and seeing the two lads faces was great.”

Pete said: “Kick4Life are in the business of helping vulnerable youth move from a position of extreme poverty to a sustainable life by providing long-term, systematic care and support to these youth.

“We've learnt that to genuinely and permanently remove a child from poverty takes a monumental effort.

“As a team, we are all proud when we see this type of progress from the kids on the programme.”

Dave said: “For me the proudest moment was probably going out there the last time I visited in 2012 and going to see the Football for Hope site up and running.

“It provides really life changing care for people in the country.

“And as a lifelong Saints fan being in partnership with them as been fantastic.”

Ben said: “My most memorable moment was a trip to Lesotho in 2007 when the charity was still in its early days.

“I ran an education session with a group of more than 500 children in a very remote part of the country.

“After being separated by the sheer number of kids It was just me with nothing but a megaphone and a football! but we managed to make it work.

“Thankfully now Kick4Life is much better resourced and we have a dedicated team of staff and volunteers focused on delivering a high impact curriculum.”

PANEL

Kick4Life in stats

• One Premier League football team and a founding member of the Women’s Super League in Lesotho

• More than 25,000 young people tested for HIV

• More than 600 young people living with HIV referred to medical treatment & support

• More than 50,000 young people completed sports-based health education & life-skills curriculum

• 1 top class Restaurant and Hotel & Conference Centre launched, providing sustainable income for K4L and training & employment for young people

• More than 250 young people trained as health education & life-skills coaches

• 1 Football for Hope Centre secured for Lesotho including health and education facilities and the country’s first 5-a-side artificial pitch

• More than 1,000 out-of-school youths have attained key skills standards in literacy, numeracy and IT skills in partnership with UNICEF

• More than 500 vulnerable young people reached with mentoring and referrals, covering health, education, shelter, protection, nutrition and psychosocial.

• More than 50 young people referred to full-time external employment

• More than 100 jobs created at Kick4Life 70% of staff team started as participants