Jordan Brennen, 7, catches a pass during a football clinic for area children on Monday, Dec. 22, 2014, at Roscow A. L. Davies Field in Nassau, Bahamas. (Austin Anthony/Daily News)

NASSAU, Bahamas — Western Kentucky and Central Michigan received a lesson in history and culture Monday as part of Popeyes Bahamas Bowl activities.

After WKU and Central Michigan held separate practices Monday morning, select members of both squads visited a children’s home and later participated in a football camp held in conjunction with USA Football.

The first stop was at the Ranfurly Home for Children. Founded in 1956, Ranfurly is an independently run facility that currently houses 27 children – 16 boys and 11 girls

“The children here are either abused, neglected or abandoned,” Ranfurly administrator L. Alexander Roberst said. “They’re are placed here by the department of social services, and we care for all their needs. We provide the best environment we can for them.”

Hilltoppers and Chippewas arrived at the home and were given a brief overview of the facility. They then spread among the grounds to meet with the kids. Some watched a game of billiards, played basketball, kicked a soccer ball around or threw a football.

Western Kentucky cheerleaders and Big Red were also on hand.

“It’s a lot of fun,” WKU kicker Garrett Schwettman said. “You kind of get to know them a little bit and a little bit of their story, but also get to share some things that we know that they don’t. But it’s really fun, just out here shooting hoops, passing the soccer ball around – kind of my specialty – and throwing the football with them. It’s fun. It’s great.”

The teams stayed for about an hour and wrapped up the visit by helping Bahamian television with an interview about the day’s activities.

Meanwhile, across town at Roscow A.L. Davies Field, members of both squads helped put on a football clinic for children of all ages. Tops and Chippewas helped local children learn how catch, tackle, throw, run with the ball and, most important, how to celebrate after scoring a touchdown.

“They’re really attached because they don’t know much,” WKU freshman linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe said. “So they’re paying attention to make sure they don’t mess up. These kids are really open, open to new things, which is great for us.”

WKU and Central Michigan are both stationed at the Atlantis Resort on the Bahamas, a plush and luxurious spot away from the city center. But both teams must board passenger fans and take a 30-minute drive to Thomas A. Robinson Stadium or Davies Field for practice.

Those journeys cut right through the heart of the urban center, allowing everyone a glimpse into daily Bahamian life.

“It’s kind of sobering to see what they go through and what we go through, what we have and what we’re so lucky to have,” Schwettman said. “Like, we’re staying over at Atlantis while they’re over here on the main island going through problems every single day.

“It’s something that we have and not to take for granted. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to come out here and just have some fun with the kids.”

— Follow Western Kentucky University football reporter Chad Bishop on Twitter at twitter.com/MrChadBishop or visit bgdailynews.com.