Football for Hope Centre Turns 1

On Sunday while Jamison and Talia continued to work hard at the HCT Tournament, the Football for Hope Centre turned 1, Graham enjoyed some time to himself in the intern house and the girls and I headed to Clifton's Beach without sunscreen. It was a Sunday full of reminders...

It was a reminder that there is always more testing that needs to be done and more people needed to do it. If  people are lining up to get tested and we test 922 at full capacity... There is a lot more to be done. Talia made a great point-- Because all of our tournament participants were male (as a side note: teams got 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 2 points if everyone on their team tested-- a pretty cool way of getting people test) the large majority of people tested over the weekend were male. The challenge now is to create events like this for females... Idea time people! Below are some more pictures from the event courtesy of Steven Burton (www.stevenburtonphotography.com)

 

It was a reminder that the FFHC has only been around for 1 year. We, especially those of us that weren't here when the Centre was first launched, often forget that it's only been a year since FFHC kicked off. While there is a lot more to be done, so much has been accomplished in that year. As a praise to all of the coaches working hard out there in the field, Jules Sara Margs and I spent Friday night in the kitchen baking up a storm. Cadbury chocolate buttercream frosting... Yum?!

Kudos to Jamison and Abigail for putting in all of the work on the following...Check out more about Khayelitsha's Football for Hope Centre, one year later at:

http://www.streetfootballworld.org/khayelitsha-one-year-later

It was a reminder that it is okay to have some alone time every once in a while. Since coming to South Africa we have spent over 18 hours a day (often more) together. We spend so much time together that we often feel badly when we aren't spending time with each other. Every single day, we wake up together, eat together, go to work together, come home and work out together, relax together, dine together, and then head to bed together.

One can only think of The Real World:
"This is the true story... of eight strangers... picked to live in a house...work together and have their lives taped... to find out what happens... when people stop being polite... and start getting real...The Real World."

I have never spent some much time with 6 other people. That being said, I can't think of 6 other people that I would rather spend that much time with. My roommates have made this experience for me and I can't thank them enough for being as amazing as they are. I love you guys!

          

Finally, it was a reminder that sunscreen is absolutely necessary. While the day at Clifton's Beach was fantastic, forgetting sunscreen was a very, very dumb move. African Sun: 1, Charlotte: 0

 

HCT Tournament

This past Saturday was another busy weekend in Cape Town. After four months of interventions, fundraising events, Skillz Street sessions, and Skillz Holiday camps, Cape Town had its first HCT (HIV Counseling and Testing) Tournament since our arrival. Vuyo, a CPC for Cape Town, led the charge and got 75+ teams signed up for the weekend. The tournament was held over two days at the Football for Hope Centre and at Kwamfundo Secondary School which is right next door. Matthew Booth, a famous South African footballer, joined us for the day and tested alongside tournament participants!

Jamison and Talia have been working their butts off preparing for a big end of the year-- An HCT tournament, a Skillz Street graduation and testing, and a Skillz Holiday-- and so far, it has really paid off! By the end of the weekend over 922 males and females, boys and girls got tested for HIV. 

Sara and I joined the crowds and put our trust in Life Choices, one of our testing partners for the weekend. I was hugely impressed with their counseling, before and after the test. Even for me, someone whose chances of having HIV are extremely slim, the whole testing process was nerve wracking, so it was a relief knowing that those around me, for whom the chance of having HIV is far more real, were receiving the same top-notch counseling and support. 

While sitting on the sidelines watching some of the games Margaret put it really well, "Events like these are amazing, but it's scary to think of how many people's lives are drastically changed after a day like this." We haven't gotten the final numbers yet, but I'm sure a scarily high percentage of our participants tested positive over the weekend. Thankfully organizations like Life Choices and Grassroot Soccer are out there, but it is so important to not forget that there is much, much more work to be done. Despite what cuts in funding might signal, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is far from over. 

Photo courtesy of Steven Burton (www.stevenburtonphotography.com)

Matthew Booth's signature on our MD's shirt! Woo!!

Sometimes it's easy to get wrapped up in little things that don't really matter that much in the grand scheme of things. Luckily, there are little guys like these (who were running around throughout the day at the HCT Tournament) to bring us back down to earth and remind me what life is all about. 

 

Corporate Inspi(RED) Tournament

After a very successful Thanksgiving we spent Saturday, Nov. 27th, shedding some of our newly acquired pounds while working the Corporate Inspi(RED) Tournament. In order to raise funds and awareness Grassroot Soccer invited 16 corporations from around Cape Town to submit a team to our tournament. Abigail did a fantastic job organizing and the day took place with a hitch! Throughout the day corporations battled it out on the field and then were brought together immediately following their games to participate in Skillz practices led by our Cape Town coaches.  All in all, the event was a huge success that resulted in lots of awareness and some very significant fund raising!

Highlight of the Day: One of the corporations signed up a team but then was unable to find enough players. While most people would pull out the team coordinator instead called GRS and asked that we keep their money and invite a team from Khayelitsha to play in their place. The guy from the corp. came to the tournament, spent the morning with the team, and they ended up winning the whole thing!!

Sunday, after far too long, Jules, Jeremy, Emma, Sara, Lizzy, Kristin, Mags, T and I headed to Muizenberg where we got to catch some waves. Cloudy skies but warm water (thank goodness for the Indian ocean!) and delicious sandwiches resulted in a really great afternoon.

Giving Thanks

I've always loved Thanksgiving, but this year in particular felt really special. 

When canned cranberry sauce is hard to come by, half of your co-workers have never tasted turkey breast, and you are in an extremely impoverished country over 7,000 miles from home, friends, and family living with six wonderful "strangers"...You start to realize what Thanksgiving is all about.

To my family, friends, co-workers, and housemates (you guys especially!) I hope you know how thankful I am for your love and constant support. I love you all.

A large part of me wished that I could be in Connecticut with my family, but I was lucky enough to have a very good replacement for the evening. 30 guests, 3 turkeys, 5 pies, all the classic dishes, and 6 unbelievable housemates kept me from feeling too homesick and led to a very fulFILLING evening. (See picture below of Jamison and me comparing stomach sizes)

Guests: Elise + five friends, Ryan and Rob + 3, Leah +2 , interns Kristin (Kimberley), Lizzy (Port Elizabeth) and Wes (Malawi), Hannah Burnett, Tay and Corey, and South African staff (Abigail, husband, and Janks).... FULL HOUSE!

This picture doesn't even include the second turkey table!

Visitors! From left to right- Kristin Anthony (Intern in Kimberley), Margaret, Sara, Hannah Burnett (Princeton in Africa fellow who works for Mothers2Mothers)

"Oh you're a lucky guy to be so alive in the world" -Ace Reporter