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.