When In Rome

I spent my first full week becoming more familiar with the Grassroot Soccer people, curriculum, and organization.  I watched classes taught by GRS coaches in the townships, subsequent evaluations of the coaches, and subsequent evaluations of the evaluators, all of which gave me a more practical understanding of both the content and delivery of our curriculum. 

At the start of the week, it looked like I’d be out in Mtubatuba by now, but, unsurprisingly, things did not go according to plan, as there are some logistics that haven’t been taken squared away.  I expect to take off within the next week, though I’m strangely comfortable with spending some more time in Cape Town.  Our mantra thus far is “be liquid”, as flexibility and patience are so often essential in South Africa, the NGO universe, and, needless to say, the South African NGO universe.

I had a conference call with other GRS members and Thokozani, who works for our partner organization Mpilonhle based in Mtubatuba, KwaZulu Natal.  I will facilitate the relationship between GRS and Mpilonhle, helping the latter use its established ties with local schools to implement the GRS material.  I’ll have a variety of responsibilities, which will include helping Thokozani oversee the coaches, setting up street soccer leagues where GRS lessons can be delivered, ensuring effective Monitoring and Evaluation of the program, and providing financial and administrative guidance to Mpilonhle regarding their pending subgrant from GRS.

This video, called Lusaka Sunrise, might help you get a feel for the GRS approach:

http://www.youtube.com/grassrootsoccer#p/c/E1B62C7678488210/3/kyplef2Hi6Y

I didn’t embed the video on my blog, because we only have a limited amount of bandwidth here.  In other news of technological constraints, our office lost power on Friday morning, so after our laptop batteries died, we descended the dark stairways elevatorless and stepped out into the warm and sunny winter day in Cape Town.

Some GRS staff and coaches after delivering and evaluating a lesson in the township of Gugulethu

If you’re looking to learn more about HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, its worth checking out Helen Epstein’s book The Invisible Cure, which covers a bunch of different aspects of the fight against the epidemic and is a good balance between telling interesting stories and presenting informative concepts and explanations.   

Outside of work, I, along with my fantastic fellow interns, stuffed myself with fresh food at the Old Biscuit Mill market on Saturday, ran through the Company’s Gardens, walked the labyrinth at St. George’s Cathedral, and checked out the bar scene on Long Street.

Khayelitsha

We spent Wednesday in the township of Khayelitsha, an area where a large number of non-whites were forcefully relocated during apartheid. Today it is South Africa’s fastest growing township; miles of small houses, shacks, and sheds stretch as far as the eye can see from the N2 highway, a half hour drive from downtown Cape Town. Grassroot Soccer works closely with many local coaches and teachers in Khayelitsha given the townsip's high HIV prevalence and lack of resources. The 1st of FIFA’s (world soccer’s governing body) 20 Football for Hope centers (which you may have seen ads for during the World Cup) was built here, and GRS runs the facilities, which include a turf soccer field and some classrooms.

We got to meet some of the coaches, who use the GRS curriculum to teach kids about HIV/AIDS and related issues in their communities. Although these coaches are volunteers, for some of them, the transportation stipend GRS provides is their only source of income. They were inspiringly upbeat, friendly, and present. It was the first time that I can recall being part of a group of people who introduced themselves to each other by circling up, clapping a beat, and, one by one, stepping to the center and sharing their favorite dance moves.

One of the coaches, Phikolomzi, took us for an hour-long walk around his neighborhood in the Harare district. Despite it being one of the more developed parts of Khay, seeing so many people living with minimal material possessions was an overwhelming experience and a source of introspection.

We’ve really enjoyed exploring Cape Town over the past few days. Highlights include a sunrise hike up Lion’s Head, a mountain that overlooks the city and water, a glorious afternoon at the beach on Camps Bay in the Atlantic Ocean, surfing at Muizenberg in the Indian Ocean, and a stroll through the woods near Kirstenbosch at the foot of Table Mountain.

Real World Cape Town

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

I just got into Cape Town last night after a full day of flying.  Before I take off to rural Zululand, I'll be living at the GRS intern house with 7 other interns who will be based in CPT for the next 12 months.  We’ve got a nice little pad right near the City Centre, a stone’s throw away from the Country Gardens.  Cape Town is a surreal city, an international crossroads that sits between beautiful beaches and mountains on the ecologically rich Cape peninsula. 

We dropped by the GRS headquarters this morning to meet the team.  Our commute is a 15 minute walk that takes us through the gardens past the Houses of Parliament and South African Library and finally through Greenmarket Square, where shoppers barter with local merchants and artisans along tightly packed rows of tents.  The clear weather today offered us a spectacular view of Table Mountain. 

An hour after arriving at the office, our HR director took us down the street to watch a few thousand striking government workers march, chant, and dance in protest in front of the parliament building in order to give us a flavor of the South African labor scene.  We felt a world away from our intern orientation in New Hampshire that ended just a couple days ago.

In NH, we spent the first couple sweaty days and nights in a log cabin, getting to know one another while doing teambuilding exercises, running through the GRS curriculum, preparing and eating meals, and hiking.  By we, I mean the 25 newly christened GRS interns, who are located in Lesotho, Zambia, Malawi, and South Africa (including Cape Town, Kimberley, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, and, last but not least, Mtubatuba).  A couple of current GRS employees ran the show, and several former interns shared their stories with us as well.  While I may not be the world’s most enthusiastic icebreaker participant, it was good to get everyone interacting, and I’m glad to be part of such an empathetic, open group.  Although I probably won’t be seeing some of these folks much at all going forward, a lot of interns do end up taking trips to visit each other over long weekends or on holidays.

2010 GRS Interns in NH

For the latter half of orientation, we were at an inn a few miles up the road from Hanover, NH learning more about HIV/AIDS and the ins and outs of Grassroot Soccer.  We got to meet the Board of Directors and other friends of GRS at a dinner on Saturday evening.  I talked with a couple people who have been to Mtuba; both emphasized that it is one of (if not the) most beautiful parts of the world that they’ve ever seen.

After an early awakening on Sunday morning, we flew from Logan to Dulles, where I vigorously consumed all things American, from NY-style pizza to Ben and Jerry’s ice cream to Budweiser.  As I boarded the plane, there was a moment of sheer panic as I realized that the largest man in the universe was sitting in my aisle seat.  I was able to humbly convince him to move one seat over, though this did little for my personal space.  Fortunately he was from Gambia, so he got off at our refueling stop in Dakar, Senegal, and I only had to spend half of our 18-hour stretch from Dulles to Jo-burg cramped against one of my armrests.

Donations

In order to help reach Grassroot Soccer's suggested fundraising goal of $10,000, I welcome your financial support.  The easiest way to donate is by entering the desired dollar amount and hitting the Donate button on the right, which will take you to a Google checkout page.  These contributions go directly to Grassroot Soccer (they are tax deductible; GRS is a 501c3 charitable organization) and can then be used to reimburse my basic expenses, such as food, medical costs, and travel to and from Africa.

This is a really awesome cause; by battling HIV/AIDS, we also take on a host of other social issues such as sexual assault, poverty, and gender inequality.  I'll give it my all to make sure your contributions are put to good use.  As Dr. Seuss might have said, a donation's a donation, no matter how small.

Tim Is Not In South Africa Just Yet

Howdy all.  Welcome to my creatively named blog, Tim Is In South Africa. 

I am currently at home in Manchester, Connecticut, United States of America pulling together a few odds and ends before I head off to orientation in New Hampshire in the morning.  From NH, I travel to Boston via bus on Sunday and then to Washington DC, Johannesburg, and finally Cape Town via commercial jetliner.  The Cessna will have to sit in the garage for a year while I save the world.

As you probably know, I will be spending the next year volunteering for a nonprofit called Grassroot Soccer (GRS) that focuses on HIV/AIDS prevention in sub-Saharan Africa.  GRS works with soccer coaches, teachers, and other role models to implement health education curriculum in their respective communities.  I'll post up in the rural village of Mtubatuba in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa after a few weeks of training in Cape Town.  

Many thanks to my family and friends for all of the good wishes, blessings, and shenanigans as I embark on this adventure.

Tim with pals in America