“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” - LAO TZU

I have a large backpack of my own gear and a massive duffel stuffed to the brim with pens, pencils, goalkeeper gloves and jerseys, plus shorts and socks all courtesy of the 2009 Dynasty Goalkeeping students!  I only wish I could lug more over to donate.  Let the adventure begin!  Out of my comfort zone, far from the land of plenty, and into Africa I go!

Actually the next stop is Washington DC, then Rome, then Addis Ababa, and finally Dar Es Salaam, TANZANIA!  A few good books, my snacks (I never leave home without my snacks!) and an iPod will hopefully get me through the next 24+ hours of flying.  Going there actually probably won’t be that bad however as there is always anticipation that gets you through.  And after months of pre-trip planning I have plenty of anticipation and excitement stored up.

Once I arrive in Dar my first ‘challenge’ will be linking up with fellow volunteer Brian Suskiewicz, whom I have never met.  Doubt he will have any problem finding the white girl with blonde hair.  I will stick out like a sore thumb.  We will spend a night in Dar recovering and the following day we plan to fly to Kigoma where will start volunteering on the 30^th.  We will be running sessions with teachers in the morning and then in the afternoons we will go to various schools around Kigoma to work with children.  I have been told that all of the teachers will speak English, so communication with them won’t be an issue.  The children on the other hand most likely won’t speak English, with the exception of a few words and phrases, so I have been studying some Swahili to learn a few words and numbers to help make communicating with them a bit easier.  I’m sure I will slaughter their language, but at a minimum it will make them laugh!  The bottom line is that if I just coach the way I do here; showing the activities with passion, energy, smiles, and laughter then the message will get across.  

In addition to our work in Kigoma we just found out that we will be traveling north to an area called Geita to work with teachers and children in that area as well.   Geita is close to Lake Victoria and is known for their gold mines.  While it will be Coaches Across Continents third year working in Kigoma, it will be our first in Geita, so we have no idea what to expect.  It is great that the local coordinator in Kigoma, Nico Pota, will be extending our reach in the short time we will be there.     

It is impossible to fathom what I will encounter, but everyone I have spoken with that has been to Africa has said the EXACT same thing, “It will change you and you will love it.”  So I am heading over ready to take in everything that this experience has to offer and eager to do what I can for the teachers and students of Kigoma. 

Recently I did an interview about my upcoming trip (keep an eye out for it on the UNC women’s soccer website next week http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/w-soccer/unc-w-soccer-body.html).  The reporter asked me, “What do you hope to accomplish?”.   Hmmm…I thought, good question.  It made me stop and reflect on the purpose of my trip, which I found to be a very valuable exercise so that I head out in a good frame of mind and a clear purpose. 

I am not so daft as to expect that I am going to change the lives of these children in 2 shorts weeks.  So why go at all then?  Well, first I think it is important to focus on the little things that can be accomplished in 2 weeks.  If I can help make a child smile, laugh, and bring joy and hope into their extremely difficult daily existence, then I will have succeeded.  If I can help show a teacher a new method of coaching from a positive, encouraging point of view versus a harsh, fear based, militaristic style, then I will have succeeded.  Those are things I am fully capable of achieving.

On a grander scale though, I hope to raise awareness and connect people here in the United States more intimately with the problems in Africa.  I will be the first to admit that I allow myself to become disconnected with the global community.  It is so easy to get caught up in our daily lives and sucked into our routine and the daily grind, the rat race of life, here in the U.S. that our circle of influence becomes very small.  We know that there are lots of problems in Africa….AIDS, malnutrition, poverty, political instability, genocide….but it is a continent away.  We feel we can’t do anything to help, and we are quite honestly happily disconnected from it and too busy with our own lives to do anything.  That has been me.  That is until I read an article in the UNC Alumni Review probably 5+ years ago.  The article was about Carolina For Kibera, an organization founded by UNC alumni, Rye Barcott.  It was such an impressive undertaking to me on many levels.  The article described the despicable, unsanitary, harsh conditions in the worst slum of Kenya and the soccer program CFK developed to help teach the youth in the community, bring hope and change, as well as the establishing a medical clinic and an educational center.  One of UNC’s former soccer players, Laura Winslow, was mentioned in the article for her involvement and volunteering in Kibera.  So that is how I first became ‘connected’ to some of the issues in Africa.  Over the years I have donated gear (balls, sports bras, cleats) and money to CFK to feel like (as most of us I think do) we are helping and ‘doing our part’.  Of course this is very valuable and critical to the sustainability of not-for-profit organizations, as certainly not everyone can volunteer their time.  In the back of my mind though, after reading about Laura’s experience, I thought it would be an amazing experience to travel over there to do the same thing.  A very tiny seed had been planted.  However, there was always something going on in my life (we ALL have things going on in our lives and always will) that made it unfeasible for me to even consider finding out what volunteering would even entail, let alone actually take steps towards committing towards it.  It simply was not a priority.

Fast forward a few years to 2007… I reconnected with CaC founder Nick Gates after his first trip through Africa.  He had just come back from a year long trip and was brainstorming the creation of Coaches Across Continents.  In speaking with him in person, seeing his photos, videos, and feeling the passion in his voice everything became tangible to me.  In the subsequent years I watched as fellow teammates of mine (Lorrie Fair, Cindy Parlow, and Anna Rodenbough) became involved with various organizations to volunteer in various countries around Africa.  Goalkeeper students of mine were volunteering in India and Africa.  Momentum was building inside of me to act.  The tiny seed that had been planted in me was starting grow.  Then once Nick got CaC off the ground it all became possible.  I was connected to a program and it was palpable.  Once that link was made I was compelled to help.  Instead of Africa being a world away and not my problem, an internal switch had been hit.  All of the reasons and excuses I previously had for not getting involved dissipated and were replaced with one thought, “how can I not act”.  It is such a small sliver of time, a blink of an eye; it is the LEAST I can do. 

I think most Americans, (actually most humans) want to help — whatever the cause may be, here locally or a continent away in Africa.  It is our nature as human beings to help, yet somehow we still flounder.  I believe that laying the groundwork and being given the platform to become involved is the critical link to action.  Once shown how we can help and given a path, everyone is eager to participate.  All we need is direction.  

So what do I hope to accomplish?  I want to raise awareness to get more people like myself involved.  Had it not been for Nick and CaC I would not have had the platform on which to act.  He provided the impetus to get me rolling and for that I am grateful.  Getting people SPECIFICALLY connected to an issue and a program is a big part.  So while I certainly hope to make an impact on the teachers, coaches, and children I interact with during the short time I am in Tanzania, I am realistic.  My time there is limited and there is only so much that can be accomplished in a short time.  The challenges are great and the issues many.  The more lasting effect I hope to have is drawing more people into the circle and encouraging more people to act.  Getting more people to flip the switch like I have is my hope.  That is what Nick and many others provided for me, so if I can pay that forward then I will feel as if I have made a difference.

Lastly, it is not too late to donate to this great cause.  I am just short of hitting my pre-trip fundraising goal of $6600.  If you haven’t already donated perhaps you will consider jumping on board at this time to help me reach my target?  Every bit helps, so THANKS!  You can pay with a check or even easier through the secure First Giving website www.firstgiving.com/tracynoonan with a credit card.  Also, as mentioned in my previous blog entry, a private foundation has committed to matching all donations that end in the amount of ‘27’ up to the amount of $27,000!  So by donating with an amount that ends in $27 ($27, $127, $1027, etc) your money will count twice!  How cool is that!?!?  To find out more about the CaC Matching Donation Program go to: http://sportingcommunities.edwardswan.com/?p=2267

Remember your investment CHANGES LIVES!

Tracy

I am about to leave Malawi which means that I am roughly halfway through my journey in Africa. I have volunteered in South Africa and Malawi and still need to go to Tanzania and Zambia. So what has Malawi been like? Even though it seems like I just arrived yesterday, in reality I have been here a month. I have met literally hundreds of people, have memories that would normally fill up an entire year and which will last me a lifetime.

Old Malawi Flag (1964-2010)

New Flag! (July 29, 2010)

Malawi is a place of eternal optimism. They know that they are improving as a society and see the present and future as a bright shining beacon of hope. To illustrate this they even changed their flag during my visit! It used to be a sun rising over a horizon indicating the dawn and promise of a new country but the new flag now has the sun represented in full midday blaze. This is a country with obvious problems of poverty, infrastructure, and health/social issues such as malaria and street children. And in the face of these problems you have a smiling populace attacking their challenges head-on with groups such as Play Soccer Malawi.

Abel and Brian

I have never met a man more happy than Play Soccer’s program manager Abel Mkandawire who sings and smiles and laughs more in a day than a room full of kindergarteners. He has been our unofficial guide through the city and making sure that we get to every training session by navigating the confusing mass of minibuses. It was raining and cold and windy last week and he kept bee-bopping like Bobby McFerrin who sang the song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!” Maybe smiling in the face of adversity is a way to cope with the difficulties he sees daily as he helps to implement the Play Soccer three-pronged curriculum of Health, Social, & Soccer in the three extremely impoverished communities of Bangwe, Ndirande, and Chigumula. Or maybe he smiles because he gets to work outdoors with children and dedicated volunteer coaches from the communities. Or maybe he is smiling because he sees that over the past five years of working with Play Soccer Malawi he really is making a difference and knows that he will continue making a difference.

As I look back on my last month here I have to ask myself whether I made a difference and will that difference continue after my departure? While I was here I had a chance to design a week-long teacher/coach education program with my Coaches Across Continents colleagues Tommy Yikes and Phil Larrett. It seemed really well received and was taught at all three sites. We could see real improvement when the Play Soccer volunteer coaches took control to do their field practical sessions. I hope that the confidence they earned during our course will translate to their sessions with the kids when the Play Soccer program resumes at the start of the school year. If that happens then our mission here is a success and we will have indirectly helped 5,000 kids who need it most.

Phil Larrett, Walter Manda (FAM and PS Malawi President), Patricio Kulemeka (PS Malawi Country Program Manager), and Me

I also have been working with Play Soccer Country Program Manager Patricio Kulemeka and Board of Director President Walter Manga (who is also the Football Association of Malawi president) to design and implement a fundraising strategy. Like most NGOs, Play Soccer has a constant struggle for finances. Great programs that need funds always seem to get too little to be able to reach everyone that they need to. The new fundraising strategy we devised needs to raise money locally through corporations and events so that Play Soccer can sustain and maybe even expand their great program into more impoverished communities throughout Malawi. We have targeted several promising companies and set up meetings and proposals so hopefully these will bear fruit in the coming months.

Too good a picture not to use again!

I guess the hard part for me is that I will not see the end result of the efforts that we have put in this month on the field and in the office. The results will only be seen by those who live here. It will only be seen after years of work with the kids when they become graduates of the Play Soccer curriculum and grow into mature, healthy, socially responsible adults on whom the future of Malawi will be built. Maybe that is the real reason people are always smiling here. They know that good work is being done, and that it will bear fruit in the long term. Malawians are smiling because they know the future is bright, while I am a bit sad because I will be leaving and will not see this result except from afar. Maybe I need to adopt more of Abel’s attitude and just scat and bee-bop my way through life confidently knowing that the sun will be always be shining on Malawi.

For my first Malawi Smiles blog please Click Here

August 21st, 2010:  In 2010 the demand for Coaches across Continents continued to grow at a rapid rate and programs were added in South Africa, Kenya and Uganda, so that by the end of 2010 there will be 18 programs in 6 countries impacting up to 90,000 children and teachers.

So far in 2010 our wonderful coaches have worked in Nairobi with VAP and Carolina for Kibera, in Oyugis with SEP and in Kisumu with KYFA.  In Uganda our partners are Straight Talk in Busia, FRO in Pader and Buwate Youth nr. Kampala.  South Africa saw a new partnership with Whizzkids and in Malawi we are working with Play Soccer and Funwefarm before heading back to Tanzania with Kigoma and new work in Geita.  Our year on the fields in Africa finishes in Zambia with Beyond Sport Integrated in Monze and Play Soccer in Lusaka.  Additionally our program has been used by Urban Soccer Collaboration, USA and we are looking at potential programs in Haiti and with Global Special Olympics.  Each partner is carefully selected after completing a rigorous application process.  Each program has a unique set of challenges and our Chance to Choice curriculum is developed to have the flexibility to work for the needs of our partner rather than using a one size fits all approach.

Off the field Coaches across Continents continues to gain global acclaim.  We were invited to Barcelona in March as a finalist in the Global Sports Forum and in September we will be running workshops at the 2010 Beyond Sport Awards in Chicago.  We were awarded a new Global prize of a Connor Sport Court that is shipping to Kigoma for the first ever all weather facility in Tanzania.  Select Gear became a full Hat-Trick partner in Uganda and corporate sponsors began to take notice of the impact our organization was having in communities. Our CSR 2010 that was developed with Accenture Consulting has raised business awareness of the power of sport.

Our business boards added some great leaders with Christian Aviza, Graham Bradford, Andy Old and Ciaran McArdle and we are developing playersacrosscontinents.org and soccermomsacrosscontinents.org to be part of our business development program to help raise new funding sources for our work.  We unveiled our own WISER evaluation system to measure results of our work through sport that will have a major impact in this developing field. And in September we roll out our new brand logo that was designed with grassroots.org and freelogoproject.org to showcase the impact of our Hat-Trick Initiative.

Sport and development is a new way to educate communities and its power was seen in South Africa during World Cup 2010.  Our job as the global leader in this new field is to create awareness of the true value of sport and work with partners in developing communities and businesses and sponsors in developed countries to use the power of education through sport to influence social change.  It’s not enough in 2010 to educate about the facts of HIV, the education has to be about influencing behavioural change.  Female empowerment isn’t just having women play sport but to use that sport to create healthier young woman who have a ‘voice and a choice’.  And our job is to use sport to help communities avoid conflict and show that there are always choices for every decision.  Most importantly, sport gives the chnace to educate in a fun way.  In the past 3 days we have received 4 new partner requests from countries like Botswana, South Africa, India and Ghana and we are are anticipating further controlled growth in 2011.

Already we are turning our attention to 2011 and ensuring that Coaches across Continents is able to provide even more Soccer for Social Development programs.  Behind the scenes our Boards are working tirelessly to build an ’off the field’ system  to support our successful ‘on the field’ programs.  Over the next few weeks we will start with 2011 staff recruitment and organize 2011 program dates and communities.  It’s an exciting time for everyone involved with Coaches across Continents.

All Smiles in Malawi!

Despite being in Africa (South Africa) for nearly two months, it feels like I have finally arrived in what I imagined Africa to look like when I touched down in Blantyre, Malawi.  This country is commonly referred to as “The warm heart of Africa” with good reason.  The people are all very welcoming, extremely kind, and show their great smiles day and night.  They are also for the most part very, very poor with 65% of the country living on less than $1 per day.  It is in these extremely poor communities that Play Soccer Malawi is currently working.  They have three sites just outside Blantyre and in each of these sites they get up to 800 kids per session.  These 800 kids are taught the Play Soccer curriculum by 30 volunteer coaches who never have more than 20 balls between them and a limited number of cones.  Their “pitch” is actually a giant dirt/dust field with rocks scattered about along with some broken glass and random holes.  Did I mention that almost every kid is barefoot?

Soccer Game at Ndirande

Despite what you may be thinking at the moment – I cannot believe how enthusiastic the children are to be playing football and working with Play Soccer.  Started in 2005, Play Soccer had only a few boys and girls.  Now they reach almost 5,000 children, 40% of whom are girls.  The Play Soccer curriculum has three main components: health, social development, and soccer.  Each practice will cover one topic in each of these area.  Some days kids might learn about infectious diseases (Health), teamwork (Social), and soccer and other days may focus on anti-drug messages (Health), solidarity (Social) and soccer.  Their curriculum lasts 48 weeks and their numbers have grown exponentially in the past few years and are expected to continue to do so – if they can continue finding sufficient funding.

Coaches Across Continents is now in the second year of its partnership with Play Soccer Malawi.  That brings me to my job here in Malawi – which is somewhat different than at WhizzKids United where I taught soccer sessions to educate against HIV (click here for last blog!)  This next month Tommy, Phil, and I will be working for one week at each of the Play Soccer sites (Ndirande, Bangwe, and Chigumula).  We will work with their volunteer coaches and provide them some of our ideas, experiences and expertise as professional football coaches and teachers so that hopefully they will improve as coaches and teachers themselves.  By working with their volunteers we ensure that we reach (indirectly) every child that participates with Play Soccer (almost 5,000!) while we are here.

Friendship and Smiles at Bangwe

Another aspect of our work here is also to run sessions with some of the Play Soccer children.  Already we have run several sessions for the children following the Play Soccer curriculum - teaching them life skills along with soccer savvy.  As I mentioned before the amount of energy that exists in the sessions and on the streets watching kids play soccer with small balls made from plastic bags is impressive.  I have no doubt that their enthusiasm and passion for playing far exceeds anything I have seen in the United States on a daily basis.  Some of these kids will be rewarded on Wednesday, August 11th when they are official FIFA ball-boys/girls and accompany the players onto the pitch for the Malawi vs. Botswana full national team game which is also a qualifier for the African Cup of Nations tournament.  A few extremely gifted players will be putting on a juggling demonstration for the 90,000 fans at halftime.  If you check out the game on TV – look for the Play Soccer kids!

Innovative goalposts - removed every night so they aren't taken for firewood!

Our final work task here involves working with Patrick and Abel who run Play Soccer Malawi in order to assist them with fundraising.  At the moment it is difficult for everyone around the world financially – but we are attempting to set up a local fundraising model so that Play Soccer Malawi can become more self-sufficient and sustainable.  With these local funds we hope to be able to purchase more equipment, snacks for the participants, and expand into future communities and reach even more children in the coming year.

CAC up in here yo

Watch us play, watch us go

Watch us crank dat soulja boy

And superman fo’ sho’

Now watch us moveeeeee

***Imagine Teaching Such a Little Ditty to a Group of 50 Secondary School Girls

In theory, the notion of utilizing soulja boy to communicate messages about female empowerment is probably not the best tool to implement social change. But, after substituting certain lyrics for others in order to create a more appropriate tune, the dance becomes a medium through which children can take part in something especially rewarding – FUN. As has been mentioned in earlier blogs, combining fun with serious topics such as women’s rights is one of the most unique and beneficial aspects of CAC, as it cultivates a scenario in which children are enjoying the material that is being presented to them. So, if the situation requires teaching 50 dance-hungry, boarding school girls the soulja boy routine in order to initially grasp their attention, then what an instrument fun can be, as the CAC coaches can then use that undivided attention to enhance the girls’ understanding of their basic rights as women: having a voice and choice, possessing the power to say no to a man, obtaining an education and subsequent vocation, even something as simple as setting goals and attaining them – rights that we consider so inherent in the United States, but are often not treated as such in Africa.

Having just completed the female empowerment unit in which CAC dealt with the aforementioned topics, I can affirm that women in Uganda hold a very peculiar place in society. In many glaringly, obvious ways, women are inferior. For example, in terms of gender dynamics, there is hardly any sharing of responsibilities between husband and wife. Whereas in the west a marriage is looked upon as a partnership, in Uganda (and really throughout Africa), there are distinct guidelines for what men and women should do. In general, men are considered the breadwinners, the moneymakers who go out and support the family because according to African tradition, they are the superior gender. Women, on the other hand, stay home and do all those little things that men often figure they are above performing. In other words, women cook, clean, care for children, fetch water, wash clothes, and produce children (the designated personal responsibility I find particularly amusing, as if it doesn’t take two to tango). And yet, young girls – future women – still go to school in order to gain knowledge so that perhaps, one day they can go to university and make a better life for themselves, dilapidate the cultural barrier that pervades over the Ugandan female sex.

It’s fascinating really, this idea of culture; so fascinating that it’s unbelievably frustrating as well. When we first began the female empowerment program, the CAC coaches had just come off a both fulfilling and challenging unit in HIV prevention. At the time, my assumption had been that HIV prevention would be our most difficult unit. And contemplating the negative stigma that surrounds the virus, in many ways it was. Just engaging the children in the curriculum to the point where they were willing to discuss the virus required an immense effort. But we did it. They did it. And thus, the entire unit was worthwhile, incredibly rewarding to say the least. With the female empowerment topic, I had been expecting a similar reward, but a lesser challenge. To plead ignorance, at the time, I wasn’t as acutely aware of the negative Ugandan female stereotype as I am now. Sure, I witnessed signs of inflicted female inferiority within the community. For instance, I had not (and still have not for that matter) laid eyes on a full-grown Ugandan man fetching water. Still, the concept that women are undoubtedly considered a lesser sex never fully registered until I heard it directly from the voices of primary and secondary school youths. To elucidate on this matter, allow me to present a rather standard dialogue that would occur between the CAC coaches and the young participants (or members as they say in Uganda) before the start of each session. The CAC coaches would inquire:

Coaches: “What are the roles that women play in your community? What do you see your mothers and sisters doing on a daily basis?”

Members: (assorted voices) “They fetch water. They clean. They cook. They wash plates. They wash clothes. They sweep the compound. They care for children. They dig. They produce.”

Coaches: “Ok. But why don’t the men do these jobs as well? Why are women the only ones who cook, clean, care for children, etc.?”

Members: “Because that’s the way it is. Men go to work and women stay home.”

Coaches: “But who says that’s the way it is?” Why don’t women go to work and men stay home? How come they can’t share responsibilities in all aspects of life?”

And then comes the bold statement, the sentiment that reveals quite a lot about Ugandan culture.  

Members: “Because men are stronger. Women are weaker than men so they should stay home.”

Coaches: “Oh really? So if that’s the case, that all men are stronger than all women, then what are you girls doing at school? Surely, you don’t need to go to school to learn how to cook and clean.”

Members: (a pause and then various girls chime in with legitimate reasons) “To learn. To get an education. To go to university. To have a better life.”

Coaches: “Well, if you want go to university, if you want to make a better life for yourself, then why do you continue to accept everything men tell you to do? Why do you listen to men who demand that you do nothing but tend the house?”

Next comes an interesting answer that most of the schools had responded with, one that highlights the religious, conservative backbone of Uganda.

Members: “Because that’s what God intended. God made it that way.”

Coaches:  “Oh really? Did God tell you that personally? Where in the Bible does it say that all women should just stay home in order to cook and clean?”

Due to the silence that followed, this idea soon became crushed.

Coaches: “You see. You still haven’t given us a good reason why women are forced to remain at home. All we want to hear is one good reason.”

With many of the schools, the answer the CAC coaches were looking for never came. Often, the coaches would have to be the ones to say it. However, four of the schools, Dabani Girls, Busia Girls, Busia Trust, Minsanya (all secondary schools with very intelligent students), finally uttered the seven-letter word that causes such societal contrast – culture or more specifically, African culture. As has been mentioned, African culture, and Ugandan culture in particular, can be absolutely fascinating. For instance, it’s extraordinary that a society so rich in human interaction and general friendliness can have such lopsided gender dynamics; a woman can hardly ever say no to a man despite the fact that she has just as much of a right to think and act individually as he does. But what’s even more thought provoking than this discriminatory action itself is that no one challenges it. It’s as if people conclude “well, that’s the way it is because that’s the way it’s always been and nothing can ever change that”. Even with the younger generation, the primary and secondary school children the CAC coaches work with around Busia, they are often startled, even unconvinced, that gender equality could exist anywhere in the world. Because most of their fathers have a profession and most of their mothers do not, boys scoff and/or laugh at the idea of women being equal to men, while most girls, stand idly by. Granted, there are some girls within Busia at the secondary school level who express their discontent with the current cultural scope. Often, these are the most educated girls who aspire to go on to higher learning in order to gain a more well respected place in society. Yet, even with these girls, it is tough to tell whether they truly believe that they can do much to reverse the negative, detrimental stigma that Ugandan women collectively face. And, therein lies the frustration with Ugandan culture. Women have less rights because well you know they’re women and so yea that makes them below men. Enough said.

Such a mode of thinking is even more debilitating in Busia where HIV afflicts so many (the HIV rate is recorded as 17%, but throughout the Busia community, the consensus is that the figure is in fact much higher). In a previous post on the HIV problem in Busia, I briefly discussed the relationship between HIV prevention and female empowerment. I will now explain this binary once again except in greater detail. Due to Busia’s position on the border of Kenya, an innumerable amount of commuters, often truck drivers and other professionals whose vocations require constant movement, travel through Busia. These travelers often partake in the sex trade, an unfortunate industry that exists in Busia due in large part to the steady influx of transients from across Africa. As a result of the unprotected sex that occurs between these transients and the sex workers, new strains of the virus enter the community, thereby increasing the HIV prevalence within Busia. Although people within Busia recognize that prostitution leads to a higher HIV rate, what they often don’t recognize, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not, is the gender connection to this practice. Simply put, women are the victims and men are the inflictors. Even though some women consent to the indecent profession, most of the sex workers are forced into the trade. Such sex trafficking inevitably leads to unsafe sexual activity. Due to their relative lack of empowerment in comparison to men, women are coerced into unprotected sex. The spread of the virus therefore has a direct connection to female volition, or a lack thereof I should say. To those women involved in such an extremist entity as the sex trade, it is practically impossible for them to say no to a man who has paid money for their service. And forget the notion of wearing a condom. It is as equally unlikely as performing the act in the first place.  

Admittedly, the prostitution that occurs on the border is as radical an exercise as can manifest from a lack of female agency. Still, it is important for youths within Busia to be exposed to this knowledge. In this way, they can not only be cognizant of its existence, but also understand how a woman’s inferior position in society adversely affects the community (e.g. no volition = higher HIV prevalence). Sexploitation does not just occur in the form of the sex trade. Rather, it can arise in as subtle a scenario as a 20 year old boy pressuring a 14 year old girl into unprotected sex. Young girls need to be aware that they have a right to say no in such a situation. And young boys ought to respect that. Furthermore, as our CAC motto insists, girls have a voice and a choice in all aspects of life. As such, the CAC coaches encourage girls to overcome the Ugandan female stereotype in the hope that they will not fall victim to societal circumstance.  With that being said – and to avoid the sound of a feminist, although feminism seems to take on the form of natural rights in Uganda – CAC doesn’t attempt to impose its viewpoints or messages onto the children we educate. We simply offer a new method of thinking. It is a child’s choice whether he/she wants to continue in the same gender-biased mold as his/her parents. Obviously, we cannot force them to behave in a certain manner throughout their adolescence. All we can do is reveal how our gender dynamics work and then let them choose their attitudes accordingly.

Nevertheless, it is not as if change isn’t possible. One of the most profound rewards that spawned from the female empowerment unit was the cultural exchange that occurred between the coaches and the children. Through our games and discussions, we learned how men and women operate in the Busia community, just as the Busian children learned how opposing sexes treat one another in western countries such as America and England. Naturally, such a sharing of opinions and customs is bound to happen when people from distinct backgrounds interact. And thank God it does, as exposure to different cultural lifestyles and practices is an essential medium through which change can travel.

Having now completed four of five units – health and wellness, conflict resolution, HIV prevention, female empowerment – the CAC Busia team moves on to its final unit, a program that is devoted entirely to having FUN. Although a unit designed specifically for fun may seem rather juvenile after completing curricula on such serious and broad-ranged topics as HIV prevention and female empowerment, it’s really not. When you live on less than a dollar a day and can’t even afford enough money to buy a 50 cent mosquito net – categories that pertain to many of the children CAC works with – well then 90 minutes of fun isn’t just appropriate. It’s absolutely essential.

Thanks for reading. I will be posting one more blog to wrap up the experience.

Best.

JB

August 5th, 2010:  Connor Sport Court, one of Beyond Sport’s Business Support Partners has matched funding from Beyond Sport to develop Tanzania’s first all weather, multi-purpose court. Coaches across Continents, winner of Best New Project 2009, entered a competition to win the free court and convinced the judges that Kigoma, where the organisation has been working for nearly three years, would be a great recipient community for the court.

Kigoma is located at the North Eastern Shore of Lake Tanganyika in Western Tanzania, 1,200 kilometres from Dar es Salaam. The Municipal has an area of 128sq. kilometers and approximately 225,000 inhabitants. Kigoma struggles with early school drop out, with especially high drop out rates for young girls. Kigomaalso struggles with AIDS and HIV, poverty, and lack of employment opportunities.

There is currently no safe and sufficient place for Coaches across Continents to do their work. The only “formal” playing surface in the area is filled with deep holes, strewn with rocks, broken glass and trash, and the ground is uneven and made up of deep sand in parts. The field’s surrounding security wall has been partially demolished allowing animals to frequently roam across the field.

A court from the world’s largest court builder will change all this…watch this space to see the project take shape.

“We would like to thank Beyond Sport and Connor Sport Court for this Award.  In the past two years our coaches have worked with more than 150 local teachers and coaches and more than 15,000 children to start the sport for social development program.  The Municipal in Kigoma and the Sports Officers, Nico and Masari also deserve a great deal of credit for their pioneering work in Tanzania.”  Christian Aviza, Board of Directors, Coaches across Continents.

The court has recently departed the Connor Sport Court factory and will arrive via sea to Dar Es Salaam in early September.

August 5th, 2010: Coach Rich.

After spending a couple of days with Nick, Anna and Sophie we realized how great they are at interacting and coaching the local children. They are all excellent coaches in their own way and there experience really is apparent. On the 6th July, our second day coaching I witnessed a really interesting thing- Sophie (a white coach from Belgium) was coaching, when a little girl, probably 3-5 years old timidly snuck-up behind her and ran her finger down Sophie’s leg, like a smear. She then checked her finger to see if any of the white came off. This was an incredible moment because it really illustrated how few white people (Mzungus) the locals see here in Busia and how much of a novelty we are. Some very young children have never seen a white person before and they look at us with a mixture of amazement, excitement, apprehension and curiosity. As we walked through the town some of the children would eagerly run towards us and want to shake our hands; if we were walking slow enough some of the children would run their hands down our legs or on our arms because they are amazed by the fact we have hair there (I think most Ugandan people do not have a lot of body hair).

The vast majority of people we have met have greeted us with open arms and have been very excited and happy to see us. It was amazing to see young children with almost nothing, being so welcoming, happy and friendly. When they are eating a tiny bit of food like a slice of bread, they would offer some of it to us; when they are playing with their home-made plastic football, they offer it to us if we wanted to play. They are more than willing to share what they have, even though what they have is not even enough for themselves. It really made me think that in the west we have so much, yet most of the time we are relatively reluctant to share it with anyone outside our friends and family

It also made me think more about the perception of Africa in the west. It is incredible that in the west, many people know and are aware that there are many starving and sick people in Africa but ironically it seems as if the advertisements that charities or other organizations are desperately using to secure funding to help people are actually building up westerner’s immunity to this information. So many people know about the disease and poverty that people live with in Africa but nothing can prepare you for seeing it before your very own eyes. You know but cannot fully appreciate the extent that this is occurring in so many places throughout Africa. People are starving, yet they are willing to offer a stranger a portion of their single daily meal. In such desperate circumstances, it is the pinnacle of selflessness and humility that many Uganda people possess that make them such an endearing and likeable population. Even though they are dying because they don’t have food, sanitation or basic medical care, they still welcome outsiders into their community and share with us whatever little they have as if we were a member of their family. I think that this is incredible that they can embrace and welcome us as one of their own, even though in realty they nothing about who we are or what we are doing; this is something that would never happen in the west and maybe it is something that we can learn from our African friends.
After teaching us all that they could in the relatively short period of time that they had, Nick and Sophie left with Steve and Ivan to travel to the Pader district in the north of Uganda to run another Coaches Across Continents program. This left me, JB and Anna to start the program here in Busia. The program works in conjunction with a charity called “Straight Talk” which is an organization that looks to work with younger students in school and promote intellectual and sensitizing discussions on relevant topics such as HIV prevention and female empowerment. The program in Busia works in conjunction with 16 different schools in the local area (although there are over 230 schools in the Busia district alone!) and we visit each school 5 times, covering 5 differentially relevant unit topics, cumulating as a total of 80 sessions.

The first unit that we implemented in the schools was “health and wellness” as this is a particularly relevant unit here in Uganda. With an average life expectancy of only 45 years, it is needless to say that the health care and standard of living here is below adequate for most people. It would be very easy to mention one or two generic causes of such a low life expectancy that effect almost every other 3rd world country, but in reality the situation here is much more complicated; there are a plethora of factors that contribute to so many deaths at a stage of life that we in the west would only consider middle-age. Situational features such as malnutrition, inadequate sanitation and little access to safe drinking water leads to the rapid spread of disease and with scarce and expensive health care- many diseases often go untreated with helpless patients just “hoping for the best.” The problem is that the diseases that their bodies are fighting are not just mild ailments such as a cough or a runny nose; diseases such as malaria, cholera, typhoid, tuberculosis and especially HIV/AIDS are widespread within the Busia community. The exact extent to which these diseases are affecting the community is difficult to estimate because only a select minority of those who are ill can afford to seek medical care and thus provide medical records and data.

Other, less obvious factors such as day-to-day chores also contribute to the worsening of health. The lack of electricity means that most families are forced to cook their meals over a charcoal stove; this is a popular form of fuel because it is cheap, energy-rich and readily available. However, coal is one of the dirtiest and polluting sources of fuel with families (usually women and young girls) preparing meals 2-3 times a day over a large charcoal stove- the fumes that they inhale over a sustained period of time is severely detrimental to their general health. The lack of running water for most families means that children will daily have to fetch water from the few wells that are dotted around the town; young children often carrying gallons of unsafe water for hundreds of meters leaving them perpetually exhausted.

It is amazing to think that many traditional and cultural practices are also largely contributing to poverty and decreased level of health, not only here in Busia, but in Uganda and many other Africa countries alike. In Uganda, men are not considered “real” men if they only have a few children-to prove that they are “real” men they must have 5-10 children with sometime more than one wife. This is an absurd tradition as the parents have little foresight; if they do not have the resources to support 2 or 3 children, they definitely do not have the resources to support 10 or more. With the father traditionally out working all day with the mother forced to stay home and do house chores, the children are often left to their own devices, with the older children admirably parenting their younger siblings. Combine this with other house chores and having to go to school often for 9 (yes I said 9!) or more hours a day- that is not something that we would consider a child-hood. Yet still, this traditional or cultural practice still mindlessly continues, largely unexamined because that’s what their parents did and their parents before them. Until someone breaks the cycle and questions the system by becoming more rational and educated, that is the way it will always be.

Due to the decreased level of health in the Busia community, Coaches Across Continents were keen to address this issue as part of our uniquely devised program in the area. We were eager to stress the importance of being healthy and active to fight against diseases and also to help out with the family; be that carrying water for the family or caring for their younger siblings, we were actively teaching them about the importance of being active and healthy so that their bodies can be strong and make their day-to-day lives much easier. We used Ronaldo as a role model of being healthy, committed and hard-working as he is the best footballer in the world because he works hard every day and because of this, he is very healthy and strong and powerful.

The unit was very successful as we played circle of friends with Ronaldo skills, Ronaldo agility and then played Ronaldo tag. It was a physically demanding session but the kids were great and cooperative and it showed them that they had to work hard to be healthy and strong. I think that they were so obliging, because for 90 minutes are more, the kids were free; they forgot their troubles and were allowed to be kids. The happiness that could be gleaned from simple interactions using football as a bridging medium was breathtaking. Even though the program appears to be making a significantly positive impact on the schools and community, at the very least the Coaches Across Continents program is providing an educationally enlightening session were the children can be themselves. Thanks again, please stay tuned for more stories coming soon.

August 4th, 2010:  Beyond Training: from ‘smart’ objectives to WISER outcomes. A necessary paradigm shift to achieve success in developing countries.

In a known and predictable world rational solutions can be planned, for training as for anything else. A training programme based on the concept of the transferability of skills can be organised and implemented so that coaches acquire the skills they are thought to need in order to achieve pre-determined, often narrow, ‘smart’ objectives.  (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely). However, such a training approach takes little account of idiosyncratic local needs, perspectives and opportunities and can’t cope with a world of uncertainty or a high degree of complexity. It is ‘a one size fits all’ approach, which, paradoxically, may be a misfit everywhere. 

 Coaches across Continents works in complex, challenging and constantly changing environments which demand a significant degree of knowledge, analysis, judgment and flexibility in order to meet the context specific requirements of every unique situation. Accordingly Coaches across Continents goes beyond training and ‘educates’ coaches to make appropriate choices in their use of the Coaches across Continent’s curriculum in their work in significantly varying situations. Using a cascade model of development in order to optimize programme sustainability, these coaches then educate locally based coaches to similarly utilise this unique and effective curriculum. 

 Wisdom is the power of judging rightly. Without wisdom success is impossible in situations which are complex and ever changing.  Therefore the evaluation model of Coaches across Continents has of necessity evolved beyond the simplistic and potentially ineffective concept of ‘smart’ objectives to evaluation based on WISER outcomes.

Coaches, both international and local, are required to evaluate their programmes based on the following WISER criteria:

 W

Was the programme ‘workable’? How did it take account of and respond to the specific reality and needs of the unique context?

a)      What was unique about the context?

b)      What particular needs were identified?

c)      What were chosen as local priorities and why?

d)     How were these priorities met?

I

Was the curriculum utilized ‘intelligently’, with thought being given to the relevance of a wide range of ideas and factors?

a)      What alternative ideas and approaches were considered?

b)      How were activities selected appropriately to match identified local needs? 

c)      How was the curriculum responsive to ongoing learning and emerging issues?

S

Was the programme and curriculum ‘situated’ within the network of local relationships within the community?

a)      How did the curriculum align with local partners and build on existing programmes?

b)      How did the programme build relationships and gain credibility within the community?

c)      How did the programme add value to the community?

E

Were the coaches willing to ‘experiment’ appropriately, to try out new ways and formulate new aims, in response to newly clarified or identified local needs.

a)      What local needs were newly identified or clarified?

b)      What new or variant activities, games or approaches were introduced to meet these needs?

c)      What new aims emerged as a result of these experiments?

R

What ‘results’ were achieved, both quantitative and qualitative?

a)      What criteria was used to measure or judge success?

b)      How many people attended the programme? Did the attendance increase or drop off throughout the programme?

c)      What was the evidence of community interest in the programme?

d)     What was the evidence of learning by participants and within the community as a result of the programme?

e)      What was the evidence of sustainability of the programme?

By seeing the limitation of the ‘smart’ objectives’ way of understanding things, Coaches across Continents is moving beyond simplistic training methods and superficial numerical evaluation. In grasping the nettle of ‘WISER’ outcomes, Coaches across Continents is at the forefront of evaluation that honours complexity, speaks to the uniqueness of local contexts, builds on emerging strengths, enhances sustainability and empowers coaches to move from chance to informed choices in their work within communities.

“We have been working on a ‘monitoring and evaluation’ method for over two years that works best with sport for social development and specifically with the flexible nature of our Hat-Trick Initiatives.  We’d like to thank all our coaches in the field, our partner programs, iFc 1966 and the members of our Boards who have worked on this project. The WISER model continues our work as a leader in sport for social development ”  Nick Gates, Global Strategist

July 27th, 2010:  The English Soccer season is upon us and we are delighted to launch our first ever fantasy football league.  To join our league and have fun throughout the soccer season, simply click http://www.firstgiving.com/fantasysoccer and follow the instructions.

Coaches across Continents was proud to have had former England coach Sir Bobby Robson as a keen supporter of our programs and we are delighted that the winner of our fantasy league will receive a Sir Bobby Robson Memorial soccer shirt and scarf.

Coaches across Continents runs programs in 6 African countries in 2010 and was the winner of Beyond Sport Global Award for Best New Project in 2009.

Any donations made to join the fantasy soccer league will be used by Coaches across Continents for our programs in Africa and by the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation to fight cancer.

July 26th by Coach Brian:  KwaZulu-Natal is a province of ten million people located in the eastern portion of South Africa and home to the well-known city of Durban.  The Umgungundlovu District is an area within KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) which houses the provincial capital city of Pietermaritzburg and the township of Edendale.  The Umgungundlovu District, KwaZulu-Natal, and South Africa are home to some staggering statistics when it comes to HIV and AIDS.

• 39.1% of people aged 15-49 in KwaZulu-Natal have HIV.
• 45.7% of pregnant women aged 15-49 in Umgungundlovu District are HIV positive.
• South Africa has an HIV-prevalence rate of 16.9% (ages 15-49) and 10.9% over all age groups.
• South Africa has 5.7 million citizens infected with HIV (the most worldwide).*

In short, the Umgungundlovu District and KwaZulu-Natal province is the epicentre of the HIV/AIDS crisis, both in South Africa and globally.

What Will The Future Hold For These South Africans?

This year Coaches Across Continents has partnered up with local NGO WhizzKids United (WKU).  For the past month I have been working in KZN, fully integrated into WKU’s curriculum.  Formed in 2005, WhizzKids United provided a revolutionary new approach to HIV prevention, one that uses football as an analogy to teach life skills to young people.  The target audience focuses on 11-16 year olds in the hope that they can educate, form behaviors, and create social norms that will lead to healthy decisions and will keep these individuals HIV free for their entire lives.  They also aim to prevent any future spread of HIV for positive-testing individuals.  WKU has three main pillars of their curriculum and have piloted these three programs in the township of Edendale (Umgungundlovu District).  These are their Life Skills Program, Peer Education Program, and Health Academies.

Life Skills Program, Clarence Primary School

My primary role in working with WKU is teaching their Life Skills Program.  This is a 16-hour program that draws analogies between football and life.  Using football games during the lessons makes the learning both fun and interactive.  Children come away from the course empowered with the knowledge, self-efficacy and skills they need to practice healthy behavior.  The Life Skills Program meets the requirements of the nationally mandated Life Orientation curriculum and is provided at primary and secondary schools during grades 5 to 7.  I have been working at Clarence Primary School in KZN.  We are approximately halfway through the course and currently the kids are learning about how HIV operates, how it leads to AIDS, and what they can do to ensure that they remain HIV negative.  The ABCs of remaining HIV negative are Abstinence, Be Faithful, and Condomise.  Even though the children I have been working with are only in grade 5 (most are around 11 years old), I believe they have a far superior understanding regarding HIV and sexually transmitted diseases than their American or European counterparts.  I just hope that this understanding leads to better life decisions down the road for them and for all of South Africa.

Coach Brian Using Soccer to Teach Life Lessons, Clarence Primary School

The second pillar of WKUs curriculum is their Peer Education Program.  They identify strong peer leaders during the Life Skills program and train them to be Peer Educators with an additional 10-hour course.  These Peer Educators then run a 12-hour course for their classmates.  This allows them to reinforce the Life Skills lessons and facilitate discussions which can positively influence peer group norms.  Outside the classroom, Peer Educators also serve as an approachable front-line source of help for troubled youth who might be too intimidated to go to an authority figure.

WKU's Health Academy provides a place for kids to go to learn about HIV and have fun!

I have also been spending some time at the Edendale Health Academy (opened June, 2010) which is WKU’s third and potentially biggest initiative to combat HIV.  The concept behind their Health Academies is to serve an exclusively adolescent patient population with vital clinical services such as HIV testing, counselling, treatment and management of sexually transmitted diseases, administration and management of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, and psycho-social support groups for kids living with HIV/AIDS.  The staff is fully qualified and received additional training to meet the needs of adolescents.  It also features a football pitch (currently a pavement area until the government paperwork is processed) and in the future will house a computer resource centre.  Long term the Edendale Health Academy will offer other services such as football leagues, homework clubs, career guidance, and educational videos.  The goal is to have WKU Health Academies throughout South Africa in the near future and to make them as youth-friendly as possible which will increase the number of kids willing to access their life-saving health services.  In my work at the Edendale Health Academy the thing I liked best was that it was for kids only.  No adults!  We were free to play lots of games, educate them through games about HIV, and they were able to access qualified nurses and counselors.  Although it is only in their first few months of operation, when I was there it was used by nearly 100 kids one day.  Hopefully this first academy is very successful and that they are able to expand throughout South Africa.

Life Skills Program World Cup Tournament, Edendale 2010

My work with WhizzKids United is coming to an end this week and I would like to provide a few thoughts about my time here.  The scope of the HIV problem in KZN and South Africa is astonishing and could be disheartening.  It is not a problem that can be solved overnight or even in a few years.  It will take an entire generation for the statistics to change dramatically.  However WKU is rolling up their sleeves and trying to attack the problem head-on, focusing on that next generation of soon to be adults.  I believe that in my short time working with WKU that I have helped to reach potentially hundreds of youths – and perhaps they are a bit more educated about HIV and their future behaviors will keep them safe and healthy.  That is the only way to reach the final goal – which is to have an HIV-free generation in the future, in the Umgungundlovu District, the KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa, and the world as a whole.

What Will The Future Hold For These South Africans?

World Cup Style Tournament in the Lamontville township

Hanging with the kids at Edendale Health Academy