Uselessly Useful

This post draws inspiration from a post on the GDM official website http://www.fcmanica.com/, written by a man who can be an inspiration to us all. Schalk Van Heerden is the man who makes things happen, largely involved in us coming here in the first place, and involved in everything that takes place at the club. Due to his own work commitments with Youthzones, he cannot be here in Mozambique as much as he might like, but he is involved in everything nonetheless, particularly the recent task to persudae FIFA to place one of their Football For Hope centres right here in Manica.

Schalk's post on the FC Manica website discusses how we can help, and how most of the time it is not giving gifts or money that draws the biggest smiles. For Adam and I in particular, with this being our first visit here and it being such a short one, we are not going to rid Mozambique of the poverty it suffers, and we are not going to be able to completely change the lives of those we meet, but we can make a difference and we can leave a lasting impression. Since the day we found out we would be coming to Mozambique, we knew that our main focus would be the kids here, and that is how it has stayed. During the first month, we struggled somewhat with the coaching, and would be happy to let the coaches get on with what they had planned, which more often than not would be matches for an hour. However it was enough for the kids that we were there, and there would be times when there would be more kids crowding around the 'mzungus' than there were watching or playing in the game. The biggest smiles would come when we would keep the ball away from one determined toddler, or nutmeg one of the players, or when one of the kids would say 'good afternoon', or 'how are you' in English. Another favourite is also the dance off, of which I have competed in a fair few recently!

As Schalk mentions in his post, the kids are often so amazed by the alien figures of the two new white boys in town that they don't have to say anything at all. They will often sit there, holiding your hand, stroking the hairs on your arms, or somewhat painfully, and to their amusement much more than ours, pulling the hairs out of our legs! Often these kids are those that don't take part in the football training, and it is a good feeling to know that they are also comforted by our presence.

One of the only things that I have disliked since being here is the 'This Is Africa' attitude to timekeeping. I am all for a lazy day and a relaxed stroll every now and then, but when it concerns the kids, I think there is a standard to be set. Whether it be coaching sessions, matches, or tournaments, the one group of people who you can rely on not being late is the kids. If by the time we leave, we can say the same about the coaches (the players, although they wouldn't dare be late for their own training) we would be very happy. It is also important to note that this is not true for everyone as there have been some stand out contributions since we've been here and they will have their own post at a later date! But the training provided for the kids is the highlight of their days, as they have very little else.

One occasion that really highlighted this was the first session of the coaching course we are providing for the players, when Panache, who I'm sure you know by now, ran down the hill at 10 past 4. We had finished the session at 4 and when I asked him what time he had finished school, he told me 4 o clock. He had obviously run home from school, and got to the ground as fast as he could to get his fix of football, or did he just want to be with his friends and with the two new white guys in town? Another similar case is that of local superstar Nello, who on Mondays finishes school at 4 as well, but still gets comes to the pitch for 10 or 15 minutes of football. He is so popular in fact with the other kids that at our most recent session, when he arrived I offered to auction him off to the highest bidder of the 3 teams...he went for 10 metacais, or 20p, and I was told that I would be paid on Friday!!!

We are now coming towards the end of our trip, and have just over 3 weeks left in Manica. The time has flown and it is sad to think that with some of the groups of kids we only have 3 or 4 sessions left! However, there is no doubt in my mind that I will be back in the near future, and if the kids who I will never forget, remember me, I will feel like we have helped.