girls camp...

Molo!

I’m back in the H4H office this morning after hosting the Shooting Touch all-girls basketball camp last week with Leah in the Crossroads Township. Overall the week was a success— individual skills were improved, team YoungStars won the championship at the buzzer, and there was of course lots of singing and dancing. It’s always refreshing to see the excitement and passion that some of these girls play with, especially those new to the game of basketball. I discovered that Mazambe (what we call Knockout) was the overwhelming game of choice for all 35 of these girls ages 11-16 who came to camp from the surrounding townships.

The week didn’t run without its hiccups. While originally Leah and I thought we were going to have some junior counselors helping us out for the week, they couldn’t make it and the two of us were forced to play the role of camp counselor, basketball coach, life skillz speaker, referee, time keeper, healthy snack distributor, and mediator. For the most part, the girls were positive and focused on improving their skills, but at times I felt that they were not as respectful to each other, to Leah, and to me as I would have hoped, which really tested my patience.

As an empowerment camp, Leah and I gave much thought to the healthy lifestyle message we wanted to present each day. I wrote up a pre-camp survey that was given to each girl as they registered on Day 1, which gave us insight into how they perceive themselves as females, as female athletes, as members of their communities, as well as their thoughts on education and future job opportunities. One of the most interesting conclusions from this short survey was that while many of these girls have dreams of attending college, they don’t know how to go about finding scholarship money, which from what people tell me is very much available here in Cape Town. Leah and I decided to dedicate our four days to healthy eating choices, self-esteem, focus, and lastly an HIV/AIDS discussion. Thabo came in to lead a game of "find the ball," which is an HIV simulation that we also use in the after-school clinics. All of these life chats were done over a healthy snack midway through the day, which we called our "girl time." Overall, a successful week…

Other highlights since my last update include great white shark cage diving, scaling the side of a mountain to see a Cape Town sunset, Sunday night dinners with Africans/ Europeans/ Americans, some good pickup games around Cape Town and long runs through the neighborhoods. My time here in this beautiful country is winding down, and I really can’t believe how fast it has gone. Will update soon!

Lindsay

a new city...

Hello from Pretoria!

I apologize for the lack of updates this past week—no good excuse other than that I’ve been trying to make the most of all my time in South Africa :-)  Last Friday, Leah and I hopped on a bus with the men and women’s basketball teams of Cape Tech University (Kita from H4H is the head coach) and drove 19 hours north from Cape Town to Pretoria. College teams from all over the country have come to the capital of South Africa to play for a national championship. It’s been really fun and interesting to see all these games… I can tell you that the level of play in South Africa is nowhere near the level of D1 basketball in the States. Most of these schools don’t even offer basketball scholarships as the majority of money goes to the high revenue sports of rugby and soccer. 

The best part of the week has been spending time with these girls and guys who come from all over Africa. I’ve spent a lot of time talking to Caroline, a first year student who moved to South Africa from the Congo where her dad is a big exec at a diamond exporting company. She has helped me to understand the complex politics of the diamond mining industry and the conflicts that have led to political and economic instability in the country. Then there’s Neho, a grad student at the university and the oldest player on the roster. Leah and I snuck off to Johannesburg yesterday morning before the afternoon games to see the Apartheid Museum, which I would absolutely recommend to anyone visiting South Africa. We made it back in time to see the end of the men’s game, in which they won big over a team that had beaten them earlier in the season. But when we came back to our lodge after the game, as excited as Neho and his teammates were about their win, they wanted to talk about what we had seen earlier in the day at the museum. Neho, having living through 10 years of apartheid as well as the country’s transition to democracy, answered all the questions we through at him. He told of how he and his family were relocated to a new township outside Kimberley, described the day that Mandela was released from prison, and shared his insight on how the South African view of white people varies throughout the country. Everyone has a different view on race relations and the future of the country, and I so appreciate Neho and everyone else’s willingness to share pieces of their life story to help me understand life in South Africa as well as other countries in Africa. 

I guess what I’m getting at is that I have seen for myself and tried to describe to you how the game of basketball is similar across the globe—it is taught and played very much the same way. But it also has the power to bring together people who may have otherwise never had a relationship. Apartheid legislation lasted for 47 years and ended merely 20 years ago, and yet Matt, an Afrikanner and Neho, a native South African, not only practice and play together everyday but have a friendship and a real respect for each other.

Our stay here in Pretoria has been great. I’ve fit in some quality basketball workouts with the guys, seen new areas of the country, and made new friends that I hope I’ll keep in touch with when I return home.  But I’m ready to go back to Cape Town and the H4H programs. Next week, Leah and I (just the two of us..ah!) are running a 4-day elite girls basketball camp. All-female camps are not common in South Africa, and we are hosting it free of charge to the girls in hopes of bringing out the best talent in greater Cape Town. Our goal is to not only improve individual basketball skills but also to impart a few life lessons throughout the week.  Promise to let you know how it goes!

Lindsay