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
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