Super Fine 09!

Happy 2010 everyone! It is going to be a big year for South Africa, GRS and hopefully everyone out there in cyberspace! Before I can move totally into this new and glorious year, I must take a step back in time and recap some of the things that were FINE at the end of 09! December was by far the craziest time for GRS Kim. We had two very important events that went in two very distinct directions. The first was a V.C.T (Volunteer Counseling and Testing) Tournament that we hosted in honor of World AIDS Day: We invited 16 local boys and girls teams from Galeshewe to compete in a futbol festival while also having the chance to play some fun educational games to learn some HIV/AIDS facts.

The teams were also encouraged to go for HIV-testing. Testing and “knowing your status” is probably one of the most important messages that we try to deliver to the community. A lot of logistics went into planning this event and we devoted a good chunk of November contacting testing partners to test participants on this day. Everything about the day went pretty well and according to plan except the most vital component – The testing. More than half of the testing partners we had confirmed to come for the event dropped out last minute or left shortly after arriving. It was a huge disappointment not only to all of us organizing the event but also to all the kids and community members who were willing to test that day. Frustration behind the testing aspect put a big damper on the day but on the bright side, we still had a great soccer tournament and brought some HIV awareness to the community.

A day later, we had to brush off our frustrations and set out to put on another big event. This time we organized another Holiday Skillz camp for kids before their Christmas vacations. This camp was a much more complicated than the first one we put on in October: we were focusing primarily on hosting OVC participants (orphans and vulnerable children). The camp was held at a soccer field shared by the Lerato Place of Safety (LPS) and the Mohele Mampe Secure Care Center (MM). LPS is a safe house for boys and girls who come from broken homes or families that just can’t provide for them. MM is basically a juvenile detention center for boys under the age of 18. We didn’t find out until after the camp that some of these boys had committed very serious crimes (i.e. armed robbery and murder). We had about 50 kids from these two centers and another 50 from local schools and orphanages within walking distance.

It was an intense and eclectic group of children which made for many, many interesting moments during the week. A couple fights needed to be broken up and lots of disputes needed to be quickly resolved. The camp had a 2010 World Cup theme and each participant was assigned to a World Cup team and Skillz Coach. I wasn’t sure how these particular kids would take to our program but for the most part these kids were just so dam excited to be outside, having fun and learning some important things. More than any group of kids we have worked with so far, these kids really needed the education and life skillz we gave them. They reveled in the opportunity to just be kids and have somebody new who cared about what was going on in their lives. I met some of the most amazing and resilient kids of my life during that week and they left a lasting impression on all of us working the camp.