A lil' exploitation...

A few weeks ago, I told the Grassroot Soccer interns stationed in Kimberley, South Africa that I would come visit them. Then, I got caught up in work, and ended up not being able to make it in time for the bus up there. To apologize, I sent them this video:

Sports on sports on sports

Left to right: Gcina, Me, Vuyo, Mthura, Xolani, Chris, Popie and 2 of her kids

Over the past couple months, I've continued to work on really interesting projects with really amazing people! However, I have gotten worse at blogging about it. So far this year, we have been getting ready to start programming for 2012. The first thing we had to do was recruit brand new Grassroot Soccer coaches! We expanded into 3 completely new communities this year: Mfuleni, Langa, and Mitchells Plain. A couple weeks ago, we held the training for our 30 new coaches. It was pretty amazing to see how confident they became as facilitators over 5 days. They also became much more confident and knowledgeable about HIV and AIDS.

Training of Coaches!

Warming up the coaches with an energizer!

The other exciting thing that has been happening this year is RV United. RV United was an idea that Vuyo and I came up with at about 11 pm at the HCT Soccer Tournament on December 3rd of last year. We were sitting in the car after dropping off about 15 people around Khayelitsha, munching on some left over salad from dinner, and we decided that we needed to start a girls' soccer team in Khayelitsha. The name was a collaborative effort: (R)ebecca(V)uyo United. There are less than a handful of girls' soccer teams in Khayelitsha, and through working on Skillz Street, Vuyo and I have gotten more and more interested in starting a team of our own. We continued to talk about it through the end of last year, and we finally got - not one! but two! - girls' soccer teams off the ground over the past two weeks. One of the teams is based out of the Football For Hope Centre. Vuyo did not even have to recruit the girls, they pretty much came up to him and asked him to start a team. He was visiting a friend that lives near him by the Centre, and a few girls recognized him as the head of Skillz Street. They approached him and asked him for a soccer ball so they could play in the street. In addition to providing them with a ball, he asked if they could come to the Centre the next day after school. So we had our team! Over the past two weeks, we've been getting a schedule, materials, and 2 GRS coaches arranged for them. The girls are incredibly dedicated and eager to improve. Vuyo entered them in to the U-13 Community League division (first girls' team to ever be entered!), and they played their first two games today! It was pretty amazing to see how much they improved throughout the day, and how surprised all of the spectators were to see girls out there. A few boys were mocking them, but most looked on with genuine interest and intrigue. 

First RV United Team Picture! 

Second team picture ever!

I felt a bit like I would imagine my parents felt during one of my soccer games. I think some people were a bit concerned about the screaming umlungu that kept banging on the sides of the field with excitement.

Our second girls' team (which I think we will give the same name) is based at a local school called Cosat School.  We approached the school a month ago (before the Centre-based team was established), and they were very excited about the prospect of starting a girls' team. We had our first practice today, and it was so much fun. They are all really excited to learn, and understand and speak English better than the other group of girls, so I am able to run the practices! We had a bit of a setback when we saw the grass on the majority of the school grounds more closely resembled a prairie rather than a soccer field, but we made it work.

Outside of work, I am also playing on a mixed ultimate frisbee team called Khayoba that is based out of Khayelitsha. The team actually won the South Africa Nationals tournament last year, so we are working to do the same thing this April!