Busy days!

Four days in and it's been a busy time. Here is a summary of what we have been up to so far.

Arrival in Maseru

And so the journey is complete and we are finally in Maseru, Lesotho. Compared to the marathon voyage of last time, it had not been so bad, but still after a 6 hour wait in Madrid, a 9.5 hour flight and then a 5 hour drive (including a brief stop to pick up a speeding ticket), it is great to finally be here, ensconced once again at the Lesotho Football Association (LEFA) Headquarters in Bambatha (and with a stunning sunset to boot). It used to have one of the best pitches in the whole country but recently someone has decided to take a digger to it to fix a few bumps and instead of making a minor improvement, they have turned it into a giant hole / swamp. Nice.

Morale among the troops is still high though and with a very busy first day in the offing (with a 7:30 start!) we are all off to bed early. Tomorrow we have some curriculum training / orientation, a visit from some street kids and then our first match against the Kick4Life trainers. It promises to be interesting and probably a lot tougher start than last time out.

Day 1 - Monday
Day 1 over and what a tiring day it has been. We started early, leaving Bambatha at 7:30 and after breakfast started learning about the various activities we would be doing. We spent the morning indoors discussing the Kick4Life agenda in Lesotho and then went outside to the nearby soccer pitch (I say pitch, but in fact it was just a mixture of hard sand and huge tufts of rough grass, we were horrified at the prospect of playing football on it) to practice the games we would be playing with the kids at the various schools we will visit. Each game is meant to be fun but to also carry one or more messages about HIV and how to protect yourself against it. As with last year the lead trainer for us was Refilwae and his infectious enthusiasm is undimmed and we were all soon joining in with enthusiasm. As ever with these events the mood was changed mid-morning when we heard a "Coach's Story" whereby one of the Kick4Life coaches tells a story about how HIV has affected their lives. For us it was a young girl from a nearby town who told us about her mother dying. Needless to say it was harrowing and sad but also in the end a bit uplifting as she described how despite that desolation she has managed to turn her life around, thanks to Kick4Life. It makes us feel that in a very tangible and real way the money we raised will change real people's life for the better. The rest of the morning was spent with us teaching the games back to Kick4Life trainers (there were over 100 in attendance from various provinces in Lesotho!) to make sure we knew them and understood them and that was extremely enjoyable all round. They ranged in ages from early teens to in their twenties and we all had a lot of fun.

In the afternoon we played our first match against a Kick4Life Trainer's 11 and it was quite a baptism of fire. After the guys with the strimmers had trimmed the worse of the tufts of grass, we kicked off and for the first 25 minutes we hardly saw the ball and were chasing shadows all over the pitch. Their control of the ball and movement, especially in front of goal, was mesmerising and it looked like it could be a very long hot day. After 25 minutes we were 2-0 down but despite the possession, those goals were from an amazing 30 yard volley and a comedy goal where a slow low shot which hit a tuft just in front of the keeper and just bounced over his head. He had no chance. Eventually though, we got our act together and with a bit of reorganising managed to get ourselves back into the game and in fact controlled it. By half-time we had evened the score to 2-2 and could even have led. The second half started very evenly for about the first 20 minutes, but as time wore on, the altitude, oppressive heat and shockingly unfamiliar conditions began to wear heavy on us and they again gained control. By the end they had scored 4 more goals and were showboating and we were shattered. So 6-2 a final score, maybe a bit harsh, but they certainly deserved to win. A few minutes after the final whistle a huge lightening storm swept over and the pitch disappeared under inches of water, but luckily we were inside by then.

Tomorrow we start our teaching proper and go to schools in the morning. Then in the afternoon we will be visiting orphanages before attending the opening of the new Kick4Life offices in the evening. Our schedule is looking very busy, but that is why we are out here and we are looking forward to it.

Day 2 - Tuesday

Another early start this morning (as they all will be I think) and after breakfast we headed straight to Maseru High School which I believe is one of the best schools in the country. There we spent the morning doing our activities and playing games. The ages of the kids ranged from between 14-18 and they were all very clued in. For one of the games we had to name two teams and they chose "The Red Hot Chili Peppers" and "The Killers"! Having said that, they were also incredibly willing to engage and join in the games with total enthusiasm. There is a lot of singing and dancing and very little self-consciousness on display. The sessions are very tiring, especially for us trainers, but also hugely fun and the messages do seem to get across. Afterward their principal was very impressed and inquired about getting Kick4Life back to do more of their curriculum, which was great. This year, instead of giving the sessions on our own, each group also has a local Kick4Life trainer with them which makes things so much easier. Our trainer is Nandos who is the liveliest woman on the planet. :)

After the school visit we had a quick lunch and then we went to visit some orphanages. The group split in two and one went to MIS Orphanage and another (our group) went to MeNeos. I was particularly interested in this one as it was the orphanage we visited last time we were here (and which I probably mentioned in an earlier post on this blog). Last time there was MeNeo (the woman who set up the orphanage), her mother, her own two kids and 21 others living in two small shacks with no electricity and water coming from a well that just looked like a horrible hole in the ground. Happily they have since got funding for a new building and just a month ago moved in so we were delighted to see their new surroundings. They now have a nice relatively big new building with beds for all the children (previously they slept on the floor) and are delighted with the place. Electricity is due to be connected some time in the coming weeks. We spent the afternoon playing with the kids and it was just a joy. They are so sweet and will join in with anything. The mass waterballoon fight at the end was a particular highlight. Also, when we were there last year I may have mentioned a woman who was there (and HIV positive) with her baby daughter Palessa. I am happy to report they are both still there and doing very well and Palessa is in the photo with this post! Still though there is a lot of work for these orphanages to do. They had a little baby there (called Mike) who was 6 months old and came to them at two weeks after being found abandones with a thread wrapped around his neck. He only weighed 1.2 kilos when found but happily now is a bouncing boy.

In the evening there was a party at the Kick4Life headquarters to celebrate them moving into new offices. There were lots of people there including the Irish and American ambassadors, government officials and representatives from various partner charities that Kick4Life is engaged with. All in all a great way to celebrate the rapid achievements of this young charity!

Day 3 - Wednesday

An early rise again and a 1.5 hour drive to visit two schools in Mafeteng. First up was Bereng High School (which we visited last year) and again like last year instead of the requested two or three classes we had the whole school out which made things very difficult. Instead of dealing with maybe 25 kids in a group we all had well over 50! Still though we made the best of it and for the most-part it went well but you have to work very hard to keep them interested. Another quick lunch and then a visit to another school, Johnson Baker. This was much better with smaller more manageable groups and the students were lively and great fun. Straight after that we went to a local pitch and played a combination of teachers from both schools. The pitch was one we had played on before so we new what to expect (awful but manageable :)) and in this one we were the better team from start to finish. We ended up winning 5-1 and I managed to bag one near the end. I also managed to bag a nice long graze after being pushed over in the penalty area and only desisted from being outraged when I learned that my teammate behind me had scored. :)

This is now Day 4 and it is a bit of a rest day although this afternoon we go back to both orphanages and at one of them do a bit of gardening and manual labour! So all in all a very busy but enjoyable few days so far with more ahead. Tomorrow we visit more schools, play another match and on Saturday we have a huge all day Test-Your-Team event which is the Kick4Life flagship event where 640 kids will come to play football, play games and hopefully also get tested for HIV. I don't know how any of us will react if there are positives, the test takes 7 minutes and it could be a very harrowing 7 minutes indeed, each time. Luckily there will be trained councilors to deal with everyone who gets tested, but I imagine it may get emotional.