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.

No rain in Spain...

The first leg of the trip is over, I am currently wating in Madrid airport for our flight in about 3 hours time. Been here 3 hours already and while it is a pretty spectacular airport, it is still an airport and they get old quickly. Morale among the group is high though and hopefully a good sleep on the plane will perk everyone right up for tomorrow.

The second Tour begins..

Another year, another pre-tour packing frenzy. Honestly, if you don't leave things until the night before, you never get that tingle of anticipation. At least that's what I keep telling myself. For the last tour I had only to pack for myself, but this time around I'm also carrying big bags of football kit kindly donated by Liverpool (yes, THE Liverpool) and Godmanchester Youths FC (thanks Lucy!!). I don't even want to think about the weight allowance. For tradition's sake, here is the obligatory luggage photo.

I'm really looking forward to the tour ahead, it is a different feeling to last time because the place isn't an unknown anymore, but it is none the less still very exciting. I just hope my health holds out this time and we have a glitch free time.

A very long day ahead tomorrow is in prospect, driving to Heathrow (2 hours), flying first from London to Madrid (2 hours), a six hour stopover and then Madrid to Johannesburg (9.5 hours). Then the final leg, about a 4-5 hour drive to Lesotho...we should be shattered. :)

And with that in mind, it's off to bed!

Back home.

Well, back home a week now and trying to settle back into the rat race, traffic jams, freezing weather and people rushing around like there's no tomorrow. Finally got my photos online, check them out by clicking here.

Final days in Lesotho....

It is the last day before we leave Lesotho tomorrow and a perfect time I guess to come up to date and perhaps reflect on the trip. Thankfully I have finally managed to almost shake off my cold/flu and am getting back to normal. The irony of getting my worst illness in years during the trip has not been lost on my but when I think about it, the only thing it has severely impacted has been my ability to play football and the football was always secondary.

I think the easiest way to retrace the tour would be to walk through it.

Sunday - Arrived in the early hours at Maseru and checked into the Lesotho FA (LEFA) headquarters in the outskirts, which would be our base for the two weeks.

Monday - Woke up to see Lesotho for the first time, a county of mountains and greenery, but also hot and dusty. In the morning we went up to Maseru city centre (basically one street called Kingsway) and tried to take in the mixture of opulent and dishevelled, the constantly honking taxis and busy bustle of a city centre. In the afternoon we went to the SOS Orphanage on the outskirts of Maseru. This took us through the 'suburbs' of the city which are small concrete shacks with galvanised roofs, sometimes well kept, often decrepid. The orphanage itself is one of the better around, neat little red bricked houses which each house 6 children, looked after by one 'aunt' who lives with them. The children were fascinated by us and by our footballs and proceeded to show us for the first time the amazing ball control skills these people have on pitches that would not be used for car parks back in the UK. We played our first match there and happily won 3-2. I scored my only goal of the tour, a free kick curled into the top corner which will keep me happy for years to come. After the match we then donated some kit to them.

Tuesday - Visited a school in Maboto called Rastamelah. Here we were given the full Beatles treatment with hundreds of children swarming around us all day, telling us how beautiful we were and laughing with and often at us as we played with them. We gave our AIDS education and spent most of the day there. The children were dressed in everything from impeccable school uniforms to badly worn castaways, but were universally friendly and full of joy. That evening we had our second football match agains the Baylor Clinic team (who work with HIV sufferers) and won 3-0. Again we donated some kit to them.

Wednesday - Went back to the same school and just played with the children, everything from football games to the Hokey Kokey. Their enthusiasm for us was undimmed as was ours for them. In the evening we had our third game against the Maboto police who play in the Lesotho 2nd Division. The pitch was just an uneven dustbowl and they played with pace and control. Luckily we managed to hold them and go 1-0 up. Despite spending most of the second half with 30 yards of our own goals, we managed to hold onto the win. Not for the last time on the trip, we were all asked for our boots after the match. They had to make do with our shirts. Across the team the rigours of the past few days were starting to tell and it was here that I first began to feel less than well. Over the next few days that would graduate to flu.

Thursday - Went to two schools in Mafateng. The first, called Johnson Baker, was in reasonable conditions and the kids were older teenagers who were much cooler and laid back than the younger ones we had met in Maboto. They played the games with just as much fun though. Afterwards we were treated to their amazing choir who just blew us away with their fabulous voices, moves and utter joy when they sang. I couldn't help thinking it was a sight I would never see in a school back home. The second school, Bereng, was poorer than the first, but the kids were just as fun. Half way through our session though the Army parachuted in which proved a hard competition for their attention!

Friday - We were due to return to Mafateng to play the local club there called Club 22. However, the teachers from Johnson Baker also wanted to play us so we ended up having two matches. The pitch made the one in Mabote suddenly look like Wembley being just a huge dustbowl with high winds often obscuring everything. I was too ill to take much part in these matches and so only played in spells and felt terrible. We drew the first match, but the second against the 2nd Division Club 22 was as hard a game as any of us has ever played. In the end we lost 1-0 but couldn't complain. They had earned the shirts we gave them off our backs after the match! That night the entire team was shattered.

Saturday - In the morning we visited the school for the Blind and orphanage which I mentioned in my previous blog. They were very emotional for us all and I think we will carry them most in our hearts when we leave. In the afternoon we played the Ex-Likuena who are the Ex-Lesotho National team! Alas I was still ill and could only play a half, but we all relished the experience of playing against ex-nationals. We lost 1-0 but had a few chances to steal it at the end. They were worthy of their ex-national status though with their ball control and passing. The only player on our team comparable is Wave, an ex-Lesotho national himself, who has been our chaperone while we are over here. Saturday evening and night I spent in bed with one of the worst fevers I have ever had.

Sunday - Rest, rest rest.

Monday - We had been invited to play agains the team of Prince Seisso at Matsieng. They are in the first division and so we knew it would be a challenge. The setting was a beautiful mountain village and before the match we had a brief tour of the royal grounds. I had resolved not to play any football due to ill health, but in the end I did come on in painful spells. We started brightly and went 1-0 up but in the end class told for them and fatigue for us and we lost 5-1. Donated our sweat-stained kit.

Tuesday - Travelled to Malealea up in the mountains and visited the school in Malealea village. This was a primary school with just 7o kids, so we just played games with them and they were again amazing, singing and dancing and enjoying any fun going. Afterwards we played Lilana FC, the local team who are in the 2nd division on what is the worst pitch I have ever seen. There was no grass, what was there was quarryed our of stone and most of the stone was left! It ended 1-1 and we went to penalties which we won 10-9! A fitting end to the tour. We gave the kit to the school and the teachers sang in joy about it for ages!

Wednesday - A day off in Malealea and we went pony trekking in this amazing mountain landscape. The trek was through some pretty hazardous cliff paths but the journey was worth it when we got to the Botsoela Waterfall where we all took a dip. The trip home was much easier and through glorious green valleys and small villages.

Thursday - Drive back to Maseru and pack!

That's it, a busy, exhausting and thoroughly enjoyable tour. The people of Lesotho are very poor but they live life with a smile on their face. We all know the adjustment we will have to make when we get back to rich glum faced England.

Half way update

I had hoped to blog a lot more often while I was out here in Lesotho, but a combination of some unfortunate internet connection failures and a jam-packed schedule have led me to making this first post after a whole week has passed. And what an amazing week it has been! After our absolute martathon trip to get here (including a 5 hour drive through the night from Johannesburg, notice how journey times seem to increase) we have been going pretty much non stop. We have visited schools and orphanages, sometimes giving AIDS awareness classes, sometimes just playing with the kids; played a lot of football (won three, lost two, drawn one); toured around Maseru and the surrounding countryside.

It's very hard to sum this place up, especially as most of our time has been spent here in Maseru, the capital city. It is a strange combination of wealth and indigence. On the one hand there are shiny supermarkets that would make any Tesco branch back in the UK proud, KFC's, Internet Cafe's and stores selling designer clothes and footwear. However, outside the immediate city centre are large areas of very poor small concrete houses, shacks and rickety stalls selling not very much at all. Of course the majority of the wealth of Lesotho is held in Maseru.

The people here are universally friendly and will stop to shake hands with you at the drop of a hat. They joke and smile and I guess we have a certain novelty factor.

One of the highlights of the week so far include our visits to schools where hundreds and hundreds of children would come screaming out towards us and mob us like we were film stars. They shook our hands, stroked our arms, asked us a million questions, and went wild to have their photos taken.

Another highlight was our trip to Thaba Bosiu which is probably the most important historical site in the whole of Lesotho. It was here to this flat topped, easily defended peak that the founder of Lesotho, King Moshoeshoe I, led his people several times and fought off numerous enemies from Zulus to Afrikaans. It is now the official burial site of the Royal family and also affords the most amazing panoramic views which take in the strangely shaped conical mountain Qiloane, which is said to have inspired the traditional Lesotho hat.

There were contrasting emotions on Saturday when we went to visit a school for the blind and an orphanage. The former was small but clean and neat and housed 40 children whose visual problems ranged from badly needing strong glasses to total blindness. It was a bitersweet visit, on the one hand there was joy as we gave them footbal shirts and sang songs with them (inevitably they sang better than us), while always we were aware that these were mostly orphans whose future prospects were bleak. One girl who was about 16 had been there since she was 7 and her problem was that she needed corrective glasses, but they couldn't afford them. Before we left we donated the 700 rand required (about 50 UK Pounds) to get them for her. It was a very emotional moment, they were utterly greatful while all we could think was how little it comparitavly was for us to make such a big change in someone's life.

Immediately after that we went to visit an orphanage which can safely be described as a couple of sheds in a piece of scrubland off the main road. Here a woman and her mother have dedicated their lives to trying to help children. There are 22 of them in these two tiny rooms with no running water and a well that is just about dry. 7 of the children are HIV positive including a mother and her beautiful little baby daugther. It was utterly heartbreaking but they greeted us with such verve and fun and we played with them and again donated items. Luckily Lesotho has a policy of giving free AIDS medication so all of them are improving and the mother of the baby has been trained as a Nutritionist and now works at the local Hospital. A small glimmer of hope in amongst the desolation.

Finally of course there is the football and we have been doing well considering the conditions. Lesotho is absolutely crazy about football and all the Premiership games are shown here. The pitches have ranged from terribly bad to a dustbowl and all of us are physically depleted. Personally I contracted a pretty nasty flu and have had a pretty rough few days not made any easier by my insistence on playing in a couple of the matches when I should sensibly have been in bed. Still though, I am on the mend a bit now and will take it much easier.

This week we head up to more rural (and inevitably poorer) areas before flying home on Friday. It's been a tough week, emotionally and physically, but it has also been fun and very rewarding. Hopefully it will continue so!

Abu Dhabi waiting blues....

Well, it seems I was somewhat amiss with my times. It wasn't an 11 hour trip to Abu Dhabi, it was closer to seven which is great, except we now have a 13 hour stopover. At the moment it is 4AM and we still have 9 hours to go so it will probably be a long night. On the plus side those of us travelling today are in good spirits and the decor is pretty amazing (the roof looks like an inverted tagine lid) so I guess we'll survive. If only the seats were comfortable! Still though, on to Johannesburg tomorrow and then a 3 hour road trip to Maseru. All of us are finding it a bit surreal that after all this time preparing, we will be there tomorrow. We can't wait.