Cliftons Bay

So its Saturday 17th September, and this is where my volunteer story gets interesting. As the gorgeous African summer is approaching, temperatures hit the 30s and as a group we decided to take a little trip to the beach, take a load off, and relax.

So, we headed down, picked a perfect spot at the beach, and began the competition of, 'who's going in the cold water first?!' Obviously, this title had to be mine, so I ran towards the shoreline, and yes the water was cold! This is where my trip turned sour.

Ran in, jumped in, and found that the water I had jumped in was far too shallow, causing me to hit my head, quite sharply, on the sand below. The next thing I felt, was, nothing. all I could do was float aimlessly in the water, there was no movement in my arms and legs. It was, to say the least, a very strange feeling. For a couple of minutes, the longest couple of my life, I could gain no movement, then after thinking and concentrating a weird jellied movement returned to my arms and legs. We take movement for granted, being an instinctive thing, I can tell you for the next half an hour, I did not take it for granted.

Without these wonderful people my time in hospital would have been a lot worse. I Owe them so much.

Movement was incredibly wobbly and I almost had to concentrate on moving my arms and legs, and having to put thought into something like that is an ambient experience. Cassie, one of our great team leaders, volunteered to take me to the hospital. where after some time, I was diagnosed with a fractured neck, with a collapsed 4th, 5th, and 6th vertebrae, the perfect day had turned into a not so perfect nightmare.

This is were the buzz of being around great people, and doing something great, stopped for me. I have never been so alone in my entire life. Even with the love and support of 'my cape town family', I'm not ashamed to say it, I just wanted my mummy. There was a low point when I pushed everything off my hospital desk, and got so angry with life, I didn't speak for a couple of days. The heartache was unbearable.

The turning point was after 'my family' came to see me, and I could see in their faces and eyes, so much sorrow for me and trying to make things so positive, that I told myself, I WILL NEVER feel heartache like this again. That was a promise I made to myself. From that point on I began to see the injury as more of a 'kick up the backside' and feelings like 'life's too short to be wasted. Take your opportunities', came to the forefront of my mind.

Strange enough to say, and I hope this comes across in the right way, but anyone who is at a bit of a dead end or stuck doing the wrong things in life, or cannot turn they're lives around, I would almost advise them to 'break their neck' as you gain a hell of a lot of life perspective and the important things in life mean so much more to you. Life is nothing without the love of good people. Trust me I know.

To My Cape Town Fam, I owe you more than you know.

The Weekend Off

So, new experiences of the first week included a first hand experience of township life, an introduction on sport for development, and a trip to the famous World Cup stadium. We were given the skills to put an extra tier of learning into our drills, and even shown how the demonstration of the correct way to put a condom on can be integrated into a Coaching session. There are examples of drills on the Coaching For Hope page in the Blog.

Without putting a negative aspect at all, it all was allot to take in. we were prepared in the Pre-departure training (which all volunteers have to undergo) and given information on the culture shock aspect of living in this totally new country, 'warned' we may begin to feel home sick, or find it strange coping with the lifestyle. Personally I did not experience any of this in the slightest, all I could feel was fresh inspiration and a sense that this will be a big part of my life.

A Little Homework

On the first Friday, we all decided to head out on the night, to a bar, that's notorious with backpackers and volunteers! Where pool and good conversation were free flowing! we all enjoyed some football banter with the locals, trying to fit in a little more and relax in the new surroundings (which lets be honest, wasn't happening any time soon!).

As you can see even within the first few days, the group where starting to gel together really nicely. I was self designated chef for the first few meals, as long as I didn't have to do the washing up. The first evenings where split between Stones (the bar), the internet cafe and producing a bit of coaching homework as a group back at the Volunteer house, (Rochester Road, Observatory)

Courtesy of Google maps:

South Africa: Coaching for Hope

The week commencing the 12th September 2011, was again one of the best, most awe inspiring weeks of my life. It began by us taking a trip through cape town city centre, and the more suburban parts of cape town, just getting a feel for the country and area we were about to spend the next 3 months of our lives, living and working in. After The welcome meetings and rule giving's were out of the way, coach training commenced! It was held in one of South Africa's largest Townships, Khayelitsha (Kai-lit-cha).

To see this from a plane is one thing, to be there, is another. The group weren't even permitted to venture outside the field, as it would have been far too dangerous, 'foreigners in the wrong part of town'. But enough with negativity, yes Cape Town is one of the most dangerous cities on the planet, and yes the residents of the townships, have to travel to get water, and only receive electricity for a few hours a day. But the way they cope, leaves you speechless.

We were trained at a school in the Township, completing drills on the Chris Cambell Memorial Field, a 3g pitch, which was funded for by Amandla EDUfootball, another sports development NGO (Non Governmental Organisation). We completed theory, the kids had playtime, they completed theory, we had our playtime.

Look at the time too, some honourable people right there. This is what the first week went like, designing drills, debating about ethics in life and in sport. Then doing practical work outside on the pitch, adding a little bit of mucking around with the kids into the mix, and you've got yourself a great week.

When the kids had playtime, something i noticed really struck me. what I saw, you would never in a million years, get a child  who lived in the UK, having the intellect and imagination to do this. The kids, had collected rubbish from the floor, found a bag or string to tie it all together, a homemade footy! Genius! Re-use and Recycle!

And if you ever wondered how its done....

The New Blog: Cape Town, Round One

OK, fairly obvious one, this is my new Blog. Iv decided to do a Blog to detail my experiences of the past and future months. This includes, what has happened to me (if anyone's interested), and what I plan to do to prepare for my return journey to Cape Town, Volunteering with Coaching for Hope, and my experiences of training and fundraising for The Hull Marathon on behalf of Skillshare International.

To cut a long story short, I was accepted with along with a group of 18 individuals onto a Sports Development Programme run by Skillshare, facilitated by the Coaching For Hope programme. Their aim is to use Football, and physical education to create better futures for young people in Western and Southern Africa. The programme uses the age old notion of 'children learn by playing' to their advantage, integrating information on HIV/Aids, with football and sporting activity. The empowerment this gives the youth South Africa, is unparalleled, the happiness it gives them is immeasurable.  The volunteer placement was for 3 months, beginning 12th September 2011, in the Western Cape area of South Africa. However I was a little different.

The Cathartic experience began when I dipped below the clouds, early morning on September 13th, 2011, what I saw, literally began to change my life. As the Boeing 747 began to near Cape Town from the air,  there is something incredible that catches the eye, Townships (you may know them by the slightly politically incorrect name of 'Shanty Towns').
The seemingly Internationally 'famous' city of Cape Town, has some of its residents, living, eating and working, from inside corrugated Iron. This is my first experience of a place where there is such an indescribable gap between Rich and Poor. At one point during the landing, I looked left out of the plane, and saw tranquillity, when I looked right, I saw desperation. Truly the most diverse city I have ever encountered. The city centre of Cape Town, is dotted with glistening sky scrapers, sprinkled with 5 Star hotels, and home to the world famous World Cup Stadium. To quote the 'Celebrity Cape Town' article featured in a Cape Town Travel website.

'Film executives from around the world are turning to Cape Town as a premier filming location. The city and her surrounds offer countless diverse locations. The Cape boasts dramatic mountain vistas, a sprawling coastline and lush vineyards, as well as historic buildings, vibrant townships and the skyscraper-studded City Bowl.'
I cannot argue with one word of this, look at every area of cape town through Google Maps, and you see something new. I mean, the city has even got a 'World Wonder' on the doorstep, a status achieved this year by Table Mountain. But this interestingly steers away, and does almost a 'good job' at hiding the harrowing experiences some residents go through on a day to day basis.

Cape Town is for many differing reasons an inspiring place