Knocking Down Walls is Not as Simple as ABC – The Tools are with 4 Women

There were enough reasons to feel awkward. 

I am for women, but I am not a woman. I might be grasping the very basics of Sesotho but I wasn’t ready for 3 hours of it. I was from a ‘well-educated’, greatly privileged background, less so one of scarce finances, high unemployment, strong negative cultural peer pressure and prevalent teenage pregnancy. It was only the second weekly session of the 6 month programme. My list of social enterprise tasks was expanding with our manager’s return from the UK. It was a humid and dark shipping container room where I – a 29 year old British male on his fancy free 5 month world tour – was now sat on the floor amongst 15 local Basotho girls in their teens and early twenties ready to begin their life-skills session.

The Unknown becomes The Most Remembered 

I’m becoming familiar with the great insight and experience gained from entering into the unknown. Just last weekend I joined housemate Moses at my second consecutive church service at the Westernised but uplifting ‘Victory’ church. These are my first services for many years and a million miles from Portchester Castle’s St Mary’s. My 30 minute pilgrimage from Maseru West to the ‘Pioneer’ shopping mall cinema church venue came only five hours after sitting in a Lohakoe hall filled with immensely passionate gospel music followers, enjoying live performances from Lesotho and South Africa’s finest choirs and solo artists. Entering the eighth hour of what I thought was going to be a reasonably quaint and quiet Saturday evening of soulful performances; my heavy eyelids and dry mouth helped ensure the novelty of a whole audience leaping up from their chairs to dance to the 88^th encore of the final 8 bars begun to wear thin. 

Pioneer Mall - The Home of Victory Church

Victory Church Entrance

Gospel Alive! 

Tehili Africa

Like the ‘Gospel Alive’ evening (in hindsight, the clue was in the name) and my time with Pastor Wilson learning about why we should not keep God in a box, attending the 3 hour Kick4Life ‘Women4Women’ session on Wednesday morning provided an enlightening experience. I walked away from the container with my eyes as wide open as Malealea's mountain range. My motivation was as pumped as Kick4Life FC’s supporters at the final whistle on Sunday’s vital premierleague win and the No.7 team as they welcomed 'home' their manager and head chef. My heart was getting heavier like the storm season now breaching Lesotho.  

No 7 Team's Welcome Party for Tess and Wayne 

Tess is not a fan of teddy bears. 

Entering stormy season - the view from the SE Office window

So here I was, sat waiting with my colleague Busi to find out whether Lerato’sexcellent tour group presentation on the Kick4Life Academy activities a few weeks ago could indeed be followed up in action. I knew this might be an important opportunity for me to learn more about Kick4Life as an operation. Up until now, apart from the excellent HIV curriculum workshops during the ‘All-Stars' tour, most of my day-to-day exposure at Kick4Life had been with the money making enterprise side of the model.  Naturally, as per a previous blog post, my (and some others) concern is that in all this focus on securing financial sustainability the crucial social support and development aspect might lose its focus, momentum and impact. 

Women4Women

Women4Women is Kick4Life's vulnerable women's programme designed for the most "at‐risk" women throughout Maseru, Lesotho's Capital city, ages 17‐25. The Women4Women Programme creates a safe space where these women can come together and learn and discuss women specific issues. The key objectives of the Women4Women Programme are to improve the overall health and well‐being of the participants by providing important life skills and health related information.

Once all of the girls had arrived and Lerato closed the container door to the noise of other centre activity outside, the session began. She started by handing out green A4 sheets of paper and a pencil. Half hesitant, Lerato offered me a sheet and asked if I wanted to join in. I tried to gauge whether the girls would be hindered by my involvement. What better way to experience than to take part?  

Activity 1: My Handprint

We were asked to trace around our hand for this first of three activities and then fill each finger with answers to the following questions. 

1.       Your full name

2.       One word that describes you

3.       What makes you happy

4.       An important person in your life

5.       Something the group won’t know about you

I struggled with Questions 2 and 5. Partly just because of my standard indecision but actually more due to some internal dilemmas. One word that describes me? How truthful shall I be in who I am here? Should I keep it light and upbeat with a ‘smiley’? Should I be honest and critical with a ‘shy’, ‘nervous’ or ‘sensitive’ and risk falling on the wrong side of the balance between people opening up to me or falling on my confidence-knocked awkward backfoot? I sold out with a ‘clumsy’.

Question 5’s dilemma was more an ethical one. Mentioning my world travels might have sounded impressive to some, maybe even slightly inspirational. More likely though, such a gloat would have been entirely inappropriate and counter-productive. ‘I play percussion in a Caribbean steel band back at home’ was my safer option. With all of the girls now waiting for me to finish the task, my aim of quietly observing from the back without disturbing things was already failing. 

One by one the girls were invited up to the front to present their answers as a way of introducing themselves to each other. With quiet voices, papers hiding mouths and eyes looking everywhere but at the rest of the group, nearly every girl who took to the front demonstrated the most common answer to question 2; ‘shy’. Turns out I would have been in the majority, although it was clear enough that their shyness was on a more serious level. Interestingly, ‘short tempered’ and ‘cruel’ both made more than one appearance. I was on my own with ‘clumsy’. 

‘Mother’ was by far the most popular answer for question 4. Including my own. What didn’t we know about each other? Well, quite a few of the participants are ‘very loving’ and ‘love everyone’. 


With all the girls now sat back down, Lerato asked if I’d like to share mine. Standing in front of the attentive ladies, for some reason my British accent and mannerisms felt particularly apparent. I felt a bit like a Michael Palin trying to communicate with a non-British speaking curious crowd in one of the travel adventure DVDs I re-watched before this journey begun. Thankfully my audience was an English speaking and interested group and smiled and quietly laughed at my mini-presentation. Any benefit the girls had started to feel in terms of confidence in presenting in front of the group extended to me too.

Activity 2: Getting to Know You

It was time to put our pencil and paper down, pair up and exit the container for the light. Where did you grow up? What is your idea of a perfect day? What is your most embarrassing moment? There’s something immediately empowering about having the chance to talk about yourself, isn’t there? 

Following Lerato’s instructions, I suggested to my new acquaintance Malekhooa from Mazenod, south-east of capital Maseru, that we take a walk around the 5-a-side pitch I have become so familiar with now as we attempt to share answers to these next three questions. Again, some internal moral dilemmas were pressing but with important matters of remembering names, places and, as instructed by Lerato, our partner’s answers without writing them down, I soon took to helping build our rapport before returning to the container.

"England. A place called Ports-mouth." I pointed to my mouth. A perfect day? I gave a sequence of events; getting on a train, meeting 1 or 2 close friends, catching up while walking and taking in a new place and then getting back on the train again to return home. Most embarrassing? For anyone who already knows my fainting at work story, this has now made it to the shores of Southern Africa…

In return Malekhooa told me about her favourite US rapper she would listen to on her perfect day and the naked old man she embarrassingly bumped into in a street back at home at 10pm at night. Having returned to the container, thanks to my translator colleague Busi, I learnt that perfect days tended to revolve around going to church and spending time with family. Embarrassing moments meanwhile ranged from having someone finding a tick on her bag at school and her 16% test score posted for all the class to see, to her boyfriend marrying somebody else and the death of her mother.

“Do you trust the people in the group?”. Lerato’s activity-closing question was met with a resounding ‘yes’ from participants, explaining that they do because they have now shared this personal information. "Only being truthful can set us free", Lerato concluded.

Activity 3: My Wall of Concerns

A simple task: list all of the challenges faced as young people, was perhaps the home run that Lerato had been lining up for through the ice-breaking and self-stabilising first two activities. Separated into groups of 4, we took some sugar paper and the girls started to scratch their heads. Who am I to describe the experience of being a young lady growing up in Maseru? With my group’s list stalling at 4 or 5 challenges, however, I begun to start trying to help tease out challenges that I could imagine – and that my privileged education has told me – might exist. Our list reached 9 challenges before we rejoined the group. I was initially volunteered to present our answers but gently redirected the suggestion given the benefit to be had for my fellow group members in discussing our answers.

Lerato then summarised all answers by identifying the most common four: Money (chelete), unemployment (mosebetsi), negative peer pressure and teenage pregnancy made up the quartet of most pressing challenges. Challenge number two, unemployment, introduced a reappearance of that inspiring voice of Lerato’s, albeit in Sesotho this time. She coated her advice with her own example working her way from Kick4Life volunteer to eventually finding the full-time salaried position of ‘Activities Co-ordinator’. “Don’t be too picky on a job you are given as you don’t know where it might lead and you will pick up valuable skills along the way”. Breaking into English, Lerato’s advice was impassioned and assured. 

Education, jobs, money; these things are clearly sitting at the front of my fellow participants minds. But sex and relationships? Now they were talking. It felt as if everything that had come before in the last two and half hours provided the platform to feel comfortable discussing what is clearly the most pressing matter. With little further provocation from Lerato, the conversation between the female participants started to pick up momentum and animation with an increasing number of the previously shy participants. 

ABC is a common abbreviation in HIV education. Or at least it was from what I remember from my first visit here in 2009. A is for abstinence – avoiding sexual contact in or out of a relationship. The young lady sat on the couch to the right of me was explaining how limiting time in the presence of your partner would help achieve abstinence. 

“Is abstinence realistic?”. Lerato re-entered the discussion with a question which at first seemed to go against the grain of sexual health education. The discussion thickened and as I now realise with a very quick internet search on ‘ABC’ (B = ‘Be Faithful’, C = ‘Condomise’), this was cutting-edge Development in action. Indeed USAID’s following definition of the ‘Combination Prevention’approach to HIV Prevention strategies helps introduce the current ‘thinking’ and why it is no longer as simple as ABC.  

…rights-based, evidence-informed, and community-owned programmes that use a mix of biomedical, behavioural, and structural interventions, prioritised to meet the current HIV prevention needs of particular individuals and communities, so as to have the greatest sustained impact on reducing new infections.

For these particular individuals, in this particular community, with this particular culture – whether coming from Lerato, Kick4Life or a larger Development body – it seems that the appropriateness of the ‘A’ in ‘ABC’ is rightly confronted and challenged, and through the powerful medium of debate.

“Who here is in a relationship?”, Lerato moved the conversation on to ‘C’. Every girls’ hand went up in the air. “Who here is carrying a condom right now?”. All hands fell back down. A pause – silence – as participants looked around the room at each other. The discussion picked up again as my translator in my left ear explained the girls’ concerns that carrying a condom would give their boyfriends the wrong impression that they either want to have sex or have multiple partners. Apparently some men also complain that wearing a condom makes them ill.

“These challenges will always be there”. In English, Lerato concluded the now lively discussion between the girls who had started the session in a significantly and self-admittedly shy manner. “You have to think of yourself and build your self-esteem. You have to think ahead”. She continued again in Sesotho, though I recognised the word ‘Hosane’ which means 'tomorrow'. “Don’t just think about now, just to satisfy your partner, for example”.

Knocking Down the Walls of Concern

“So how do you feel now? What did you enjoy about the session and what didn’t you enjoy?”. Lerato invited one last conversation. The participant who had previously fought for ‘A’ explained how she now felt confident where she would normally feel too shy to talk in such groups. After each being invited to answer these same questions by the welcoming and supportive Lerato, I was offered the opportunity to share my thoughts.

I thanked the group for allowing me to meet my new friend Malokaane. I then explained that despite having to have most of it translated, I especially enjoyed the conversation on sex and condoms. This was met with a few laughs. I continued to suggest how I felt it was important for them to talk about the subject and share their opinions even if different. I openly acknowledged how talking about the subject is difficult and awkward, and can especially be so when in an intimate situation. “But it shouldn’t be”, I added. “The sooner you understand and feel comfortable about these things, the easier it will become to handle and the more control you will have over your lives”.

This final moral dilemma of mine was the biggest of the morning. Was it wrong for me to say these things? I received a warm reception, encouraged by Lerato, so hopefully this ‘final thought’ from a 29 year old white male from the UK only helped to break down the ladies’ wall of concern.

In the Literacy Room with potential future Women4Women participants

These 3 hours in the 5-a-side pitch holding shipping container come literacy and entertainment centre provided the time, space and confidence for the Women4Women participants to think and openly talk about crucial life-shaping issues. The discussions were amongst new trusted friends and away from the everyday challenges of earning a living, looking after dependents, gaining an education and pressure in relationships. It’s still early days for them. But I hope and believe that the next 5 and a half months of sessions would help strengthen the young ladies as confident and stable women with real and obtainable long-term visions and prospects, and healthy relationships which only complement these.

This does leave me with one question about an equally as vital ingredient in achieving this. What about the men?

If this example is representative, replicated and built upon, I am satisfied that Kick4Life’s social programmes are alive and well. As a result I am increasingly motivated in assisting the social enterprise team in their aim to secure the financial requirements of the programmes and also provide a destination for a number of the participants. Kick4Life would appear to be on the ball when it comes to current HIV prevention and support Development strategies. Thanks to Lerato and my Wednesday morning with 15 Basotho ladies in a shipping container, any wall of concern that I might have had before about this is falling down. 

Beyond the Statistics: The Kick4Life FC All-Stars Tour

£33,000 raised towards Kick4Life FC’s work. 300 school children provided with access to HIV curriculum activities. These were some of the headline statistics read out by Co-Founder Steve Fleming in his final debrief to the group of 10 UK ‘All-Stars’ who had just experienced what, by all accounts, was ‘the time of their lives’ on the Kick4Life 2014 tour.

A period of silence followed as the tour group were asked to write down any comments and reflections on the week in the interest of, somehow, improving further the service on offer for future ‘All-Stars’. Seeing to an end my own week of attempting to help more than hinder operations behind the scenes, there was something serene and humbling about observing the contemplative focused new group of friends engage minds with pen and paper.

Whilst impressive, the statistics are the easy bit. Putting THAT experience in writing probably wasn’t such a straight forward task. Back in 2009 when I experienced the profound tour experience meticulously and sensitively organised by Kick4Life, one of my biding memories was that of the abundance of inspiration encountered: from the individuals that make up the ‘All-Stars’ group themselves, from the charity’s work, and from the young people of Lesotho – coaches and school children. Five years on, in that sense, nothing has changed.   

“Mind-blowing experiences almost everyday, in an amazing country which deserves the best for all its generations.”

“I’ve known K4L for years, but being in Lesotho with the staff, trainees, kids, teachers, locals etc. is 1000 times more powerful, impactful and meaningful than even my knowledge of what K4L does. I am left inspired, moved, exhausted, elated, touched and hugely motivated. HIV and poverty in Lesotho is a huge problem and we need to extend awareness and grow the social enterprises to tackle the issues head-on, soonest.”

I started drafting this blog post at the Johannesburg Ecotel last Sunday morning, fresh from dropping the group back off at the airport the day before. Eight days earlier, after watching a frustrating 3-3 Kick4Life FC draw I was tucking into a Braai with a freelance American journalist. We discussed the possible value around Kick4Life FC’s social enterprises against a backdrop of a country that, statistics would suggest, doesn’t appear to be making significant gains in any fight against HIV. Reflecting on my own blog post published the day before, I wondered whether an emphasis on spreading the good messages about looking after yourself may not be the most appropriate weapon of choice for that battle. Indeed, Lesotho has now leapfrogged Botswana to claim the world’s second highest HIV prevalence. 

A sense of responsibility. Self-worth. Emotional impact. Shared and personal experiences. A refreshed future. These characteristics are possibly what counts most. They don't translate easily into figures but they were seen, heard and felt continuously over that week at Kick4Life FC’s hive of activity, both through and with the tour.

As pictures speak a thousand words – and I can, and usually do, easily end up writing more – here’s a flavour of that week in photos assisted by some of the tour group's feedback provided on that last evening. 

Social Enterprise Team Manager Tess and the Country Director waited 'til
the early hours at the border for the beds to arrive the night before the tour were due
...but what a job they did!

Tess and 'Auntie' Lash from the SE Team
tidy up the main conference centre

Last minute preparations with Busi from the Social Enterprise team,
helping finishing touches with the second conference centre

Just names on a badge
 - some of the All-Stars and coaches set to make memories 

Morning of the tour group arrival, walking down from exchanging currency at Lesotho Sun hotel
 as the UK group were due that afternoon to touch down at Joburg,
struck by a view of Maseru with the Kick4Life FC hub taking centre stage

T.I.A. Despite a very carefully compiled plan of action by Chris and the very time conscious and punctual Steve, tour bus driver (and former Lesotho international football player and brother of Auntie Lash) 'Wave' and I encountered our first challenge before even leaving Maseru to collect the group from Joburg airport...a missing tour bus. A mix up led to a smaller vehicle being made available, requiring some 'on my feet' thinking - time to hit the road myself with the K4L 4x4!!

I've had worse problems then chasing the sun and 9-seater tow-bar-less bus
towards Johannesburg on the open South African road

The convoy arrives at Joburg...

No expense spared when Chris is in control of the budget...

Wave (holding the K4L banner) and I wonder where first due arrival 'Neil' is. After 45 mins of going along with my 'Does this person look like a Neil?' game, Wave gives up and returns to the bus. The slightly short stocky Welshman Neil finally approaches from an unexpected direction. We hit it off as he begins reeling off his unbelievable stories of his times following the Wales national team, his lack of packing more than one t-shirt and of his spontaneous 4 day fundraising walk the week before. "Chris will love you", I informed Neil as we waited for the rest of the tour group.

Neil's excellent introduction was eventually followed at Arrivals by Steve and the group. This included cricket team members including husband and wife Kate and Mike, engineering consultancy commercial manager Alden, freelance gambling adviser Alen, and Simon. They were joined by Chris’ former IT technician colleague Rachael and her gym instructor friend Claire from the same company, returning tour member and Sky employee Oya from Croydon, pediatrician and brother in law to the co-founders and the Fleming's original Kick4Malawi challenge support member Srini. 

Day 1 (Saturday)

Arriving to the Kick4Life FC Centre, Maseru for sunset

Day 2 (Sunday) 

Visit to Thaba Bosiu cultural village and mountains and watch Matlama vs Kick4Life FC men’s team, evening card game of 'Mafia'

Day 3 (Monday)

Presentation and tour of K4L, Curriculum training quiz night at No.7

“I did struggle with the curriculum at first. I found it very hard to put myself out there. One question that stuck in my head was ‘how can you do this, you know nothing of training kids?’ After a very difficult morning of training with all the K4L coaches I started to join in and felt the spirit of K4L. It was great for the coaches to be there when we delivered, as obviously there was a language barrier. They stepped in when we forgot the script. The kids were great, especially the second school. It was very eye-opening looking around the classrooms. All so friendly. I have loved the whole thing. Good to have a tour around the centre too.”

Day 4 (Tuesday)

 First school visit to Lesia high school to deliver curriculum activities and match vs. teachers, meal and drinks at No.7

“I knew this experience would be life-changing and rewarding but until you actually get here and experience everything first-hand you can never really realize the effect it can have on you. I feel totally honored and humbled to have got to come on this trip and share this experience with some amazing people.

This experience will stay with me forever and to say it has been life-changing is an understatement, and I have learnt so much. This trip has changed me for the better and the work that Kick4Life does is incredible.”

Day 5 (Wednesday) 

Second school visit to Qouling school, curriculum delivery and match (and ‘100m’ race vs teachers, cultural evening.

“Very hard to describe in words. Unbelievable, upsetting slightly. I haven’t laughed and cried so much in years. This has without doubt been the most memorable week of my life. I am absolutely exhausted both physically and mentally and am struggling to work out how I’ll explain the experience to people at home and give it justice.”

Day 6 (Thursday) 

Malealea & Rest Day followed by 

music performance, campfire and 'Mafia'

“I had an amazing time on the tour. The tour was efficiently organized and the timing of different things was also excellent. It gave us time to get to know each other before we went on to the HIV curriculum, school visits etc. The week went off very quickly and everyone had a fantastic time.”

Day 7 (Friday) 

Pony Trek to waterfall, awards night and 'Good Times'

“…it’s been another amazing journey. In a way I feel more emotionally connected with K4L and Lesotho…and really felt I got to understand the DNA of what K4L stands for and why I’ve been moved to tears a number of times. I’m proud I have been part of it…and will see you with my bro in 2015.”

“The tour was a great balance with going into the schools and also taking time out to reflect and learn about the local way of life. It really has been life-changing and eye-opening. It has also been so fantastic to stay at the centre and see all the great things with the hotel and N0.7, especially getting to know Tess, Wayne & Michelle who are all so passionate, interesting and inspiring.”

There's no way even these pictures and quotes will get across the experience had by these 10 Kick4Life supporters. And I can't do the whole week justice. However there are 3 occasions that for me characterised this particular tour and the impact and value I believe it holds in 'making a difference', for all involved whether British or Basotho.

A Hive of Activity - With Lerato as the Queen Bee.  

After the first weekend of historic mountain walking, football spectating and initial team bonding, the tour group were formerly introduced to the Kick4Life FC centre on the Monday. After listening to the informative presentation, I followed behind the group as the Country Director led them around the centre to see it in action. From No.7 and Moses’ IT classroom, the tour continued on to the freshly painted second conference centre, HIV counselling centre, media centre, library, the cleaner ‘Mama’ (Henrietta), Rasta’s garden, and literacy centre before arriving at the 5aside pitch to commence curriculum training led by Puky and Sbu.  

The training was very well led and certainly begun to break the ice and calm the nerves of the tour group before they set out to deliver the activities at the school. However it was moments before this started, as we stood in the renovated shipping container literacy centre during the tour, that I (and it would appear the tour group also) was bowled over by a staff member as she described the structure and ethos behind Kick4Life's various activities. Co-ordinator Lerato, who had progressed in her career from her days as volunteer, gave a comprehensive and knowledgable presentation delivered with real professionalism and passion, and without any hesitation in clearly getting across exactly what is being achieved. As the Country Director concluded, Lerato has a bright future ahead of her.  

Lerato, the activities co-ordinator, provides an excellent breakdown
of on-site activities and the purpose behind them

It is the people themselves who will always provide the best advert. 

Full Impact at the Half Way Point  

Literally blood, sweat and tears; the half way point of the tour happened to provide probably the most emotionally draining and humanising day. In the run up to the tour Auntie Lash and I visited the second school that the group were due to visit. However securing this school was 'touch & go', partly because Kick4Life had never worked with Quoling (pronounced kwa-ding) before, but also because of the importance of the children receiving their lunch between 10:30-11:30am as for many it is the only meal they have each day. 

Our nerves with how well or not this visit was going to go however completely vanished on the rock-star reception at the school gates, followed by a tour of classrooms holding up to 160 excitable but well behaved children and one teacher. On one occasion the latter led her class through a moving-to-the-core rendition of 'Make a Melody in my Heart' after being graced by the tour group's impromptu 'Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' led by Steve. 

The curriculum games were followed by a football pitch length race adamently arranged by the head teacher, and then the football game itself. Far less competitive and formal than the game the day before against Lesia high school's teachers, with the tour group cruising to a 3-0 victory, a dramatic turn in events occurred. ‘Sportperson of the tour’ Simon clashed heads with a teacher, with blood quickly dripping on to a dusty hard pitch (I was close enough to know...). The game was abandoned with Simon being escorted by Dr Srini to recover at the private clinic. 

After an emotionally draining day for the group, I expected that the evening's scheduled 'cultural performance' would provide some light even (to risk sounding patronising) 'token' 'traditional' entertainment that the group would politely applaud. How underestimated the reality was. After No.7 trainee Setsoto generously shared her personal story on how she became involved with Kick4Life - not a particularly easy course of events even just to listen to - what followed was an evening of spell-binding, raw, soulful talent presented through song, dance and comedy by some of Kick4Life's academy members. From only Chris' vague brief and a few days to prepare, what resulted - with a little fine-tuning of programming maybe - would not have been out of place at a national arts showcase.

Unfortunately - or perhaps fortunately depending on how you look  at it - I didn't capture this evening on camera. However the group's gratitude was captured through 'Spirit of the Tour’ Alden's well executed and eloquent thank you speech at the end of the show. What a day. 

Neil.

What an individual. Friendly, warm-hearted, Neil was a full-of-life character from my first introduction back at the airport. 

He is currently 'on the wagon’ in his bid to improve health and fitness after years of inevitable compromises through following every Wales match and being central to the recovery of his beloved Welsh third division Llanelli Town. I only mention his health kick as either side of an impressively dedicated morning training routine half way through the tour, Neil was partial to the odd Maluti. Or Savannah Dry. Or red wine...Letting his hair down a little, the penultimate night of 'Mafia' around the Malealea Lodge campfire brought a woeful and frustrating effort from Neil. With tour members and the pack of cards gradually heading off to bed, Neil stayed up with a small group and reeled off a number of personal stories with each one becoming louder in narration and more unbelievable (such as fighting-off 50 Somalians and a 'Chinese midget' at a night out in Norway, and moving house to avoid regular visits from Mormons after signing up at a US church after travelling on a coach for 8 hours in the wrong direction...).

The following night - the Awards Evening - Neil came to the front of the room to make a speech. He acknowledged that he may have dropped down some people’s popularity list after the night before. The group gave a laugh and probably thought that was that. Neil then announced that, to make up for this, after spending the day making various phone calls to the Welsh national football club, Wales had agreed to sponsor one of the hotel rooms, No.11, now to be known as the 'Gareth Bale' room. He concluded that this would be sealed shortly with a £1,000 cheque and signed Gareth Bale shirt. After a lost-for-words astonished looking Steve went to sit back at his table, there was more to come. Next out of Neil's bag of treats were Welsh dolls, Llanelli shirts, a Welsh flag and lyrics to a Welsh hymn and the Welsh national anthem. Neil invited the Kick4Life curriculum coaches to the front to join him in singing the latter, which they did with great effort despite the natural Sesotho-Welsh language barrier, followed by a proud tuneful Lesotho national anthem rendition. 

Neil was the first person I met at Joburg and the last person I happened to say goodbye to. He brought the tour Awards Evening room to a pin-drop silence with his Welsh hymn and then managed to encourage a very cool Basotho ladies football player to grasp the Welsh national anthem draped in a Wales flag. That experience is hard to put into words. Only a unique character like Neil could do that, and a unique tour like that provided by Kick4Life could make that happen.

As I sat in my bed in the not so tranquil Joburg Ecotel, I looked at the Kick4Life tour webpage. Refreshingly in these times of heightened superficial self-promotion and mass advertising, there is not a word of exaggeration or inaccuracy in the description of what can be achieved through this programme. The statistics are just the starting point.