F4GMag-Eleven-Digital[1230]

I was introduced to Chiparamba through Common Goal, an initiative of streetfootballworld. As someone who’s extremely passionate about international development, playing my part in being a meaningful global citizen, I can honestly say that I’m incredibly humbled to have finally met face-to-face with some members of the communi- ties that Common Goal teams up with and, more importantly, to have seen the other side of football, beyond the stadium. So, that’s why I’m sharing a few snapshots of my journey to Lusaka this past summer, to show you what ‘football for good’ means to me and to communities globally. friday, 7 th june 2019. sunny, 2 1°c After over 12 hours of travelling and one layover, I finally reached Lusaka, Zambia! I’ll skip over the standard airport security stories and cut right to the chase about my visit to Chiparamba Breakthrough Sports Academy. Today, I watched as the kids played happily in my fa- vourite sport. It was honestly such a treat to see the effort and sweat they put into the game; they ran and tackled hard. The team at Chiparamba gave me a lovely tour of the community and the CBSA office. As we walked through the daily lives of Chiparamba kids, meeting their families, I was able to see first-hand how football impacted so many children. Even in small ways, like having something to look for- ward to. But that’s far from the only benefit of the game. CBSA has made football both a fun and effective activity for kids to enjoy and mentors to educate, catalysing the sport as a tool to help kids learn about team- work. The game is also used as a tool to teach young people how to lead a more sustainable and healthy life. sunday, 9 th june 2019. partly overcast, 19°c I finally got to cleat up and take part in a proper game! We played a few matches with the boys and girls (I was definitely no match for them!). The kids were tough - they tackled hard, ran fast, and laughed a lot! Though they ran fast, I had to make sure they weren’t running aimless- ly—that’s when I decided to step out and coach instead. Later in the day, we had children and adolescents join in for a huge tourna- ment-festival-like event, organising mini pitches to play football. I would say there were at least 200 kids altogether, scoring goals and making plays. What touched my heart the most was watching how the girls were playing so carefree, both with each other and with the boys. The kids took the game seriously, they were patient, worked hard, and were ex- tremely focused. Some of them would even engage in their own rituals for good luck before playing. I may play football for a living, but it almost felt like the mirror was flipped back at me: I got to see how young people were living to play football. Watching them play worry-free on the pitch was just as satisfying as any game I’ve taken part in. monday, 10 th June 2019. Sunny, 24° C I took a pleasant tour around the town today, seeing Lusaka for the hid- den gem it is. I even got a mini history lesson about Zambia’s capital. Lusaka is apparently named after an old village chief, Chief Lusaka, who lived in the early 1900s. Since then, the city has really grown—it was a lot busier than I expected (but that would make sense with a population of 1.7 million) and there are so many things happen- ing in the city. Lusaka is also home to the country’s largest university, the University of Zambia, as well as the Lusaka National Museum. It’s so fascinating to see how much the place has grown over the past two centu- ries and what kind of home this will be to the young kids of Chiparamba one day. tuesday, 11 th june 2019. mostly sunny, 20°c Exciting developments today! I coached training with the girls in the afternoon, and I absolutely loved the initiative these young ladies played with. Of course, we invited some young boys to join us as well. Before training, in the morning, I had a long discussion with some of the young coaches in the organisation. We mostly talked about the different challenges for coaches: for instance, the different drills to keep training fresh. But also the importance of being a “good coach”, meaning how to be good role models and show impressionable youth the respect they deserve to pay it forward. It wasn’t how the kids played or the coaches mentored that blew me away, though. It was the sheer dedication to make a change in their communi- ty that left me speechless. After spending time with the coaches at the organisation, they educated me on some of the problems affecting the community in Lukasa. Young people struggle with drugs, alcohol, crime, early marriage, early pregnancy—that’s their unfortunate reality. That’s why the work that this organisation does is so important: it helps young people develop tools that can help them avoid those problems. The experience allowed me to reflect a lot on what football means to me: Having that whistle around my neck made me think about what, from my own experiences, it means to be a good coach, and how far you can go when you have a good coach. For instance, at Chiparamba, the young coaches didn’t see their work as a chore, but as a part of themselves—they are undeniably dedicated. They led the festival’s activities on Sunday and maximised all of their available resources to make it a success; using charcoal to outline a pitch and refereeing the matches (it’s not an easy job!), simultaneously keeping up with everything going on with 200 young footballers running around. I would say, they were a true defi- nition of a good coach. And that’s certainly something I would wish for the kids at Chiparamba: To have good coaches and grow up to be good coaches—on and off the pitch. my t ime at chiparamba Visiting Chiparamba in Lusaka was honestly such a privilege and it’s always fascinating to learn more about how these football for good organisations empower their communities. For example, I want to highlight the diverse programmes that Chiparamba hosts. They’ve structured these programmes to balance both education on gender equality & healthy living to complement their time on the pitch. I saw how three young women from Chiparamba were invited to speak at one of the local schools to facilitate a conversation about gender equality in an extremely accessible way—gauging what young people knew about gender, their miscon- ceptions, and what kind of ‘work’ men and women are meant to do, ultimately breaking down these misconcep- tions and maintaining an open dialogue with young, impressionable minds. This is just one of the examples of how the organisation is facilitating change in their community, speaking to the volume of what football for good truly entails. Page 66 (top): Training at dusk: de- spite a long day at school the chil- dren wish to play; (below): Posing with the champions of a tourna- ment organised by Chiparamba. Page 67 (left): Selfie-time after discussing what it means to be a good coach; (right): Trying my hand at Zambian cuisine! 66 67 THIRD HALF TRIPS