Years of sniffing glue had so badly affected their bodies that some of the boys looked like rag dolls flapping across the football field. Six months later the same boys were striding it out, blocking and striking with agility, strength and confidence. Such is the power of nurture.
It is little wonder that Mandela asked to see the sixteen street kids who, in under a year, have transformed from hapless, homeless glue-sniffers into fine young players in a fine young football team that will be flying to England on Tuesday for a two-week football tour.
Called the Homestead Team, many of the boys in the side were literally straight off the streets. Others had left the streets some time back and had been living in the Homestead children's home in Khayelitsha on the Cape Flats.
“It's been very hard, very tough and very daunting but we've done it,” says the team's coach, Craig Hepburn, who played for Pirates in the eighties and who has been involved in development football in the townships around Cape Town for the past ten years.
“The reason the boys looked like rag dolls when they first joined the programme is because glue attacks the central nervous system and destroys whatever co-ordination or powers of concentration they might have had.”
Couple this with abandonment, abuse and a life on the streets and you've got a bunch of kids who have had huge trauma in their lives.
“These are the lucky ones, it's incredible to see how they've pulled through,” continues Hepburn. “The boys meeting Mandela and getting on that plane to the UK are unrecognisable from a year ago. Today they are fine, disciplined football players, every bit up to the schools they'll be playing against in England.
“Some of the players are showing such potential if they continue to get the right training and guidance they could one day make the national side. That's our aim: to have a kid from the streets selected to play for South Africa.”
All sixteen children have been off the streets for a minimum of a year and are living at the children's home. This was a prerequisite to them being considered for the team.
“Our whole approach is not just about a football tour, it's about taking the boys to higher ground from where they can build lives for themselves and lead the way for other street kids,” says Gerald ‘Langer' Jacobs who co-ordinates the Homestead's street outreach programme and shelter.
The Homestead is a 23-year-old NGO running seven Cape Town-based projects for street children.
Jacobs is one of the driving forces behind the Homestead football tour, in collaboration with English football coach, Michelle Potter. Potter is part of a UK-based coaching outreach programme called ‘Coaching for Hope' and has been living in Cape Town for over a year, helping to raise sponsorship for the tour and to coach the Homestead players.
The Homestead focuses exclusively on boys (the majority of street children are boys) while a sister shelter called ‘Ons Plek' attends to the girls.
“The reason there are more boys on the streets is because boys are generally more arrogant and stubborn than girls; the boys believe they can survive on the streets, begging or stealing or both. Girls are more inclined to seek a way out for themselves through prostitution,” says Jacobs who is a known and trusted figure on the streets of Cape Town. From the CBD to Woodstock to Camps Bay to Sea Point he has worked with street children for the past four-and-a-half years. During this time he was nicknamed ‘Langer' by the street children because of his height.
“Getting these boys off the streets is not just a matter of ‘Hi, come with me',” he explains. “You have to get to know them for them to vaguely start trusting you. At which point we start encouraging them to drop in at the Homestead's shelter in Woodstock where they can get a meal, a shower, clothing and some care.”
A year ago Jacobs started telling the boys about the football tournament for street children the Homestead was organising and that if they were selected they would be trained to go to the UK on tour.
“Word got out and slowly, slowly they came to us, until we had 100 kids participating in the tournament, including several of the 65 kids who were already living at our home in Khayelitsha.”
Fresh off the streets was 14-year-old Samson who had been living on the streets since the age of seven. (The Child Care Act prohibits the publication of any of the children's surnames)
When Samson first arrived at the shelter he was filthy and draped in layers of ragged clothing to fend off the cold. “He'd been in and out of reformatories and was extremely aggressive and strong-willed. Street kids have to be like this to survive and defend themselves,” adds Jacobs.
“He was one of the hardest kids we've had to handle. If he didn't get his way it would be a stone or a brick and he would not submit to authority at all.”
Samson has transformed into one of the best players in the side, a striker with a natural eye for the game.
“He's still one of the most difficult boys and he's still angry but he's shown huge improvement. For him to have stayed with us for a year is a major success. It's given him time to work through some of his issues and to learn to deal with situations in a variety of ways other than with aggression and anger.”
Handling a complex group of teenagers, Coach Hepburn is strict on the field.
“What we've tried to do is create a team where discipline and respect is key. We've had to teach the boys they have no right to verbally or physically abuse anyone. If they misbehave on the field they go straight to the bench and cannot return until they sort themselves out.
“It's about teaching them what it is to be part of a team; that it requires contributing to team spirit and supporting each other. It's about understanding that no matter how good a footballer you are, you will make mistakes and you need your fellow players to encourage you, not abuse you.”
The boys practise for two hours twice a week and play matches on Wednesdays against various school sides – from private schools to reformatories.
Every Saturday they attend workshops at the Homestead where they develop their communication skills and explore their self-worth.
“We speak about negative and positive communication and we talk about the language of communication on the field – whether it is better to use English or Xhosa. For the tour the boys decided on a mix so that the English players cannot understand their game plan,” smiles Hepburn.
“We also speak what it means to be a street child and how people regarded them when they lived on the streets,” adds Jacobs. “It takes a long time for the boys to stop feeling people see them as dirty and worthless.”
The turnaround hasn't been smooth and seamless. At the beginning of the year a couple of the boys were caught sniffing glue. “We didn't expel them but we taught them there are consequences for poor behaviour,” Jacobs explains.
“They weren't allowed to play football for a period, they had to do chores around the home and they were excluded from the ‘reward initiatives' we offer the boys. These include giving them a soccer jersey or cap for best performance or taking them for a restaurant meal. Fortunately this hasn't been a major problem and the more fit they get the less inclined they are to sniff glue or abuse their bodies in any other way.”
Glue, he explains, is more of a psychological addiction - a “chemical blanket” to take away the cold and the pain of living on the streets. This chemical blanket is replaced with an emotional blanket when they start experiencing a sense of belonging at the Homestead. “Coming off glue is not the major hurdle,” says Jacobs. “It's the deep-seated self worth damage that takes a long time to heal.”
The boys heal in different ways. Sixteen-year-old Nelson, the captain of the team, has been living at the children's home since he left the streets at the age of eight. He built his self-worth through football and a form of kickboxing called Muay Thai.
He's played football for Western Province Schools and is the junior amateur South African Muay Thai champion. Training under South Africa's world Muay Thai champion, Quentin Chong, he has a powerful role model and is respected by the other boys for his strength and achievements.
Nelson is also the only boy in the team who has ever flown in an aeroplane or been overseas. He represented South Africa in Thailand in May this year where he won a bronze.
“Thailand is beautiful,” he says. “What I liked most about it is that you can walk in the streets there without worrying about danger.”
Vice-captain Ayanda (16), a highly intelligent boy and an exceptional football player, came to the home several years back. “When he first came off the streets, he was depressed, introverted and prone to untruths,” says Jacobs. “Today he is a transformed character; he is open, communicative and has strong leadership qualities. He encourages the little ones and he stops fights in the home. He doesn't even look like the same boy.”
The boys can remain at the home until they are 18. To prepare them for adulthood, the social workers at the home intensify their life skills programme, get them into job shadowing or help them to apply for scholarships.
“Thebe Tourism – one of the main sponsors of the football tour – has helped our older boys tremendously,” adds Jacobs. “They get them to shadow people in all their associated companies – from their boat company to tourism to curios retailing.” The person the boys all dream of shadowing now is David Beckham.
“With the right guidance and opportunity some of them have the potential to become professional soccer players,” says Hepburn. “But what deeply concerns me is the lack of opportunity and infrastructure at grassroots level. There is so much talent right across the country but the politicians and football administrators aren't doing nearly enough about it.
“As development coaches we go to the South African Football Association (SAFA) for assistance but there are no formalised coaching course standards we can follow. Neither is there any development framework we can slot into or some official form of payment. We sometimes get payment from sponsors, mostly we coach on a voluntary basis.”
SAFA's mission statement as the governing body of football in South Africa stipulates that it is ‘committed to promoting and facilitating the development of football through sustainable infrastructural and training initiatives'.
Yet when you go to their website www.safa.net and click on ‘Coaching', all it says is ‘No coaching information found. Please check back soon.'
“ We're having the world cup in 2010 but millions of our children don't have even have a field to play on,” states Hepburn. “Children from the Cape Flats are playing soccer on the verge of the N2 highway, right in front of the airport. They train here at 4pm every day with cars driving past at 120 kilometres per hour. There have been many deaths. I think this is proof enough that we have to get back to our roots and invest in our communities and our townships.”
“Hopefully the street soccer project has helped to set an example of what can be achieved,” adds Jacobs. “It's very difficult to rehabilitate street kids but as we get on that flight to England we know this project has been a success. We're not saying the boys are all going to become professional players or doctors and lawyers; we're just showing what a little bit of love and attention and investment in grassroots can achieve.”
Anyone interested in sponsoring development clinics should contact Craig Hepburn on:
grturtle@mweb.co.za
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
STREET SOCCER STARS MEET MANDELA
On Friday morning sixteen boys woke up with one thing on their mind. They were getting on a plane at Cape Town International and flying to Johannesburg to meet Mandela at his office in Houghton.
Mandela asked to see the boys, all former street kids who in one year have turned their lives around and formed a fine young football side called the Homestead Team. They are set to fly to England on Tuesday for a two-week football tour.
“I know Cape Town very well because I stayed there for 24 years,” Mandela smiled as he welcomed the boys. “I stayed at a place called Robben Island.”
“Now tell me how are you?” he asked, to which Gerald Jacobs, the boys' 25-year-old street outreach officer from the Homestead street children's project replied:
“They have all been off the streets for a year and more and are now attending school, playing good football and living at the Homestead children's home in Khayelitsha.”
“That is good,” Mandela replied. “One thing you must realise is that in the present world you cannot take up a position of leadership without education. So you must work hard on your books and make sure you pass,” he encouraged as he spoke to each boy in turn.
“What does Thandisizwe mean?” he asked one of the boys, “It means ‘love my country',” Thandisizwe shyly replied.
“Oh that is good, that is accurate,” Mandela smiled.
After spending some time with the boys he bid them farewell saying: “I am grateful to you for coming here and changing my life.”
The boys broke into excited chatter after the man they'd all been waiting to meet was guided from the room.
“I feel so happy and excited,” said Lerato. “I feel that my life is also going to change now that I have seen Mr Mandela. I am going to concentrate on my school work.”
“My life was upside down when I was on the streets,” commented Elvis. My message to other street children is that they mustn't give up.”
“Those who chase their dreams, get their dreams,” said Nelson who was named after Mandela and who is the captain of the Homestead Team. He is the only member who has flown before. This former street child is now the junior amateur South African Muay Thai champion (a form of kickboxing). He represented South Africa in Thailand in May this year where he won a bronze.
“I'm very proud of myself. I have forgotten about the streets and now I have met Mr Mandela,” said Ayanda, the vice-captain of the side. “Mr Mandela was the one who was fighting for us, for our freedom and education. I thank him very much for this.”
Note: The boys' surnames may not be mentioned because they are living in a place of safety and are protected under the Child Care Act.
Mandela asked to see the boys, all former street kids who in one year have turned their lives around and formed a fine young football side called the Homestead Team. They are set to fly to England on Tuesday for a two-week football tour.
“I know Cape Town very well because I stayed there for 24 years,” Mandela smiled as he welcomed the boys. “I stayed at a place called Robben Island.”
“Now tell me how are you?” he asked, to which Gerald Jacobs, the boys' 25-year-old street outreach officer from the Homestead street children's project replied:
“They have all been off the streets for a year and more and are now attending school, playing good football and living at the Homestead children's home in Khayelitsha.”
“That is good,” Mandela replied. “One thing you must realise is that in the present world you cannot take up a position of leadership without education. So you must work hard on your books and make sure you pass,” he encouraged as he spoke to each boy in turn.
“What does Thandisizwe mean?” he asked one of the boys, “It means ‘love my country',” Thandisizwe shyly replied.
“Oh that is good, that is accurate,” Mandela smiled.
After spending some time with the boys he bid them farewell saying: “I am grateful to you for coming here and changing my life.”
The boys broke into excited chatter after the man they'd all been waiting to meet was guided from the room.
“I feel so happy and excited,” said Lerato. “I feel that my life is also going to change now that I have seen Mr Mandela. I am going to concentrate on my school work.”
“My life was upside down when I was on the streets,” commented Elvis. My message to other street children is that they mustn't give up.”
“Those who chase their dreams, get their dreams,” said Nelson who was named after Mandela and who is the captain of the Homestead Team. He is the only member who has flown before. This former street child is now the junior amateur South African Muay Thai champion (a form of kickboxing). He represented South Africa in Thailand in May this year where he won a bronze.
“I'm very proud of myself. I have forgotten about the streets and now I have met Mr Mandela,” said Ayanda, the vice-captain of the side. “Mr Mandela was the one who was fighting for us, for our freedom and education. I thank him very much for this.”
Note: The boys' surnames may not be mentioned because they are living in a place of safety and are protected under the Child Care Act.
Tuesday, August 1, 2006
GERALD'S LETTER
Hi Sandra,
Hope all is well. Sorry that we can not keep in touch, our schedule has just been so busy that we come home exhausted, having to feed the boys and see that everything runs smoothly.
Anyways it's been both amazing and challenging being here. I didn't think that it would be this demanding. I have however learnt a lot from the time spent here. I would like to give you a summary of the things we have done thus far but it's such a mouth full. Ayanda is fine and since then we had 2 patients which I had to take to the hospital. Two nights ago it was Jonathan with ear problems that kept him up all night and last night it was Thandisizwe who was feeling a bit dizzy but he is fine, sugar levels were low.
Anyway they watched Stomp, which was very exciting and the boys absolutely loved it. They played a development side of professional team called Tottenham Hotspurs. They lost the game 4-2 but it was a fair result. The boys they played against were humungous and the coaches were very impressed with our boys and their discipline. They want to do something with The Homestead next year because they are thinking of coming to South Africa next year. They are working together with ABSA. They also visited the ground which has a capacity of 60,000 and got to see the ground and go in the dressing room of the home team which was amazing for them. Saturday they played a tournament in Regents Park . They had the eyes and ears of everybody. The people were once again very impressed with the discipline and politeness.
Anyway they reached the semi final and lost on penalties. Thulisile won a beautiful trophy for player of the tournament. The winning team was the team we lost to but after the game they came to us and gave us the winning trophy because they were so impressed by our boys and their attitude. FANTASTIC! I was very proud of them and they really stood out amongst the English brats. They were really rude to myself and Craig and the boys were very tempted to lay in a few punches...but we managed to contain ourselves.
We were also invited to one of Michelle's friends for supper which the boys loved because she had so much entertainment. They also watched the England game after that. Yesterday they went to the David Beckham Academy which is very very very big and we were the first group from Africa to visit them. They were very impressed with the boys and the coaches and physio were very helpful. David Beckham's physio even had some time to see to 3 of the boys which was bizzare!
The facilities were amazing and they boys got some kit as well.The food was fantastic and the boys really enjoyed the day. They sang for all the coaches at the academy and did their little gum boot dancing which the staff was thrilled about. They are also coming out to South Africa and would be keen to meet us again. One of the boys, Sandile (the best on the trip so far,) got an invitation to see Brazil play Argentina at the new Emirates Stadium in London . He was over the moon.
Today we went to see another Premier league team train. We were not allowed close to the players and were standing very far from them. Then the manager of the team came over to us and welcomed us and invited us onto the circumference of the field. This is unheard of! Afterwards they donated more kit to the team. The boys have gone out tonight to see Billy Elliot. On Thursday they are visiting a school and on Friday the Harrodian School event happens. I met Peter and his wife again on Friday and the booklet looks very nice. We are watching a live game at one of the richest clubs in the world... Chelsea on Saturday.
As I said it's been overwhelming yet challenging. I must admit that it is very difficult to manage everything but Michelle has been great in getting everything organised. Roles and responsibilities have been a problem but Charmaine and Miemie is being a great help and they are really making things easy for us. I don't know whether my 10 days leave is going to be enough but I am looking forward to looking after Gerald again.
We have been in contact with Chelsea and the Football Association in England who organised us the tickets for Saturdays game. They want to donate a whole lot of money to the Homeless World Cup and because we are playing the exibition game they want the boys to go the field in front of 60000 people and accept the cheque on behalf of the Homeless World Cup. I think Mel Young will also be present. So that is also great news for the boys and great that we could have played a role in this.
Anyway that's a wrap for now. Thank you for the support.
Regards from London ,
Gerald.
Hope all is well. Sorry that we can not keep in touch, our schedule has just been so busy that we come home exhausted, having to feed the boys and see that everything runs smoothly.
Anyways it's been both amazing and challenging being here. I didn't think that it would be this demanding. I have however learnt a lot from the time spent here. I would like to give you a summary of the things we have done thus far but it's such a mouth full. Ayanda is fine and since then we had 2 patients which I had to take to the hospital. Two nights ago it was Jonathan with ear problems that kept him up all night and last night it was Thandisizwe who was feeling a bit dizzy but he is fine, sugar levels were low.
Anyway they watched Stomp, which was very exciting and the boys absolutely loved it. They played a development side of professional team called Tottenham Hotspurs. They lost the game 4-2 but it was a fair result. The boys they played against were humungous and the coaches were very impressed with our boys and their discipline. They want to do something with The Homestead next year because they are thinking of coming to South Africa next year. They are working together with ABSA. They also visited the ground which has a capacity of 60,000 and got to see the ground and go in the dressing room of the home team which was amazing for them. Saturday they played a tournament in Regents Park . They had the eyes and ears of everybody. The people were once again very impressed with the discipline and politeness.
Anyway they reached the semi final and lost on penalties. Thulisile won a beautiful trophy for player of the tournament. The winning team was the team we lost to but after the game they came to us and gave us the winning trophy because they were so impressed by our boys and their attitude. FANTASTIC! I was very proud of them and they really stood out amongst the English brats. They were really rude to myself and Craig and the boys were very tempted to lay in a few punches...but we managed to contain ourselves.
We were also invited to one of Michelle's friends for supper which the boys loved because she had so much entertainment. They also watched the England game after that. Yesterday they went to the David Beckham Academy which is very very very big and we were the first group from Africa to visit them. They were very impressed with the boys and the coaches and physio were very helpful. David Beckham's physio even had some time to see to 3 of the boys which was bizzare!
The facilities were amazing and they boys got some kit as well.The food was fantastic and the boys really enjoyed the day. They sang for all the coaches at the academy and did their little gum boot dancing which the staff was thrilled about. They are also coming out to South Africa and would be keen to meet us again. One of the boys, Sandile (the best on the trip so far,) got an invitation to see Brazil play Argentina at the new Emirates Stadium in London . He was over the moon.
Today we went to see another Premier league team train. We were not allowed close to the players and were standing very far from them. Then the manager of the team came over to us and welcomed us and invited us onto the circumference of the field. This is unheard of! Afterwards they donated more kit to the team. The boys have gone out tonight to see Billy Elliot. On Thursday they are visiting a school and on Friday the Harrodian School event happens. I met Peter and his wife again on Friday and the booklet looks very nice. We are watching a live game at one of the richest clubs in the world... Chelsea on Saturday.
As I said it's been overwhelming yet challenging. I must admit that it is very difficult to manage everything but Michelle has been great in getting everything organised. Roles and responsibilities have been a problem but Charmaine and Miemie is being a great help and they are really making things easy for us. I don't know whether my 10 days leave is going to be enough but I am looking forward to looking after Gerald again.
We have been in contact with Chelsea and the Football Association in England who organised us the tickets for Saturdays game. They want to donate a whole lot of money to the Homeless World Cup and because we are playing the exibition game they want the boys to go the field in front of 60000 people and accept the cheque on behalf of the Homeless World Cup. I think Mel Young will also be present. So that is also great news for the boys and great that we could have played a role in this.
Anyway that's a wrap for now. Thank you for the support.
Regards from London ,
Gerald.
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