Game Day Lesson or Lesson for Life...

“Today was game day. We got into the van, heading for the Soweto Community Soccer game. When we arrive, I couldn’t help but be taken aback, because the field was just plain old dirt. Well, let me revise that – there was also plenty of broken glass, trash, old hoses, belts from old vehicles – and yes, two soccer goals. Wow, this was the field we were to compete on!?

There were no lines marking the bounds, BUT there were twenty two excited kids, ready to play the game that they loved. So, we cleared our minds, put our game faces on – and we played.

The Soweto team was losing the first half, so Coach Lucky and I explained to the team that they needed to be more aggressive. We told them to hold their positions on the field. With five minutes left in the game, we were still losing – but then – with 45 seconds remaining, they poured it on with a penalty shot and scored! Then, a young boy on our team ripped a shot from about 25 yards away to get the go ahead goal – and we won the game!! What a great feeling. For all the adversity these young children have overcome and are still facing today, they needed this small victory in their lives.
I wish you could have seen the joy on their faces – shared their moment of achievement. It is something I won’t soon forget.
It's imprinted on me in part, because these boys taught me an important lesson on that dirty, South African soccer field. That joy is a gift given to us at birth and it is ours to embrace or to lose. Even in what can be miserable conditions, these poor boys found pure joy and celebrated it.

The joy that is in them, is profound, and it’s something that nobody an take away on game day.. or on any day. Until next time... ”

(Contents by Sydney Harrison/TN)

Soweto Soccer ...

“I watched as kids play with a soccer ball that had been repaired and patched.. and repaired and patched so many times the it hardly looked familiar anymore. Oddly, the kids didn't seem phased by the battered ball, but I was.

That’s when Kenton, my guide, introduced me to a man named – Lucky. I would latter learn just how fitting a name can be. He was Coach lucky, the Soweto soccer coach. “Thank you for coming, said Coach Lucky. I would love for you to teach the boys some of your strategies.”
As Coach Lucky spoke, I said to myself, “Wow, now here is a man that can teach me and a lot. And not just about soccer, but about survival – about life.”

As I began to pass out the donated soccer balls and equipment, which I had brought over from The States, I quickly realized how appreciative Coach Lucky and the young players are for everything they have and everything they receive. I was passing out the balls when I felt someone grab my hand. It was Coach Lucky. He looked at me and said, “Thank You!”. Two simple words that made my heart sink.

It gave be great pleasure to watch the kids inflate each ball into a circle of – hope. Soon, the kids were playing soccer with them and that is significant because here- soccer is more than just a sport. For many children soccer is all they have, that’s it. Their hopes and dreams are formed and sometimes die on a soccer field. It is also where children, some of whom are orphaned, can just be kids for a while. And, as I was about to see, game day… would be extra special – win OR lose. “ (Contents by Sydney Harrison/TN)

Soweto Blues (Or So It Would Seem..)

“The living conditions… well, I have never seen anything like this before. Families crammed in one-room shacks - living their lives below tin roofs with rocks stacked on them to keep from blowing off during violent storms. Some folks don’t even have a roof at all to keep them dry. For those families, a bright blue tarp will have to do.

As I stepped out of the vehicle and looked around, all I could see were dirt roads and row after row of these shacks... just five feet from each other.”
And the families who lived there were the lucky ones... because “they” had shacks!"

It’s estimated that almost 5 Million people call Soweto – home, whether they live in a house, a shack or on the street.
“I gathered myself and began to pass out donations. But, as it turned out, I wasn’t just giving them out to just children.. I ended up handing out donations to moms, dads… children.. to everyone. The toddlers were so grateful for the simplest of gifts. Their eyes lit up to receive a pen, a pencil, a toy or a T-shirt."
We just don’t know how good we have it.

"I watched a woman roll up pieces of wet coal to form bricks, so she could sell them – hoping make enough money to feed her family. And all she asked me for, was an American pin for her baby. As I placed the American pin on the child’s tiny, filthy shirt.. I said to the mom, “Do you know what this is?” She answered, “ Yes, it means peace!” And on went the American pin, right next to a 60’s peace sign the child was already wearing. “Thank you, Good Man… God will bless you, “ said the mother. Then she asked me to take a picture with her. I obliged, as I fought back tears over the irony of this unusual, yet somewhat symbolic moment. “
Here I was, an American with so much, having overcome my own personal trials as an orphan, in a village a world away… where many families don’t have running water. Women walk a block to fetch clean drinking and cooking water from a community spicket. Their bathroom? – A port-a-potty. I was floored, but, I was about to learn an important lesson!“
(Content by Sydney Harrison/TN)

Soweto Awakening...

“Today was rough for me. I thought I was prepared… but I wasn’t. You see, I was driven to the township of Soweto, just outside Johannesburg.

To call it a low-income, poverty stricken area… doesn’t even come close to describing what life is like here. Let me do my best to try.

At the steering wheel was a man- another volunteer named Kenton. Little did I know he was driving me into what would become the most eye-opening and humbling experience of my life! A series of experiences, sights, smells and sounds that would literally leave me speechless for more than two hours. “
(Post Content by Sydney Harrison/TN)

Miracle Needs A Miracle

“Her name is Miracle and at the age of nine, she is simply breathtaking. But her beauty couldn't hide the ugly truth that had already chiseled away at her innocence.
Miracle, watched her mother die of AIDS, but not before being beaten at home, along with her younger brother. The tensions would escalate so high sometimes – when the rage would reach it’s peak – that Miracle and her little brother would be ordered to the outhouse for hours! There they would stay, with little food and no one to look after them.
Miracle is now in desperate need of a miracle, as she has tested positive for HIV. And remember, she is just 9 years old. But, even in her youth.. Miracle has the faith of the ages.
Each night she prays that she will be healed of this illness. And, she prayer that her little brother will be spared the fate of this vicious virus. She sings.. This Little Light Of Mine, I'm Going To Let It Shine...

And, you know what?? Despite it all.. it does!" (Post Content By Sydney Harrison/TN)

Sydney's Reality Check

“Their stories are different, but fate – to this point, at least - has dealt these babies a similar unkind hand. Some have been severely beaten, leaving them with multiple fractures. One child, I’ll call Nika suffered from twelve (12) fractures to her tiny little body, by the time she was just three years old. But while her external wounds may cause severe physical pain, her internal light continues to shine. To my amazement Nika always has a smile lighting up her warm brown face. In fact, that child’s smile – her dimples - could light up an entire room.
Nika, like so many other orphans, was left for dead. But she defied death, and is being given a second chance at life with the help of David and Caroline Webb at Baby Haven.”
(Post Content By Sydney Harrison/TN)

Sydney's First Week

“It has been a week here now in South Africa and at times I have been floored and moved to tears. I was quickly awakened to the reality these children face, as they struggle for life – for love – for survival. ”

“I have been changing diapers and rocking babies to sleep. I attended a birthday party for one of the orphaned boys. I will call him Oma, as we need to change the babies names for their own protection. This birthday party was special, because Oma is one of the babies who has tested positive for HIV. He turned one on Friday.
Through our donations were were able to give him a Barney doll that sings. “ (Content by Sydney Harrison/TN)

While it can’t save his life… a simple toy can offer a sick child few moments of joy.