CTC Ten is currently working on establishing a partnership with AMANDLA EduFootball as the local Managing Non-Profit Organisation of the Chris Campbell Memorial Field.  Ryan McGonigle will continue working under AMANDLA as the Program Director at the Chris Campbell Memorial Fields and all managing and funding of programs will be done through AMANDLA EduFootball.  This is a tremendous step forward for the field as it allows us run and hire employees as a local and also makes it easier for people to directly contribute to the ongoing programs at the Chris Campbell Memorial Field.  Please check out the website at AMANDLA EduFootball or if you are interested in supporting the project at BetterPlace.org

Hello Everyone!

The WORLD CUP IS HERE!!!  

South Africa is in a frenzy right now! People walking around waving their flags, blowing Vuvuzelas all over the place  It is truly an incredible atmosphere and we are FEELING IT every bit at the Field.  The Campbell Family, CTC Ten Board of Directors, and Coach Wagner are all here in Cape Town for the Clubhouse Opening Ceremony on Friday! Festivities included a number of speeches from local dignitaries as well as Traditional Dancers, Marimba Band, Ikhusi Primary School Choir, Ikhusi School Diski Dancers (freestyle dancing).   We feasted on a cow that was slaughtered as is tradition with these types of events here in South Africa.  On total we had about 350 people at the event and over 50 dignitaries present at the event.  Some important people to note; District Director of Khayelitsha Schools, Chairman of the School Board, and Ethan Zohn (co-founder of NGO Grassroot Soccer).



We will be running the Ikamvalethu (Our Future in English) Cup throughout the World Cup as our primary program.  The Cup will use the excitement around the World Cup to provide an educational “World Cup” for the local community in Khayelitsha.  Local teams will represent the various countries in the 2010 World Cup and will be responsible for learning the provided facts for that team.  Before each game, teams will be asked questions on the country they represent.  Teams can gain up to 10 educational points.  Scores will be figured out by adding the total fact points with the total goals scored.  Ex: England Fact Score: 6  Goal Score: 3 = Total Score: 9.  This way, teams will work hard at learning the educational facts to ensure that they receive the most possible points and win their match.  It also enables the teams that may not be so strong on the field, have a chance at winning through their Fact Score encouraging the youth to focus more on the education part of the score.

Already so much has happened at the field including visits from the US Embassy, European Union, City of Cape Town,  Social Development, and Music Artist Fat Boy Slim to name a few.  Throughout the next couple weeks I will do my best to keep you as updated as possible through pictures and blog posts.

I have attached a few things for you to look at:
Clubhouse Opening Invite (for you to see)
Sample Fact Sheet
Schedule of WC Programs



Interesting Links Including Chris Campbell Memorial Field

America.Gov Video Featuring the Chris Campbell Memorial Field
Click here! Goal! Soccer For a Better Future Part 1 (Tolerance )

SONY Video Featuring the Chris Campbell Memorial Field and Crime Prevention League
Click here! Crime Prevention League

Link to Past Event Pictures
Click here!  Event Photos


Personal Note from Me:
The World Cup has provided us with an awesome opportunity to highlight some of our programs and allow for us to host over 500 kids on a daily basis in the Ikamvalethu Cup.  Our Program Coordinators and Volunteers have done an incredible job thus far and I am looking forward to seeing how well they do through the rest of the program.  It is an incredible thing to see the development of these people and how their good work and positive motivation allows them to be role models to the many youth that come to the Field.  One thing that really encourages me about what continues to happen here is how the Field continues to serve as the platform where youth (and adults like me!) are encouraged to learn more about themselves and work together to make the community stronger.  Our mission has always been simple, “to focus on one field, one community” and I think in doing that, we have empowered local youth to be inspired through our educational and sport for development programs.  Through this mission we look to generate a ripple effect that will encourage and inspire the community of Khayelitsha.  None of this would be possible without the tremendous help and support we have received from you and our partner organisations and I would encourage you to continue with your support.  The Chris Campbell Memorial Field was created to honor such a tremendous individual person and through your help we have been able to provide a community center to thousands of disadvantaged youth on a daily/weekly basis.


Thank you for all of your support of the Chris Campbell Memorial Field and I will look forward to hearing from you!

WORLD CUP PROGRAMS

24 HOUR AWARENESS RAISING FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT IN KHAYELITSHA

To kick off its 2010 Programmes, AMANDLA Ku Lutsha will host a 24-hour Awareness
Event to bring together over 1500 at risk youth and raise awareness about crime and
drug-prevention. The Non Profit organisation AMANDLA Ku Lutsha promotes holistic
development through educational sport programmes for Cape Town’s most
disadvantaged children.

On the 1st of May the youth, representing different ages and communities around Cape
Town, will participate in a 5- a-side football tournament as well as life-skills education
workshops about health and crime prevention. The aim of the event is to use football as a
medium to develop and motivate youth at risk to strive toward adopting healthy lifestyles and
create a better future. After the children and youth tournament, the adults will play throughout
the night until 9am the next morning. This is to promote the Crime Prevention League, which
runs on Friday and Saturday evenings from 18h00 to 00h00, aiming to keep people out of
Shebeens and playing soccer to target the high weekend crime rates in Site B Khayelitsha.
The event will take place at the Chris Campbell Memorial field in Khayelitsha.
The marathon event will include footballers from all over Cape Town in the hope of sending a
positive message to the local communities promoting crime awareness and drug-prevention
projects. With the event looking to include over 86 teams and over 1500 participants, the
Chris Campbell Memorial Field promises to provide a 24 hour event to remember and remind
South Africans of the power of football and how it can help produce change both on and off
the field.

About Amandla
Since 2007 Amandla has rolled out their life-skill, leadership and sport programmes for thousands of
children growing up in residential childcare facilities. In cooperation with the CTC Ten Foundation,
the Chris Campbell Memorial Field in Khayelitsha was created to engage the surrounding township in
educational and developmental activities with a focus on generating a positive community spirit and
improving the quality of everyday life. In further news Amandla Ku Lutsha is excited to announce,
that it operates from now on under the umbrella of the international Non-Profit Organisation
AMANDLA EduFootball, which functions as its fundraising body. Find more information on
AMANDLA under: www.amandlakulutsha.org

Setting the Infrastructure

Hello to everyone!  I apologize that I have been so tardy in my posting of blogs.  Unfortunately I haven’t had as much time anymore to actually sit and explain in great detail of what is happening down here.  It’s a good thing in many ways because we are getting a lot of things accomplished and moving very quickly with others!  I want to take a little time for me to explain some things as we go forward coming up to the World Cup.

Clubhouse Construction

We are thrilled that the Chris Campbell Memorial Field was completed and been in use for more than a year.  Now, we are happy to report that the construction of the Clubhouse is almost complete!  We will have the official opening of the Clubhouse on June 11, which is the same day the World Cup kicks-off.   The Campbell Family and other members of CTC Ten will be present for this momentous occasion as the local community celebrates South African style.  We are very excited to use this new building to host our life skill workshops and educational training sessions for the local Khayelitsha community.   For pictures, check out my Flickr page on www.flickr.com/photos/46837986@N05/!  

Operations

“The CTC Ten Foundation and the Non-Profit Organisation Amandla Ku Lutsha have begun the process of establishing a strategic partnership agreement formally naming Amandla Ku Lutsha as the Official Managing Partner of the Chris Campbell Memorial Field”.

Ryan and CTC Ten continue to oversee and fund the programming at the Field.  However, the partnership with Amandla puts the Field one step closer to self-sustainability, being run under a SA Based Non-Profit Organisation with the majority of staff being South Africans.  Additionally, we are proud to announce the hiring of three Program Coordinators who are Khayelithsa residents and have been volunteering at the Field for over a year.   

Asanda Mkiva – Program Coordinator
Programs Involved In: Heads Up Program, Crime Prevention League, and Boys Primary School League

Sakhele “Serge” Tima – Program Coordinator
Programs Involved In: Girls Life Skill Program, Girls Coaching Clinics, Crime Prevention League

Simphiwe “Ace” Khala – Program Coordinator
Programs Involved In: Heads Up Program, Crime Prevention League, Boys Primary School League Program

We are very excited to work with these three gentleman as they have proven their love and dedication for their community and work,  and helping CTC Ten and Amandla to be successful!  

Current Programs at the Field

Heads UP
The Heads Up Programme aims to offer the youth an opportunity to play 5-aside soccer combined with life skills and school support.  Also, where possible, we will take youth out of Khayelitsha on outings to soccer matches.

The programmes run twice a week and involve drug and alcohol awareness, HIV/AIDS education, career guidance, school support, self esteem development and community outreach.  The programme is run in partnership with the Homestead Projects for Street Children, which enables us to do home visits for youth in need.  This is to help address the high dropout rate in schools in Khayelitsha and to help prevent youth from ending up on street corners.

Crime Prevention League
The CPL is one of our primary programs at the Field targeting the goal of reducing crime and the amount of youth sitting on street corners.  Engaging youth in a constructive and educational environment, encouraging them to act in a more positive behavior and help to improve their local community.

Played every Saturday night between 6pm and Midnight to target young males 16-25.  The time was chosen specifically to alter the behavior of youth in Khayelitsha to give them a positive alternative to drugs, alcohol, and crime.  Instead of frequenting local bars, league participants will now be engaged in a soccer league that will allow them to better their skills in a fun and positive atmosphere.

Just ask SONY FEVACASTER Faghrie, what he thought in this video!
www.sony.com/football/player/?id=77464436001#/player/.
/>
Girls Program
We have been developing our Girls Program for the past year and have had the pleasure of seeing girls become more and more excited about soccer over the past year.  We now have over 30 girls at the Field twice a week for coaching clinics and the Primary School Girls League for Khayelitsha Site B, which is run in partnership with Soccer 4 Hope.

With the work of Sakhele Tima, we have been able to facilitate 9 girls applying for the Presidents Award which is one of the highest awards for Youth Empowerment that a child can receive in SA.  See (http://www.presidentsaward.co.za/new/index.php?p=23)

Boys Primary School League Program
We have just begun our first year hosting the Boys Primary School League for Site B, Khayelitsha.  The first fixture featured Ikhusi Primary School, the home team favorite beating Injongo Primary School in a thrilling 2-1 battle.  Teams entered the field in Champions League form, posing for the cameras as they lined up to play.  Fair play and discipline were stressed to all participants as they shook hands before the game.  Contact has also been made with the Western Cape Department of Sport as we look to partner with them on the league.  



All of these programs are under the direction of Ryan McGonigle and can be identified as the CTC Ten Program, a program under the auspice of Amandla Ku Lutsha.  The field is currently being used up to 82 hours a week.  In addition to our programs, the Local Football Association uses the field on the weekends for all of its boys and girls Under 15 games.  The Western Cape Field Hockey Clinics run on Mondays and Khayelitsha Frisbee practices on Wednesdays.  With the constant inundation of children and youth development programmes, it is fair to estimate that there are over 2,000 youth using the field on a weekly basis.  I would like to thank all of our supporters who have helped us get to where we are today.  I am very excited about the relationships we have made thus far and the potential partnerships still awaiting us over here in the effort to provide a better community through the interaction of youth and sport.

Thank you for your support and interest.  Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.
 

Sakhele Tima using soccer to educate participants on the importance of team work and discipline...

Cape Town, South Africa, March 21, 2010 – In honor of Human Right’s Day, CTC
Ten hosted a responsibility-themed event at the Chris Campbell Memorial Field
in Site B, Khayelitsha. The Human “Responsibility” Day programme took place on
Sunday March 21st and ran from 09h00 to 16h00 at the Field adjacent to the Ikhusi
Primary School. The programme engaged 160 children between the ages of 14 and 16
years.




Simphiwe Kala facilitating a "Responsibilities" workshop for participants!

Rather than solely focusing on the rights of the South African youth, the event
concentrated on educating the children about the responsibilities that are associated with
those rights. The activities addressed issues specific to the youth of Khayelitsha such as
drug and alcohol abuse, education, freedom of expression and equal opportunity. The
schedule consisted of a combination of soccer matches, crossover “responsibility”
sessions, community outreach service activities and responsibility workshops. The
crossover sessions used soccer analogies and demonstrations as a fun and effective
way to educate the participants. In addition the responsibility workshops will give the
children a chance to engage in dramas and role-play surrounding the issues of the day.



Kids participating in their community service projects!   


Furthermore the community service projects gave the children the opportunity to give
back to their local community and play their own small role in the improvement of
Khayelitsha.

We experienced an incredibly successful day as kids enjoyed participating in the workshops and service projects.   Thanks again for all of your support! Check out my pictures on Flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/46837986@N05/) to see more on the event!

This Blog was written by CTC Ten Intern Amy Cawley

Let the Programs Begin!!!

         There is only one possible word that can describe what I have been working on for the past 3 months and that word is; SUSTAINABILITY.  Countless hours have been spent trying to figure out the answer to the question; How can we possibly make this Field and all of its programs sustainable?  If you come up with an idea for a program, that’s GREAT! But how is it sustainable?  If you get a big donation of soccer balls or boots, FANTASTIC! But how are you going to be able to make sure community participants appreciate it and not destroy it in the first few weeks?  It’s great that I get to coach a soccer team for the local children’s home but really whats the point unless I am helping facilitate a change in their every day lives that will help them down the road?
In my experience here, a lot of the hard work, dedication and time put in by non-profit organizations in the NGO hub that is Cape Town, often serves as a mere band-aid for the everyday problems and issues that plague this country.  This is why it often feels like every one-step forward is followed by taking 2 to 3 steps back.  Blame really cannot be put on any specific group.  With memories of the apartheid just around the corner it has become natural for many tourists, non-profit organisations and local businesses to give donations and handouts to the local impoverished townships. SO, where does that leave me and why shouldn’t I just give up volunteering right now and say, forget wasting my time on such a seemingly uphill battle!?

         For me, the reason is pretty simple, and it all revolves around what Leo said to me early on how “there will be many rocks in the road we are on, our success will be determined by how we cope with these rocks and get past them”.  Last year was FILLED WITH ROCKS!  I spent a lot of time last year trying to understand Khayelitsha; the schools, the local businesses, and most of all the youth.  There were many times when I felt like I was moving more backwards than forwards.  I have even come up with a number of expressions to describe some of the things that I’ve learned such as, “Khaya Karma”, Township Games, and the “End of the Month Curse”.  To lay out examples for what all of these things mean would probably only discourage you as the reader and take away from what I am really trying to get at in this blog.  Yes, Khayelitsha is a tough place.  Yes, it is extremely dangerous.  And, yes, alcohol and drugs play an extremely serious and deadly role in the everyday lives of youth.  But, as cliché as it sounds, it’s all about picking your battles and recognizing the small victories that keeps me coming back and feeling like I am truly making a powerful impact here.  These small battles, these small behavioral changes that you see happening in the people around you…these are the things that I look for in my every day work.  In a township where 80% of people are unemployed, it is very easy for the local youth to get blinded by quick jobs or fast cash opportunities.  Yet, throughout last year, I worked with 12 local youth whom I had been told were complete tsotsis/thugs by local township elders and they volunteered for the entire year without me having to pay them a single rand for their services.  Clearly this statements begs for the question, how is this possible?  I think for me it was/is all about showing people their true potential and constantly encouraging individuals that they are capable and that they have what it takes to do the right thing and change the perspectives of doubters and pessimists.  A good buddy of mine from GRS always used the phrase “You Got This!” and as silly as it sounds, it always put a smile on my face and made me feel more confident in what I was doing.  Working with these 12 individuals last year, I feel like “You Got This” was the theme of my every day dealings with the group.  Living in an area with such high levels of unemployment; rejection, disappointment and frustration play a heavy role in the minds of youth.  It seems almost like youth are EXPECTED TO FAIL, and expected to disappoint, in a township where the word “initiative” does not exist in the native language.  This brings me full circle back to my original question; how can we possibly make this Field and all of its programs sustainable?

         It was just last year when I first met the 12 guys that eventually established themselves as the Ambitious Youth of Khayelitsha.  At the early stages, I was more concerned with how many guys I would have show up sober to meetings rather than what was actually getting discussed at meetings.  Now, although I am no longer working intensively with them as of 2010 because I have decided to focus more on the field programs, they have progressed to running the business that is now known as AYK Tours.  Linked with local tourism operators, they are involved with professional tours which bring outsiders to the newly created Green Point Stadium, Athlone Stadium, and then to the Chris Campbell Memorial Field as the final stop for the “Soccer and Service Tour”.  I used to show up to meetings with the 12 of them and not one person would say anything for fear of rejection or judgment by their peers.  These guys who I had once struggled with to be sober for more than 3 days a week are now driven to run this tourism company on their own and hoping to continue to create community development programs as part of their community social responsibility.  Although they still have their own issues that they are sorting out every now and then, tourists are continually blown away as they hear how far these guys have come and how passionate they are about serving the community.

    I thought it was necessary to provide that example before getting into what this past 3 months have been dedicated to.  Like I said previously, I have moved away from the AYK as an “intensive consultant” and have decided to focus more on strengthening the sustainability of the field before I have to return back to the US.  This drive for sustainability has made me realize a few things about the “band-aids” that are often used to patch problems in the township.  It’s ok for you to try and explain to someone how to operate a soccer league or how to handle a particular conflict.  But how are you supposed to reach someone when they have so much hidden emotional baggage?  The concept of sustainability is often reinforced with the idea of empowering individuals with the tools to perform a task that they otherwise may not have been able to do.  I strongly believe in this idea of empowerment but like with many things in life, it is often better to listen first before you speak.  It is a very difficult thing to try and motivate people to work or put constant effort into something if they don’t respect you or think that you are using them as a means to an end.  The key to empowerment is to first understand how an individual views their present situation and their potential for future success.  It is then up to you to figure out how you can show that individual how they may be able to reach that success.  Before you can even start to try and teach an individual a skill, it’s important to first deal with the past emotional baggage.  Last year, we spent a LOT of time working with individuals’ emotional baggage in an attempt to understand the youth and also allow them to realize that although they have seen difficult times, the future is bright and it is up to each individual to live each day with a purpose in mind. 

    I include myself in this as I had to deal with a lot of “emotional baggage” as well.  I was never the brightest student, nor did I ever really apply myself as well as I should have in college.  Classmates that knew me would probably say that you could most often find me just chillin out with some friends or being active playing with some buddies in some kind of competitive “athletic” activity.  Academics were just not the highest priority for me as I often (naively) struggled to see how certain studies would help me at that point in my life.  For me, last year, I struggled a lot to see my potential as I constantly doubted my abilities to play the important role that I was expected to have here in South Africa.  However, over time I realized that one thing that I believe I am particularly ok at was caring about people and really trying to understand what makes people tick and most importantly, what makes them happy.  Applying this to my daily work has truly helped me in my work at the field.  From the very start I made my motives known, that my desire was to work myself out of a job and that it was my goal for the local community and my local friends/associates to be capable of taking over the daily running of the field.  It is with this idea that we approached this year’s program planning.

      After having gained the respect and engaging in a mutual understanding with 4 of the previous members of the AYK, we spent the last 3 months planning this year’s programs.  You may think that 3 months is way too much time or maybe we were slacking off and it should have been done faster but after seeing what I saw this past Friday, I think we are doing just fine.  We (Leo and myself) spent time going into detail with the guys how each program would run and each individuals’ roles and responsibilities.  Through this, we have planned over 12 events and anticipate the field being used over 84 hours a week reaching an estimated 2000 youth per week.  These 4 guys make up the CTC Ten Program Team and are currently committed to working over 40 hours a week per person.  This is all done with a strong hope that they will somehow be able to do a good enough job to warrant them receiving potential stipends so that they may be able to live a better life through serving the community on a daily basis.  Although rocks do sometimes appear in the road, working with these guys has become my passion and I continually try to instill that confidence and drive that they are more than capable to make a huge difference in their community.  I believe that now that we are on the same page, the learning curve is going to increase exponentially. 

    Speaking with the local police and community members that once doubted what we were doing, we are now being told to keep up the good work and help is much easier to come by.  And, it is my belief that once that positive drive is there and is consistently being reinforced locally and focused in the right direction, possibilities are endless.  I watched this past Friday as we had over 175 (25 girls and 150 boys) youth, under 16, participate in our open coaching clinics and over 300 young adults (over 16) engage in our crime prevention program from 6pm-1130pm.  That’s almost 500 people actively avoiding life on the street and engaging in constructive activity where they would have previously been on the local street corners and in local shebeens.  AND this was all without having to distribute ANY PRIZES OF ANY KIND.  Throughout all of our programs, we emphasize the importance of having fun and doing things more for the positive effects it has on one’s lifestyle than for the cash, prizes, or “band-aid” that may be waiting at the end of the day.  Clearly, we still have a number of events with prizes but for us to have almost 500 people engaged at the field without having to “bribe” them with any prizes, I am pretty excited to say the least!  Now I wont lie to you and say that we make a conscious effort to avoid using prizes.  It has a lot more to do with us making do with what we have and trying to use what resources (or lack therof) that are available to the best of our ability.  We are hoping that this year we will obtain a certain level of budget so that we will be able to strengthen are programs with the idea of growing them each year.

     This ability to grow will happen not only with funding but also, with how quickly our Program Team is learning to manage their specific areas of work. Saturday, I watched as the Team went to work organizing a tournament for 28 teams arriving sporadically throughout the beginning of the night.  With a little bit of help, they were able to cope with the stress of new teams showing up every couple of minutes and successfully managed the tournament.  Starting around 7pm, the Team was able to organize 40 5-a-side games, with the final ending around 1130pm.  Local police stopped in and complemented the Team on the work that was being done at the field, urged us to continue and even offered a police escort for Leo and myself as we left Khayelitsha later that evening.  Now, I am not saying that the tournament ran without a hitch or that by any means we are perfect.  What I am saying is that I am confident that this Team, this family, that has been created over the past year and a half has unbelievable potential and I strongly believe that the foundations for the sustainability of the Chris Campbell Memorial Athletic Facility are getting stronger each day and the big man himself is grinning as he looks down and sees the legacy that is being created in his honor.  This is why I go to work every day and this is why I think that if you continue to follow the field, prepare yourself to be shocked and awed at what is going to happen this year because, “WE GOT THIS!”

David Beckham, FA chairman Lord Triesman and former Leeds captain and South African legend Lucas Radebe visit the Chris Campbell Memorial Field.




Coaching 4 Hope is a UK based NGO focused on the soccer plus model of coaching kids through soccer activities while also adding a life-skill component to their sessions.  Working with Amandla Ku Lutsha’s soccer league, C4H has trained a number of league participants to be coaches capable of leading soccer trainings and life skill workshops with their peers.  Being a UK based charity, C4H receives support from the FA and professional teams such as Charlton Athletic and Hull City.  With England putting a strong bid in for the 2018 World Cup, David Beckham was sent down to participate in the World Cup 2010 Draw in Cape Town.  Linked with the FA, C4H was able to draw Beckham, FA Chairman Lord Triesman, and SA legend Lucas Radebe for an event showcasing the work that C4H is doing in SA and some of their partners that they work with.  The Chris Campbell Memorial Field was decided to be the venue for such the event working with a number of AKL “coaches” that had been trained in the C4H curriculum.

The event that actually took place was a soccer clinic where young leaders demonstrated their "Coaching 4 Hope" soccer/life skill sessions.  The kids used in the clinic were 33 children representing local children homes/orphanages.  Baphamalele Childrens Home, Elukhulsiweni Children's Home and Marsh Memorial Children's Homes were the orphanages/crèches represented at the event. The young leaders ran a coaching clinic with crossover workshops discussing HIV and AIDS and Substance Abuse. Having to deal with certain gender and age differences, the workshops were focused on specific groups to ensure appropriate topics were discussed for each demographic.

The VIPs showed up around 11am to observe the coaching clinics and even play around a bit in some of the sessions.  Around the field, as word seemed to spread through the community, locals began to line the fencing around the field to get a look at Beckham and Radebe.  Reporters could be seen climbing on top of shacks around the field trying to catch a glimpse of the celebrities.  It was an exciting atmosphere to be around as the camera crews followed the celebrities as they played with the kids.  At one point, the cheers for Beckham got so loud that he stopped what he was doing and walked over to the fence raising his hand to acknowledge the countless kids and adults that surrounded the fencing.  



The participants sat down by the center circle for a Q & A with the VIPs.  There were a wide variety of questions asked ranging from as simple as, “Who are you?” directed at FA Chairman Lord Triesman, to “What values have played the most important role in making you into the player and person you are today?” It was great to watch the kids listen intently to the guests discuss concepts such as hard work, dedication, and discipline.  With many of the participants coming from broken homes and tough environments, they hopefully took some of these ideas and will apply them to their every day lives.




The event ended with the kids forming a human-tunnel for the VIPs.  As the kids cheered and sang, the guests walked through slapping high-fives to all the participants.   It was a fantastic event and much thanks go out to Coaching 4 Hope and Amandla Ku Lutsha for the roles they played in organizing and making such an event possible.

Links to international press sites:

World Aids Day 2009
Program:  Youth and Adult Tournament using crossover workshops specifically addressing stigmas around HIV and AIDS.
Objective: Educate local youth on the issues around HIV and the importance of taking the correct steps to avoid getting the virus.
Summary:
World Aids Day is an extremely important day in South Africa with over 33% of the population infected with the HIV virus.  This makes it that much more important for us to use any opportunity we can at the field to educate local youth on how they can avoid getting HIV and clearing up any myths or untruths around the virus.  Run by the Ambitious Youth of Khayelitsha, World Aids Day 2009 was set up to include both a coed youth tournament and a coed adult tournament.  The AYK recruited 16 coed teams from the local community and primary schools for the youth tournament.  Teams gathered together at 9h30 to listen to the British High Counselor Dr. Nicola Brewer give an opening introduction to the day.  The participants intently listened to the Counselor as she discussed her experiences and the importance of education especially around understanding the HIV virus.



Following an enthusiastic “thank you” applause from the teams, participants warmed up and prepared for the start of the tournament.   Half of the teams engaged in their group stages of the tournament while the other half participated in crossover sessions focused on stigma around HIV and run by trained AYK members.  
It was arranged for all participants in the tournament to go through these workshops, switching teams into sessions at the appropriate times.  The workshops included topics such as the importance of avoiding open wounds, talking with parents about issues and disproving myths around the virus and how you can be infected.  
The group stages and workshops finished simultaneously and the teams began the knockout stages of the tournament.  City Stars, representing U-Section (section right next to the field), reigned victorious on the day.  An award ceremony was held as AYK members thanked the participants for attending the workshops and congratulated the City Stars on winning the tournament.



After taking a short lunch break, the AYK prepared for the second part of the day set to start at 2pm with the coed adult tournament.  Teams were recruited from the weekend AYK Crime Prevention League as well as local community members that were interested in playing.  The coed adult tournament ran a bit differently than the youth tournament.  Instead of mixing the workshops with the games, the AYK members brought the teams together before the tournament started and held a workshop for all of the participants.
After the workshop was finished, the teams prepared their starting lineups and the 5-a-side knockout tournament commenced.  All teams were required to use two female players on the pitch at all times as part of the tournament rules.  There was a DJ on site for the tournament and participants could be seen throughout the day cheering on their teammates and dancing to their favorite kwaito beats.  Barcelona, also champion of the AYK Crime Prevention League, took the high honors on the day as they won the adult tournament.  The winning team was given a full kit (uniforms) and medals for their success.  Closing ceremonies went smoothly as AYK members stressed the importance of World Aids Day and the need for community members to play an active roll in preventing the virus through positive life choices.

Special Thanks:
The CTC Ten foundation would like to thank a number of people who were involved in making the tournament a success.
British High Counselor Dr. Nicola Brewer
Ambitious Youth of Khayelitsha – Served as the event staff, referees, and ran the educational workshops
US Passback – Provided the AYK members with uniforms on the day to serve as event staff and also providing the prizes (uniforms) for the adult tournament winners.
Amandla Ku Lutsha – Provided the medals for the winners of both tournaments


Hope you enjoyed the update...will have more coming very soon on the visit from DAVID BECKHAM!