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!

TEAM SIMUNYE (Xhosa for "We are one") - AYK CRIME PREVENTION LEAGUE


I have been back in Cape Town for about 3 weeks now and have just now found the time to sit down and update you on how things are going with the Project!  Things are moving so fast! 

I would like to formally announce our new intern, Amy Cawley (picture above), who has been here since August, working with Grassroot Soccer's Programs Team, helping develop the FIFA Football For Hope Center in Harare, Khayelitsha.  In addition to working as a Grassroot Soccer Field Intern, she will work with Amandla Ku Lutsha and myself in the creation of future community development programs at the Chris Campbell Memorial Field.
  
As most of you know, I was home for a few months networking with local organizations at home and catching up on some family time.  While I was home, I had the great opportunity of delivering presentations to a number of people, informing them on the progress/status of the Project.  I wanted to give you all an update on the progress of the project, highlighting past events and updating you on the progress of current programs.

Just to highlight some things to see how far we have come with things. Here is a bit of a timeline of our project.

Franklin and Marshall Men’s Soccer Team decide to make a “Soccer and Service” Trip to South Africa.
The CTC Ten Foundation was created in Fall 2007
January 2008 The Campbell family, with the guidance of Amandla Ku Lutsha, decide on the Ikhusi Primary School as the site for the Chris Campbell Memorial Field
August 31st, 2008 Ryan McGonigle goes over to SA as an Intern with NGO Grassroot Soccer
September 25, 2008 - Field Construction Begins
December 4th 2009 - Construction Finished
January 1st 2009 - Ambitious Youth of Khayelitsha Created
January 23rd 2009 - Chris Campbell Memorial Field Opening
February 17-18th 2009 - Grassroot Soccer Uses field for TOMC (Training of Master Coaches) involving coaches from all over Africa (Zambia, Namibia, SA, Zimbabwe)
February 21st 2009 - AYK Begins Crime Prevention 5-a-side League
February 25th 2009 – Grassroot Soccer/F-MARC (FIFA-Medical Assessment and Research Center) use the field to evaluate efficiency of using football to promote health concept
February 28th 2009 – Khayelitsha Local Futbol Association (LFA) begin using field for Under 12-14 Boys and Girls Club Soccer Games
March 6th 2009 – Grassroot Soccer/Nike Demonstration
April 6-10th 2009 - Grassroot Soccer Holiday Programs
April 6-10th 2009 – Amandla Ku Lutsha/Coaching For Hope Coaching Clinics
April 14th 2009 – Western Province Field Hockey begins weekly use of the field Tuesdays and Thursdays
May 1st 2009 - Amandla Ku Lutsha/AYK 24 Hour Tournament (Sponsored by United Nations Office on Drug and Crime)
May 13th 2009 – AJAX Cape Town begins running weekly HOTSPOT Clinics on Field
June 6-7th 2009 - Ambitious Youth of Khayelitsha League Tournament
June 13th 2009 - Sonke Gender Justice/Amandla Ku Lutsha One Man Can Tournament (Educational tournament with gender-based violence/xenophobia workshops for men)
June 16th 2009 - Amandla Ku Lutsha/AYK Youth Day Co-Ed Tournaments (Reaching out to Under 11 and Under 13 year olds)
July 7-10th 2009 Amandla Ku Lutsha/Coaching For Hope/AYK Amajitas Against Violence Tournament (Co-ed educational tournament with violence prevention workshops)
July 14-17th 2009 –Soccer 4 Hope Life-Skill Holiday Camp
July 31st 2009 – Women’s Open 5-a-side begins weekly 3-5pm on Fridays
August 9th 2009 – Amandla Ku Lutsha/Grassroot Soccer Women’s Day Event
September 24th 2009 – AYK Heritage Day Women’s Tournament
October 24th 2009 – Western Province Hockey Event


WOW!  When I started trying to make this timeline, I never realized how much has actually happened over the past year!  The success of our project can greatly be attributed to the hard work and dedication of all those involved, from the initial donors of the project to the Ambitious Youth of Khayelitsha.  

For those that our unfamiliar with the project or are just now tuning into this Blog, I will explain more about the details of the project and how things are run on the ground.  The CTC Ten Foundation along with Franklin and Marshall College and various other donors are responsible for helping to fund the creation of Chris Campbell Memorial Field in memory of Christopher Thomas Campbell.

Amandla Ku Lutsha (Xhosa for “Give Strength to Youth) had applied to for the creation of a turf field in Khayelitsha to help them run their soccer leagues focused on helping young children in disadvantaged communities in Africa.   With the goals of both organizations falling along the same lines the CTC Ten Foundation has partnered with Amandla Ku Lutsha as the on-the-ground Managing Partner of the Chris Campbell Memorial Field.   

Ryan McGonigle, Franklin and Marshall Graduate 08’ went to South Africa as a “Field
Intern” under Grassroot Soccer with the goal of facilitating the construction and development of the field while using GRS as a resource to provide a life-skill base.   Working directly with Leo Reid and Florian Zech of Amandla Ku Lutsha, the field has developed into a thriving community center.  
In order to ensure the community embraces the field, a Field Management Committee has been established, meeting monthly to discuss past and upcoming events and programs at the field.  This committee consists of representatives from the local ward, school, and community, as well as the head of the Local Futbol Association, Ambitious Youth of Khayelitsha, Leo Reid of Amandla Ku Lutsha, and myself.  This committee has played a large part in reducing the problems that may have otherwise occurred around the field.  In addition to managing the Field, the goal of the committee is to ensure the community is aware of and has the appropriate input into the daily programs on the field.

Throughout this past year, we have experienced tremendous success working with the community.  The Chris Campbell Field has hosted a number of field hockey, rugby, and soccer events as well as facilitated the work of local NGO’s such as Coaching For Hope, Soccer 4 Hope, loveLive, Grassroot Soccer, Sonke Gender Justice, and Amandla Ku Lutsha, to name a few.  The Field has also been featured in numerous media outlets including CNN, BBC, ESPN, eTV, The Cape Times, Cape Argus, The Big Issue Magazine, lovePSL, and Vuvuzela Magazine.  So much has happened over the past year and we are currently in the planning stages for what programs we are looking to have for next year.   
Here is a current status update on how some of the programs are going around the field.

The Local Futbol Association will finish up their league in the upcoming month as the December holidays are coming up.  The LFA is the governing body of “club” soccer in the Khayelitsha and is tied directly into SAFA (South Africa Futbol Association)  They have used the field on a weekly basis since February involving over 500 boy and girl participants each Saturday and Sunday from 8am-5pm.  

Western Province Field Hockey just hosted their end of year event at the Field as boys and girls continue to come out on Tuesday and Thursday nights to participate in our hockey program.

AJAX Cape Town has finished with their HOTSPOT CLINICS until next year.  We are looking forward to next years HOTSPOTS and partnering with them on future events at the Chris Campbell Memorial Field.


THE AMBITIOUS YOUTH OF KHAYELITSHA!

“Using our passion for soccer and love for our community to create a financially stable business focused on alleviating crime and alcohol abuse in Khayelitsha.”

The Ambitious Youth of Khayelitsha (AYK) are a group of 12 young men between the ages of 20 and 28 who grew up together in Khayelitsha. After leaving school they struggled to further their studies or find a sustainable income. In 2008 while sitting outside a Medical Knowledge Institute in their area they were invited to partake in a workshop on HIV by the facilitator. On completion of the course they realised that with innovation they could become more responsible for their livelihoods by looking at creative ways of creating an income and developing their community. For many years while playing soccer on street corners they would see tourists pass by on busses and found it strange that these tourists never engaged more interactively with local people including themselves. The idea was born to create a platform for tourists to interact with the community in a way that is fun and expose them to township experiences that are authentic.  The AYK work in direct consultation with Amandla ku Lutsha and myself as we are looking to help them develop into a self-sustainable organization around their tourism program and community development initiatives.

The Ambitious Youth of Khayelitsha Crime Prevention League has continued on its third leg of the season and will finish up with an end of season event on the 21st of November.  Running on Friday and Saturday nights from 6pm-Midnight, the league has seen a considerable amount of success, which can primarily be attributed to the community embracing the use of soccer as a crime prevention tool.  The league is currently managed by a committee, which includes representatives from each team in the league who work together to ensure the league is run diplomatically and encouraging consistent participation from the teams.  The AYK have done well to run the league in a fashion that they have encouraged feedback and participation from local teams so as to improve the management of the league.  Although in the end, the AYK is responsible for the league, it is important that the teams and local community have a significant input so that more teams will join and embrace the concept of a Crime Prevention League, bringing youth out of the shebeens and off of the local street corners.

AYK Tours is the formal business title for the tourism service provided by the Ambitious Youth of Khayelitsha.  The AYK Tours will develop a sustainable income from the tour operation that will create jobs and provide an income for its members.  This experience offers guests the opportunity to play soccer with the locals and takes them on a short walking tour of their area. The tour happens after the fun filled games and members of AYK take guests to significant sites in their area that allows them to interact with locals. Guests also have the opportunity to drink African beer, taste local foods and play games at the local game shop. The tour gives guests insight into education, housing and health and how it is experienced by the youth of Khayelitsha. The tour ends with a personal touch as guests visit the house of one of the members of AYK.


In partnership with local NGO’s, the AYK have facilitated a number of “Educational Soccer Tournaments”.  These tournaments encourage participants to engage in life-skill/educational workshops in addition to playing in a competitive soccer event.  Instead of a registration fee, participants agree to go through these workshops in order to be eligible to play in the tournament.  Crime prevention, gender-based violence, xenophobia, and basic life skills are some of the topics that have been addressed at these tournaments.  The target age group for these tournaments often changes with the topics that are being discussed and we have found that participants, regardless of their age, are very enthusiastic about attending these workshops.


Upcoming programs at the Chris Campbell Memorial Field
November 14th 2009 – Interactive Sport Youth 5-a-Side Tournament
November 21st 2009 – AYK Crime Prevention End of Year Tournament
November 28th 2009 – AYK “Tour”nament targeting local tourism companies raising awareness for AYK Tours
December 19-20th 2009 – Freeway Football Khayelitsha Cup 5-a-Side Tournament

Potential Future Programs to look out for:
Girls Primary School League
Boys Primary School League
Father-son and Father-daughter Tournaments
Community Development Workshops


The CLUBHOUSE CONSTRUCTION begins November 2nd 2009 and is looking to be completed by December 18th, 2009.

The creation of the Clubhouse will enable us to enhance our educational tournaments as well as develop potential tutoring programs for the local community.  We will use the clubhouse to serve as an informational center for the local community where the youth can receive tutoring and easily access life-skill programs facilitated by local NGO’s.
Additionally, we hope to be able to facilitate the use of international students to help create and develop numerous educational programs that will reach out to the local youth.

If you would like to follow the progress of things at the field, please continue to check out our website CampbellCenter.ning.com or follow us on Twitter under the name “SoccerAfrica” or "CTCTenPrograms".

Hope you are all doing well and I will try to keep monthly updates coming! Please respond with comments or suggestions so I can give better updates in the coming months!

Hey Everyone,

I am currently in the USA right now working on some fundraising and development of some of our programs at the field.  Feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions on the project.  I will be returning to SA September 25th for another year of work.

Email RMcGonigle.CTCTen@GMAIL.com
Phone: 610 908 5706

The Ambitious Youth of Khayelitsha are looking to start a tourism company and would like to hear what you would want to see if you were to come on a township tour! Please help them do their market research by completing and submitting the form below. Thank you!

Here's a quick update on some of the most recent programs which have happened at the field.

One Man Can Tournament – June 13th 2009
Sonke Gender Justice in partnership with Amandla Ku Lutsha and the assistance of the Ambitious Youth of Khayelitsha ran the One Man Can Tournament at the Chris Campbell Memorial Field. In order to play in the tournament, all teams had to commit to attending 3 sessions from the One Man Can Campaign. The campaign promotes the idea that each one of us has a role to play, that each one of us can create a better, more equitable and more just world. At the same time, the campaign encourages men to work together with other men and with women to take action - to build a movement, to demand justice, to claim our rights and to change the world.
The goal of the event was to engage 160 young men from Khayelitsha in workshops raising awareness on gender based violence and equipping them to change and empower their local community.
The tournament kicked off with a 7 a-side game featuring the 2010 World Cup Ambassadors and the Ambitious Youth of Khayelitsha.  Following the celebrity game, teams loaded onto the field and the DJ flicked on the local kwaito beats to begin the One Man Can Tournament.  We arranged the use of one of the Ikhusi School classrooms for Sonke to do the workshops.  Using all four of the 5-a-side fields, we organized the tournament in a way that while 8 teams were playing, the other 8 were in the Sonke workshops.  These teams rotated through the workshops as the day went on discussing gender-based violence, xenophobia and a number of other issues that continue to cause problems in the local communities. 
Also featured was a solid dancing performance from some of the local children!  A few of the AYK members gathered the local kids that were running around on the field and got them together to perform dance circles where each child took his turn at showing off his own dance moves.   These skills were again showcased at the half-time of the final game as 30 kids grouped together dance in unison to one of the local kwaito beats that the DJ was playing (this may have been my favorite part of the day).
The event ran all day finishing around 5pm with an awards ceremony where Sonke handed out trophies to the winning team and all teams were given certificates for their participation in the tournament.  Attendance on the day was estimated to being about 500 people throughout the day, with over 160 of the men at the event going through the One Man Can workshops.




Amandla Ku Lutsha Men/Women’s Tournament
With the assistance of the Ambitious Youth of Khayelitsha, a 5-a-Side Coed Tournament was run at the Chris Campbell Memorial Field.  Teams were required to have at least 2 girls on the field at all times in order to play.  The tournament primarily featured teams from the AYK Crime Prevention league.   Although many of the teams had originally argued that it would be impossible to get girls to play, we somehow managed 24 teams playing in the tournament.  Running from 6pm-11pm, throughout the night, the field was covered with men and women playing or actively supporting the teams in the tournament.  Attendance was estimated at 350 people on the evening.  In addition to allowing the young adults in the community an alternative to typical nightlife, this tournament was meant to jumpstart our women’s programs at the field.  We are looking to start a Women’s league directed at women from age 16-30years on July 6th 2009. 

Youth Day Celebration Tournament
Here is some local background information on Youth Day.
“In 1975 protests started in African schools after a directive from the previous Bantu Education Department that Afrikaans had to be used on an equal basis with English as a language of instruction in secondary schools. The issue however, was not so much the Afrikaans as the whole system of Bantu education which was characterised by separate schools and universities, poor facilities, overcrowded classrooms and inadequately trained teachers. On 16 June 1976 more than 20 000 pupils from Soweto began a protest march. In the wake of clashes with the police, and the violence that ensued during the next few weeks, approximately 700 hundred people, many of them youths, were killed and property destroyed. Youth Day commemorates these events.”
In order to involve all of the local youth celebrating such an incredible day in SA history, we decided to host 2 coed soccer tournaments.  Similar to the men and women’s tournament the previous night, each team was required to have 2 girls playing at all times.  The morning tournament saw 22 teams featuring kids at the age of 10 and under.  The second tournament on the day involved teams with kids 13 and under.  The way we ran the tournaments, we tried to allow as many teams as possible to join, using all four 5-a-side fields at once, creating groups, and rotating schedules as best we could.  For the Under 13 tournament, we had 44 TEAMS!!!  The field was absolutely covered with kids…Kwaito (House) Music seemed to spur the kids on through the scattered showers throughout the day and if anything more people came to the event to watch and cheer on the teams.  Our dancers were back again and with even more participants as the AYK spurred on a semi-choreographed routine!  The crowd lined the field for the finals (pictures coming soon) and created quite the atmosphere for the final match.  The finals ended with the crowd emptying on the winners in a glorious celebration!  Both teams shook hands and the trophies were handed out by AYK Youth Development Director Sakhele Tima as he thanked all the teams for coming out, especially the girls for coming and participating in the tournament. 

These types of events at the field are starting to run on a much more regular basis and it is very exciting to see the Ambitious Youth running these events more and more without the help of Leo or myself.  I am very excited for what the future holds for such a special group of guys. 

I will be returning to the USA July 16th for two months.  Throughout that time I will be looking to fundraise enough money to purchase a mini-bus for our Crime Prevention Leagues so that we can reach out to even more communities around the Khayelitsha are so that we can ensure they get to the field and home safely.  This is important as a number of the teams struggle to come or take a chance as they have to walk sometimes over 30minutes to get to and from the field.  With the league often times finishing around 12am, this can be quite a dangerous task.  This is the reason behind our need for the mini-bus.

Alright well hopefully you enjoyed the quick update from the field.  I will try and blog again before I leave but if I don’t please feel free to email me as I will be home July 16th-September 23rd.


If you are looking to book tickets for the World Cup, you can do it now and I would do it sooner rather than later.
Check out this website
http://www.fifa.com/theclub/index.html?redirect=/theclub/myprofile/index.htmx
Basically you create a club profile (totally free) and then you follow the links to where you can purchase tickets for the World Cup.
Once you get on FIFA’s website and add yourself as a member, it’s pretty self-explanatory from there.  One thing of note...for the Confed Cup, it said when I bought the tickets that it would email me a confirmation.  That never happened but I made sure I checked my Visa card to make sure the payments were made.  Just a tip in case they don’t send you a confirmation email.  I am not sure if there is a max on how many tickets you can get.
Best of Luck

With the Confederations Cup coming to South Africa, there has been a lot of press around the field and I wanted to make sure you had a chance to look at some of the things that have and are currently happening at the field.

In addition to this article by the BBC, FIFA is apparently showing the field on the big screen at the Confederation Cup Games as a part of their film before the game begins.


24 Hour Tournament - Football 365

24 Hour Follow up Article

FIFA FMARC Program runs at the Chris Campbell Memorial Field

Quick update from the Chris Campbell Memorial Field

-We now have a girls league running every Wednesday with the help of Soccer 4 Hope
-Grassroot Soccer’s Skillz Curriculum DVD Filmed at the Field
    -DVD will be shipped to over 3,000 GRS Coaches to help them deliver Skillz (GRS HIV/Aids Life-skill Curriculum)
-Amandla Ku Lutsha are currently running boys and girls games at the field on Tuesdays and Thursdays
-Western Province Field Hockey runs Field Hockey training sessions from 5pm-7pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays
-UCT Women’s Soccer Team runs Soccer Clinics for Community Girls on Tuesdays

Ambitious Youth of Khayelitsha
Tourism Program
-Working with SA Sustainable Development Institute to help develop their business model and get their business formalized
Youth Development
-Assisted with Amandla Ku Lutsha and Sonke Gender Justice “One Man Can Tournament”
    -Over 160 Men went through Gender based violence/Xenophobia workshops!
5-a-Side League
-Introduced 6 more teams putting us up to 28 teams in the league
-Now roughly reaching out to 250 Men on Friday and Saturday nights

Field Developments
Clubhouse and “fan stands” are looking to be built by August 1st
Currently working on Netting to keep balls from flying over the fence and hitting local community homes


Personal Development
Amandla Ku Lutsha and the CTC Ten Foundation have agreed to a partnership.  We are currently working on developing our offices in Woodstock, SA (about 5 minutes outside the Central Business District of Cape Town).  
I also just moved into my new apartment with Flo (Co-Founder of Amandla Ku Lutsha) in Seapoint (less than a kilometer from the World Cup Stadium).   I will be living here from now until late August of next year so feel free to VISIT!

Amy Cawley arrives in Cape Town August 3rd to begin her work with Grassroot Soccer and help with Chris Campbell Memorial Field.

Look for a new blog to be coming as soon as possible.  I have lots of updates from the Campbell’s recent visit,  One Man Can Tournament and our Youth Day preparations!!!

If you are interested in sponsoring teams in the Amandla Ku Lutsha League and would like to see how you can get involved Click Here for the Sponsor Booklet.