All good things...

Tuesday 23rd March

So yesterday afternoon and evening was all about saying goodbye and relaxing, the conference was over and we hit the beach. So that’s about 100 kids from all over the world and a huge number of volunteers, translators, press etc. We were a force to be reckoned witch. The sun went in (perhaps a little daunted) but that didn’t stop a lot of paddling and burying of people in the sand. As I watched the Ukranian team jumping about in the waves, I wished I’d been there on their first visit to the beach last week. It was the first time they had seen a beach ever and apparently their reaction was amazing. I guess it would have been the same for any Ukranian but even more so for children who don’t live on the streets but literally under the streets in the pipes where it is warm, wow all that open space and endless horizon must be a real sight. And so for the final party, complete with barbecue, DJ and various international hits and a lot of dancing., but not until each team had stood up and presented their Manifesto, saying what they wanted their local communities to do to help Street Children, what they expected of their families and the changes they would make. It was a powerful and moving time, some of those kids spoke so beautifully, whilst others stumbled but all were determined not only to demand change but to make it, promising to continue to fight addictions, telling us that education is the most powerful weapon, explaining how they would take what they had learnt this week and pass it on to their peers. The Ukranian kids even got to speak directly to their Ambassador and Mayor who had turned up to hear what they had to say, pretty amazing when prior to the Street Child World Cup, the Ukranian Government refused to admit they had any Street Children. All of these children want to see a change and they are willing for that change to start with them.

Our final morning sees us hanging out at Umthombo, watching the kids take photos of each other with my camera (and frankly they are much better at it than me). And then off for a surf. One of the kids warns Kieran that we are going to New Pier ‘these waves are for the pros like me’. How long have you been surfing I ask. 3weeks comes the proud reply, the confidence of the young….Actually as I watch the kids this time, I realise, they show little fear in the water laughing and splashing around despite the powerful waves. Maybe, these waves seem a lot safer than so much of what they know and have experienced.

And so we have said our goodbyes to team Nicaragua and everybody else. Kieran is devastated about leaving the Nicaraguans, now that he has realised that he will never see his new friends again. And this is it, all good things come to an end. But it’s not the end is it? What happens now? That’s what you all want to know isn’t it.? What happens to the kids? What happens to those children so full of potential, so desperate to change both themselves and their environments. Well, everyone’s story is different, all the kids are in different places and have come from such different things and return to such different scenarios. However, all are tied into the projects and programmes that brought them to South Africa. Many of the programmes are working where possible to help the children to return home, although this is not always the best option. It depends on the situation. However, some children have ben reunited with their families as a result of this process – as birth certificates have been found and identities discovered. Many of the kids from the Nicaraguan team and the South African team will be returning home in the coming days having worked closely with their families over the past few months to make this possible. And for some it will work out and for others maybe not (not this time anyway) but they will always be tied into Umthombo in South Africa, and Casa Alianza in Nicaragua, a second family who have got their backs and will be there every step of the way. It’s not a perfect happy ending but all of these kids now have an identity and are beginning to distance themselves from street life and all it’s negative effects, they are facing up to their situations and trying to make a change for themselves and others with a lot of help, love and support and not only that, they have just had the time of their lives and so have I...

And the winners are...

Sunday March 21st

What an amazing day (sorry, have a feeling I have said that a few times but every day brings more precious moments.) This morning the kids continued to discuss their situations, looking specifically at the issues of violence – in the home, on the street, from the police…watching and listening to these children is sometimes so hard, they are so brave and bright and matter of fact. And Marcia, 15 year old Marcia, wow you should listen to her, that girl should go into politics, she sees the problem, works out a solution and is so articulate, she’d get my vote anyday.

This afternoon saw the football tournament come to a close, complete with yet more drums, vuvuzelas (stadium horns), zulu dancers, singing and stilt walkers. If the Street Child World Cup is anything to go by the FIFA world cup is going to be one very big, very noisy event. Anyway, on to the winners….I am delighted to announce that the winners were, drum roll plesse…India (yes, that’s right the team that lots of you helped to get there in the first place) , the whole team were delighted and really deserved to win. So a quick thank you to all you lovely people who helped make it happen. If you go to: the link below you can see them play. Yes, they are indeed now famous.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8579974.stm

Anyway, football is all very well but I can’t say I’ll be sorry not to watch anymore for a while, but it’s not over quite yet…

This evening was inspiring and for me a real highlight of the week. An evening that made me laugh, made me cry and filled me with pride for every single one of the kids and lovely Kieran. Tonight was the unveiling of the art exhibition, an art exhibition made up of all the kids work (including one of Kieran’s pieces) over the last week alongside local artists and photographers and it was located in the city museum alongside all sorts of amazing exhibitions and here was the work of children who generally come for pretty humble backgrounds, have had, at best, a less than adequate education and have lived on the streets other exhibitions were opening tonight but ours was definitely the one to be at. The kids ran around looking at their work then Precious (who has lived on the streets of Durban for years) sang so sweetly until there was not a dry eye in the house - well not amongst the adults anyway, then we all sang an African song the kids had been teaching us and there was banging of feet, shouting, singing and dancing – not quite what the museum is used to but one of the most moving and beautiful sights I have ever seen. To be honest the whole thing broke me, and I was not the only one, suddenly all the amazing moments, heart breaking stories and pure magic of this week came together and quite frankly it was clear that we were going to need to go out for a drink…

In the meantime, the exhibition will remain until after the FIFA world cup, a testimony to the potential and talents of each and every child taking part, and every night on the building opposite the museum the articles from the UN convention for the rights of the child will be projected onto it’s walls. Amen.

Let's go surfing now...

This morning, Kieran and I found ourselves walking to the beach with a bunch of great little boys dressed in wetsuits, with surfboards under their arms. Last night all these kids were sleeping on the streets and no doubt many of them were high on glue but for the next few hours they would be clean and they would feel proud as they walked around in their wetsuits and got out in the sea and surfed just like any other kids.

The idea of the surf programme is to take those most addicted to glue and to give them a new addiction. They go to safe space in the morning, hand in their glue and any weapons (nothing like this is allowed in safe space). They are given a nutritious breakfast and then head to the beach, After surfing all morning they head back for lunch and then it’s football afternoon. As far as Umthombo is concerned their role is to keep the kids off the streets and away from street life for as many hours as possible. At the same time they will work with their families to reintegrate them if this is appropriate.

As we walked through the streets - 5 kids and me (Kieran and 4 kids from the surf programme) - I tried to work out my relationship with them. Sandile and Tennyson (the instructors) had had to go somewhere so left me with the kids – was it my job to protect them or were they protecting me? I certainly felt safer wandering around with them than on my own, but I also felt the need to call out to them to be careful as they ran across the road. Kieran was worried as a couple were running ahead but I pointed out that at night they are on the streets and are much more streetwise than any kids we know. But then there was Natile, who needed my help to carry his board and who still sucks his thumb, in my opionion anyone who us young enough to still suck there thumb should never have to sleep on the streets. Mind you, lets face it, no child should ever have to sleep on the streets. When we got to the beach Natile asked me to help him pull up his wetsuit and do up the zip (they only wear them on the legs as they walk to the beach and then pull them up). As we tried to squeeze him into the too small suit, I realised that there was a huge whole in the bottom and he had no pants on and yet he was so proud to be in this suit that made him just the same as all the other kids (and means that the police leave them alone).

Kieran went boogie boarding with the kids whilst I watched these gorgeous, broken boys laughing and shouting, catching waves and wiping out and marvelled at all the positive work that Umthombo are doing.

A few photos from day 1 and 2

A day of highs and lows...

Thursday 18th March

Returning to the school for the final day was amazing. Watching the way the local kids and Nicaraguans interact despite language barriers was a joy as they worked together creating more art for the exhibition, today around the theme of hope for the future. Santiago, has really taken Kieran under his wing and was busy directing their art piece and telling him what to draw and where with a bit of translation and a lot of pointing and gesturing. During the debrief the kids talked about what they had enjoyed and would remember from this experience we heard the words ‘laughter, friendship, communication, feeling special and thank you again and again’. Several of the host kids mentioned that they would remember this all their lives and I think they just might….

The Nicaraguan’s were due to play a match against the school team but were down a couple of players so they asked a very proud Kieran to step in, he looked so little running around that huge field of teenagers but they won 1-nil and I have to say this may be the highlight of his life thus far. It certainly beat hanging out the Blue Peter presenter the day before.

Leaving the school was tricky there was so much love in the air, all the Nicaraguan boys desperately getting us to translate invitations to the South African girls to invite them to the semi finals and then beautiful Kevin was signing ties like some famous footballer (man that kid is going to break some hearts.) Hilarious.

And then the street tour, there were hardly any kids around due to police round ups yesterday and then we went to one of the places they hide from the police. There were four homeless young adults there. One boy Mandale had been helped by the street ambulance a few days ago after being stabbeed he had also been beaten by police a few weeks ago. Eugene went in the ambulance to see him yesterday to remove stitches, I asked what he would have done if it wasn’t for this service and he said he would have removed them himself, the hospitals are not always that welcoming to street kids and homeless people. But then things got uncomfortable. The girl wanted a photo with Kieran, she was high on glue and Kieran just didn’t want to sit with her which she didn’t like, he was understandably nervous of her. She then started getting cross that Umthombo don’t provide shelter or food. forher. Apparently they have tried to help these guys a few times but Umthombo will not let kids dictate everything,, they have to do some things on their terms, be willing to get involved in programmes etc and now they are adults and still out there. A tourist then came up and started an argument with us about street kids, meanwhile the police were loitering around the corner and the girl was blaming us so we left. Not sure whether they were then rounded up or not which makes me uncomfortable. These kids were really adults and if they havn’t been willing to get involved in the past are not so much part of Umthombo’s remit - they tend to try to catch them young and then if they want they are hooked in for life. As Precious told us (she has been involved with the programme since 10 years old and is now 18 but Umthombo just keep working with her because she is willing to let them help on their terms.) I was left feeling like a voyeur and pretty uncomfortable, also feeling unsure about situation I was putting Kieran in. I need to rethink which parts of this experience we take part in, possibly need to stick with the more obviously positive side of the tournament and Umthombo’s work and remember he is only 8 and just a baby even if he is also a very wise little man…….

That said, I know he is getting so much out of this., watching Kieran with ‘our team’ has been a real honour and privilege as they use the language of football to communicate. Time and time again, I find him kicking a ball around with various kids, coaches etc involved in this event and this morning I left him playing table football with Andile the (ex) team Captain of the South African team and watching TV with various kids who had literally just come off the streets for the night. These guys do not make him uncomfortable, perhaps because they are younger, perhaps because they are away from the streets for a time each day. Safe Space is a centre where the kids can hang out all day and take part in programmes such as surfing and football. The idea is to keep the kids away from street life for as much time as possible and give them interests. Unfortunately at night they have to go back to the streets ,whilst safe space struggle with the legal battle that will allow them to provide shelter at night. (hopefully in time for the World Cup) In the meantime, most of the kids sleep under the Umthombo sign just outside the door and a member of staff sleeps inside and if there is any trouble they come out and protect them.

You know what I really love about this tournament? Seeing kids being kids, playing, being sweet and naïve and just like our kids, I still don’t know their stories and that is just fine, they are ‘our team’, kids form Nicaragua who are good at football. And tonight they all got to eat popcorn and watch a film at the cinema. Man you should have seen the popcorn…..

Getting Stuck in.

Wednesday 17th March

Wow, can’t believe we have been here only one day yet have met so many people and done so much.

The day starts at 6:45 when we leave our hotel and head off for the daily briefing meeting at Umthombo. We have been assigned to the Nicaraguan team , a fabulous, welcoming, smily team. Within moments of getting on the bus we were getting to know the coach Julio Cesar (sound familiar?) and the team players. We headed to a local school where the kids got involved in creating liiving sculptures and drawing images of safety. All the kids drew pictures included pictures of home and depicted Casa Alianza the project that works with them. Kieran also participated. As soon as we arrived Milton the Nicaraguan team’s goalkeeper came up and tied a handmade bracelet around Kieran’s wrist.

Next it was footy practise and Kieran was allowed to participate fully which was great, even if his Mum did forget his trainers and he had to play bare foot. Which was kind of weird, a complete role reversal, the street children in full kit and Kieran bare foot. I could see Kieran had been fully accepted as Juan Carlos lifted him onto the bus and all the kids kept high fiving him.

The afternoon was spent watching the tournament, I never thought I could get so excited by football. Something about the fact that I was interested in the kids and in the case of the Nicaraguan team was already getting to know them and care about them and the fact they were down 2 players and had no-one to sub. And the kids? Well there is Marcia who fractured her ankle yesterday against India, Santiago, who has a sprained ankle but still tried to play today due to lack of subs, Victor, so young and excitable and swift to anger, Kevin so beautiful and sweet and who only joined the team 2 weeks ago, Juan Carlos who has a soft spot for Kieran (and indeed one of the girls at the local school - he asked me to translate and invite her to watch him play), Wendy, who has so much pressure on her now that she is the only girl (one girl has to be on the pitch at all times) and I have no doubt each and every one of them has a story to tell.

It’s interesting how you forget that these are children from the streets, they are all dressed in their football kits all day, having fun, getting over excited, competitive, tired and they are no different than any other children their age and then suddenly you are reminded by the odd little thing, as I sat looking at a brochure with Santiago (age 15) and he was pointing at the different teams and saying where they were from and often getting it wrong I suddenly realised he was only looking at the pictures and not the words underneath. At we been sitting in a situation where I was visiting him on the streets or at the project he is in I might have expected that, even presuming he wouldn’t be able to read (even though of course this would be an assumption rather than a fact) but I had completely forgotton. I also found myself thinking that the Ukranian team were very young, they all look so small, but it was pointed out to me that living undergroud as they do, on top of malnutrition tends not to be great for physical development. Finally, when I saw 2 very young South African kids play fighting outside I suddenly realised they were re-enacting stabbing using the plastic cutlery we used and it all just looked a little too realistic and took on a whole other angle.

I have to say football is much improved when there is African drumming going on, suddenly you find yourself tapping your feet and cheering your team and even jumping up when they score – 4 times incidentally. I hear all the spin about how football brings people together, the beautiful game etc.Today I could see the language of football at work and it was indeed a beautiful game (all 3 of them) and who knows maybe I will even watch a bit of that other world cup but for now I am happy with this one…

Reflections at 10, 000 feet (or something like that.)

Tuesday 16th March, 11.45 UK time (no idea what time it is wherever I am)

15 hours into our journey and finally Kieran has given into sleep with a few tears and a tummy ache. Still a long way to go but we will be there by this evening. I am extremely conscious that the tournament is well underway and the adventure has definitely begun for everyone else. (See www.streetchildworldcup.org for official blog.)

I have to say, I could not ask for a better travelling companion, not sure Kieran could say the same of me. I think he despairs of my constant need to check passports, tickets, money, bankcards etc and the occasional minor panic when I can’t find them, not to mention my need to use every toilet we pass – just in case and the limited time we had left to visit the toy shops. However, that said, we have already learnt a few magic tricks, watched a couple of films, read some Karlsson on the roof, played a few games and laughed at a few odd bods and the weird and wonderful bag of toys that Emirates give to the kids – dress your own tiger (in a tiger costume – pull on paws, ears etc and a camel hand puppet - note to self camels do not work as hand puppets unless you stuff the hump, otherwise they look a bit dehydrated, been on a plane to long perhaps.)

As we wandered through Dubai airport, past the vast number of gold shops and jewellery stands, all doing excellent business I might add, I wondered what the street kids would have made of all this as they made their various journeys from far flung places. Airports are such havens for the rich and the privileged, full of people who so often take travel for granted (not always, but often). The majority, if not all, of these kids didn’t have a passport until a few months, weeks, days ago. In fact, many of them didn’t even know their date of birth or their age until this whole process started. Imagine that. If nothing else comes of this (and I say that believing that more than we could ever have imagined is coming from this whole crazy business) a whole bunch of teenagers suddenly have an identity, they are people just like you and me and I am reminded of quote used in the publicity

‘When they see me on the streets they see a street child but when they see me playing football I am a person just like them’ (From one of the South African team members)

Being a trustee of an organisation like the Amos Trust is a real honour, the role of trustee takes on many different forms but occasionally it feels like being a parent, you feel nervous for them as they go out there and doing something new and brave and exciting. And you feel so proud when they pull it off, having heard their dreams in the very beginning and watching them go about the business of making it happen, stumbling from time to time, needing to be pulled in occasionally, sometimes needing to hear words of encouragement when the going gets tough and then just being there to watch their latest project unfold and it will be such an honour to be there and I know that I will be so proud to be involved with the amazing people that have made this happen.

And so I sit here, gazing at my own little, privileged young man as he sleeps soundly. I am full of hope for this trip, wondering how this will change him and shape who he is. Admittedly, hoping he won’t come back too street wise, and I feel a whole host of emotions: nervous, worried, excited but mainly just desperate to get there and meet this very special bunch of young men and women and just get stuck in…

And so to sleep, after a quick photo of my sleeping beauty

Not long now...

Well, Kieran (my beautiful 8 year old boy) and I head off tomorrow, off to Durban, where it is hot, hot, hot. A city preparing for the FIFA World Cup but already in the throws of it’s very own, very special, Street Child Wold Cup. The last of 9 teams of Street Children from all over the world arrives today and tomorrow the tournament begins. And we will join everyone on Tuesday, after 20 hours of travel.

Still to do: pack, learn Spanish (we are helping out with the Nicaraguan team), find camera, set up blog, get everything ready for the children we leave behind as they head off on their own adventure with Nana and Bampa, and another one hundred and one little things on my ever increasing to do list.

I can’t believe we are really going, that it is really happening, this mad, crazy dream, started by the Amos Trust (www,amostrust.org) a small charity that always did punch above it’s weight, but this time they are dancing all over the heavyweights. The inaugral Street Child World Cup, noticed and backed by the likes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Gordon Brown and numerous footballers including Beckham. Bringing together street kids from Brazil, Tanzania, Philippines, Ukraine, India, UK, Vietnam, Nicaragua and, of course, South Africa. Beacause that’s where it began, we just wanted to protect the kids on the streets in Durban during the world cup and now hear we are giving a voice to street children the world over (from small seeds…). This really is going to be life changing for so many people including Kieran and myself.

And so to pack……

Not long now...

Well, Kieran (my beautiful 8 year old boy) and I head off tomorrow, off to Durban, where it is hot, hot, hot. A city preparing for the FIFA World Cup but already in the throws of it’s very own, very special, Street Child Wold Cup. The last of 9 teams of Street Children from all over the world arrives today and tomorrow the tournament begins. And we will join everyone on Tuesday, after 20 hours of travel.

Still to do: pack, learn Spanish (we are helping out with the Nicaraguan team), find camera, set up blog, get everything ready for the children we leave behind as they head off on their own adventure with Nana and Bampa, and another one hundred and one little things on my ever increasing to do list.

I can’t believe we are really going, that it is really happening, this mad, crazy dream, started by the Amos Trust (www,amostrust.org) a small charity that always did punch above it’s weight, but this time they are dancing all over the heavyweights. The inaugral Street Child World Cup, noticed and backed by the likes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Gordon Brown and numerous footballers including Beckham. Bringing together street kids from Brazil, Tanzania, Philippines, Ukraine, India, UK, Vietnam, Nicaragua and, of course, South Africa. Beacause that’s where it began, we just wanted to protect the kids on the streets in Durban during the world cup and now hear we are giving a voice to street children the world over (from small seeds…). This really is going to be life changing for so many people including Kieran and myself.

And so to pack……