Sithembile updates

Yesterday morning we walked into assembly at Sithembile primary on our way into the office. It was a reminder to my own primary school days at David Livingston and Haig Park primary respectively back in Harare! Led by one of the teachers, all the kids were singing several spiritual songs, all in their own special way, showcasing their voices but betraying a slight lack of tune! The group as a whole sounded good though, and this assembly reminded us that the strike was over (at least for now) after 3 weeks without school I forgot that our office is based in a primary school (see previous post). Schools are back in which means Grassroot Soccer can get back to the Skillz curriculum. When the civil servant strike was declared some interventions were ongoing and others were about to begin. Needless to say, this proved to be a major disruption to our work (needless to say, I am fully supportive of better conditions for professionals such as teachers).

This week, our team will be exploring different ways they can re-engage with the schools. This is tricky as schools are making use of after-school time to catch kids up, since exams are on the way. The strike has forced the team to get creative and coaches had been deployed to a juvenile prison and a couple of orphanages, where the strike wasn’t necessarily affecting the kids (and if it did we wouldn’t be embroiled in the politics of it). I hope to provide more details on what we come up with in the coming weeks.

Newsletter on the way!

Meanwhile, starting at the end of this month I will be producing a newsletter that will be available to family, friends, supporters, donors and anyone else interested in receiving it. I will be using it as an active way to summarize my time here on a monthly basis, a means of communication with all who have supported me and another creative way to solicit funds for the remainder of my internship. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter please email me at tchitongo@grassrootsoccer.org. The newsletter is all I will send you, and I am open to suggestions and tips as always.

All the very best! Happy Tuesday.