CUNY Gives Back to Kids of Africa!!!!
8th Day South Africa
This was the hardest day for all of us so far in South Africa. Africa in many ways is a rich nation with resources that can support economies and sustain countries. But there is an epidemic that has spread out to catastrophic proportions that has touched the lives of so many African people. Our tour takes us to Coronation Hospital in Johannesburg and then we will give a clinic to young boys on the campus of Wits College.
It starts off like any morning for us and we are informed that we are going to be buying presents for kids at the hospital that we will be visiting. As we entered the store the shopping baskets were being filled up with things like backpacks, calculators, coloring books, pens, pencils, crayons, water paints, sketching pads, and of course teddy bears. Juan Gomez of CCNY must have tied the store record for the biggest single purchase. His bag was overflowing with backpacks and other school supplies that he was ready to donate to the children.
Bags full, and we are ready to visit Coronation Hospital in a local Johannesburg area. As the bus pulled up, everyone had a heavy heart. We all knew that we are doing something good for the kids of Africa but we also knew that we will see images that can make us uncomfortable and emotional at the same time. We are greeted by hospital personal and given a quick run down on the hospital. We are informed that a lot of the kids are seriously ill and we are told we are going to visit two wards. One will be with older children with ages ranging from three to thirteen years old. The next ward would be for younger children ages of six months to three years. Most of the kids in the hospital are infected with HIV. There is no way around it and as hard as you want to convince yourself that it’s not the fact, statistics don’t lie.
33% of South African’s are infected with HIV. Many of them children and many of them orphaned. The percentage of a child infected with HIV at birth is devastatingly high due to lack of protection on behalf of the parents. It is very unlikely that a child will survive HIV if he/she is born with it. The child will have to go through severe treatments just to be stabilized to a condition where they can function and if they do survive their lives are left to be lived with constant hospital visits and a constant diet of medicine that can allow them to function in the real world.
As we entered the ward kids faces lit up. They were expecting us, and they were definitely expecting the gifts! With every player carrying at least two bags there was plenty of gifts to go around. It took only two minutes and the room was spread out with CUNY players and staff giving out gifts. We weren’t just giving out gifts; many players were playing with children, drawing pictures for them and just having a regular conversation. Everyone could see that kids were just kids for that hour and not patients. They were playing, smiling and asking for more presents. Once again there was plenty to go around. Many of us took pictures with them and the shower of gifts continued. Of course, every kid in the ward would receive backpacks from the players, and every kid had a teddy bear if not multiple teddy bears promptly sitting by their side.
Our next visit was to another ward where we encountered children a lot younger. Some of them had moms next to them so you know they weren’t orphaned. Nevertheless, we all knew that a lot of those parents live in poverty stricken areas of South Africa and are in need of help as well. We provided those children with clothes and more toys. Since the kids were young they would not engage in a conversation but that didn’t stop the players. Many of them stood by the cribs and played with the kids; some put stickers on their bed’s and a few played with their dolls. The visit touched many people, because none of us have been exposed to anything like this but it was an educational experience that we will never forget.
Our next stop was a clinic for children on the campus of Wits College. Our last clinic went so well, so all of were looking forward to this one. This was a clinic for younger children that have played the game before but could definitely use some good advice from our coaching staff and players.
The clinic was started by coach Osborne Carter, who gave the kids several stretching routines. Then all the children broke down in to groups and the clinic was off and running. Once again the coaches stressed the fundamentals to the kids and worked on improving their fitness. You can see many of them were excited about the opportunity to learn something new from coaches across the continent with different philosophies on the game. The last part of the clinic was dedicated to just playing the game. Many of the kids showed great touch on the ball and amazing athletic abilities. Everyone can tell that this was a more polished group of kids then the one we saw in Cape Town, but nevertheless just as enthusiastic and excited about our presence.
After the clinic we wanted to give out t-shirts and balls to some of the players. That’s when something amazing happened. Kids began to sing songs in their native language. Many of them were jumping and clapping and it threw some of us off. Our players got into the act and some started jumping with the kids. It was inspirational to see such a passion and love for the game from these kids. After some pictures and gifts we thought we were done. But they kept on singing and jumping and many of us could not help ourselves but get into the act. Once again Africa is giving us another taste of its culture that we try to take in and bring it back with us to the United States. When Queensborough’s Jhonny Osorio noticed that one of the kids had a ripped pair of soccer shoes, he called him over and told him to wait a moment. When Jhonny came back he gave him his pair of soccer shoes that he decided he wasn’t going to wear. They shared a hug and it was another touching moment on a wonderful day in Africa.
We all wish that this day would not end. We hoped that we can do more for the kids we saw and put more smiles on their faces. With many gifts given out we set out to a quite dinner. A lot of us still talking about the day that passed and many reflecting on the children we met. Another day in Africa, but this one was special for all of us!