Summer is here in Cape Town and it’s been another exciting and interesting week here with the Kids of Kolobe St and the Ticket to Ride Foundation.

After a couple of weeks of planning and one or two false starts, we finally got a few of the girls down to the beach and surfing. Siyanda, Sisanda and Zenya came with myself and Thomas for a surf session at Muizenberg on Monday. We wanted to keep it to just the 5 of us but got hijacked leaving Masi and soon had a few of the boys along for the ride as well. As we were pulling out of Kolobe I heard the excited screams and knew we were busted. ‘TTIIIIIMMMM’… and there was nothing we could do. They held up the car while the rest jumped in the back and that was it. 5 became 15.

In the end it turned out to be a blessing as the boys helped teach the girls the basics as Thomas and I sat back and watched. The good will only lasted so long and soon muscle power was required to keep the boys from stealing the boards as the girls fell off. But soon they learned and busied themselves trying to body surf. The girls fared very well with Siyanda especially taking to the larger waves with no fear and more commitment than the majority of the boys. On returning to Masi we were greeted by an eager crowd wanting to hear how it went, I am sure we’ll have more come next Monday. A big success!

Monday morning also bought the arrival of the promised equipment. Through a local contact I was put in touch with the Umbro agent for South Africa who gave us a good deal on some balls, bibs, whistles, cones and pumps. Up until now we really have had to make do with a couple of balls, sticks and shouting at the top of our lungs. Now we have 10 new balls, 40 cones, a couple of whistles and a couple of pumps. I hoped it would bring some decorum to the training sessions and it has, but further more it has generated a lot of interest among the seniors in the township, which in turn has bought another exciting development,

SAFAA (SA Football Association) runs a league within Masi but criteria for joining is strict; you need at least two Junior and 2 Senior teams. To date we have been a junior club and have had to rely on organising friendlies. However, the recent aquirement of the equipment has bought increased interest and now we are recruiting 2 senior teams in a push to join the league next year. In charge of the senior team is going to be Thobela, a friend of Thomas’, with whom we shared a braai in one of the butchery/braai stands here on Kolobe St. It’s hard to explain just what a butchery/braai stand is, you’ll have to come out here to experience one. But for £3 the three of us ate some of the best meat I’ve had and left stomachs full. On Monday next week we head off to the SAFAA offices in town to see what we can do.

Attached to the blog are a few pics from goings on this week. Yesterday we had a great session at Longbeach with everyone going nuts. It’s been a couple of weeks since we went to the beach and there was a lot of excitement around. The sun was out, the wind dropped and conditions were wonderful as the first real signs of summer shone through. Playing in just a pair of sorts under the sun then a dip in the cool atlantic to cool off. There were smiles all round.

In other news, January is now full with bookings for Volunteer placements and we’re looking at Feb now, so if you are interested contact the office and order one of the new brochure due in the next few days.

Thanks for tuning in,

Till next time

Tim and Thomas

It’s a weekend and I’m blogging. That means there’s no surf, the kids are busy and I’ve got little else to do. But then, it’s been a hectic week or so and a little quiet time presents an opportunity to sift through the photos, reflect on the events of the last 10 days or so and put together a little bit of text to keep those of you who follow our progress here at the Ticket to Ride Foundation up to speed with our goings on.

As I mentioned in the last blog, we have now taken on the girls of Kolobe Street so we are increasingly busy and desperate for helpers. I’ve been on the look out for a netball coach and things are starting to look up with several people stepping forward and offering their services. I also mentioned in the last blog that we’d met Nceba. Nceba has now found us a couple of local netball teams to play, so as soon as we can start training, we can get the girls up and running. It’s an exciting development as it not only means we can occupy another 30 kids from Kolobe, it brings an exciting new angle for volunteers to get involved and generally expands on our little project here. Free time for Thomas and myself is gradually getting eaten away and we are all the happier for it as things continue to move forward at a pleasing rate.

The boys have really stepped up their training this week. Schools are on holiday and with the extra matches now coming courtesy of Nceba, it gives them something more to work towards. One thing we do really lack is goals, so in the week I called an old friend of mine who is good with wood and we set about building up a couple. Mark is an old friend from the UK and I’ve known him since I was about 6. He’s in Cape Town studying for an MBA in business at Cape Tech but was more than happy to take a little time away from the books and help me out. We took a drive into town, sourced some decent looking planks and some good paint for weather-proofing, and built a couple of sturdy looking goal posts. Just how sturdy I am sure we’ll soon find out, but the kids were really pleased and it now allows us to train the goal keepers as before all we had was jumpers and rocks.

Behind the scenes of all this, work has been progressing on the new brochure which looks set to be finished soon. The brochure will be available for download on the site and will also be mailed out once complete. It contains info on our projects and the volunteer placements as well as information on donations.

On the subject of donations, I am heading up to the Umbro offices in Cape Town next week to collect the equipment order we recently placed. Funds for this have been drawn from the moneys raised by TTR Director Linely Lewis who cycled from Lands End to John ‘O Groats, and from TTR Graduate Beth Holland who ran the London Marathon for us. We are off to buy 10 new footballs, cones, whistles and training bibs. At long last it looks like we’ll be able to bring a little more order and professionalism to our training sessions. It’s only a small thing, but it makes a huge difference to the boys. We are hugely grateful to Linley and Beth for their hard work and generosity. Ticket to Ride guarantees that 100% of all funds donated go straight to Thomas and the kids, so if you want to help us from home, in any way you want, please let us know. A little goes a very long way out here so please get in touch.
Thanks for tuning in. Summer is coming down here with long days and bright warm sunshine. Some perfect little waves kicking around too so it’s as good a time as any to get yourself down here.

Thanks for tuning in and catch you again sometime soon,

Tim

It’s been along time in coming but at last here’s the latest from the Foundation.

The reason for the delay is simple. We’ve been busy! With the September TTRide crew in town it was time to test drive some of our volunteer programmes that are opening up here in Cape Town in January. We had 13 riders with us here in Cape Town along with Bevan and Nikki so it gave us plenty of scope for fun.

The crew got involved with every aspect of life as a volunteer with the Ticket to Ride Foundation. On the day of arrival we held a football tournament for kids from across 5 different townships with upwards of 300 children in attendance. We were in sore need of some referees so the guys, fresh off the plane, donned the whistles and got to it. With the obvious language difficulties there were some contentious calls and tense times but all came through unscathed. We also arranged several training sessions on the beach as well as a morning with Thomas and the kids in Masi where we arranged a traditional ‘street game’ and a braai afterwards. For all the riders it was a real eye opener as they were witness to an authentic and unique experience of township living.

In addition to the football we also got the crew involved with the surfing side of what we do. Usually it is just me on my own to coach the kids, but with 13 new faces in town we could up the ante and took 30 kids to Muizenberg for a surf session. It was shambolic but fun and a wonderful occasion for the all to interact and get to know each other. Lots of smiles and lots of fun. Those were the highlights of what has been an energy filled two weeks.

Elsewhere, away from the day-to-day activities we have seen some really exciting developments. We are shortly to take on the girls of Kolobe street and expand our programme significantly, 40 girls! I am not entirely sure how we are going to cope – I have never once coached netball – and I am not sure how we are going to finance it all as we begin to spend our funds, but of late each new challenge has bought with it another new face who has helped us out of a tight spot, so we are full of good faith for the times ahead. So in short, we’re doubling our numbers and in so doing taking on the fairer sex. For Thomas and myself it’s going to be another lesson but we’re amped and ready. Now we need some female volunteers!

On the subject of meeting cool people, this week I’ve been introduced to Nceba. Thomas was at a meeting recently and got talking to Nceba about what we are doing. Nceba does a lot of informal work for local NGO’s and was inspired by what Thomas and I are trying to undertake. He has several friends across the Cape townships doing similar projects to ourselves and so, over the course of the last few days, put us all in touch and now we have our own little fledgling league up and running. Today was the first day so Thomas, Nceba and myself took our boys to Ocean View Township for a series of friendly football games against their kids. It is a rare occasion for the Xosha kids of Masi to mix with the kids of Ocean View so it was a really interesting few hours. Prior to kick off we formed a huge circle and held hands. The aim was to get to know 5 things about your neighbour that you then announced to the rest of the crew. Once this was done, we ran in circles till we all fell in a heap. Then it was time to play. A cool experience. It’s only the start but there was a lot of positivity about the day and we’ll see where we go. Could be the start of something good and they also have a netball league starting for the girls.

Tomorrow we’re off doing bits and pieces then it’s the girls’ first surf day on Friday. It’s going to be a challenge as they all want to come, so I’m trying to rope in as many helpers as I can. Otherwise it’s gonna be me and 30+ girls….. I am undecided if that is a good thing.

Thanks for tuning in. The new brochure is almost finished and will be available soon. In there is all the info you need on us and our volunteer placements.

Thanks for tuning in,

Tim

Wednesday…it’s been a few days since I last blogged about goings on with the Foundation. And there’s lots to write about, so I will try to keep it relatively brief and concise.

In terms of activities, goings on are much as before. We’ve been surfing, playing football, cooking and generally having a lot of fun. On the surfing front there is a lot of excitement. Thomas especially is showing real signs of improvement and surfing is fast becoming a release for him. If he has had a hard day he says he finds happiness and comfort in the fact he’ll be surfing soon. We’ve already expanded the surfing to twice weekly, and it’s also now starting to pay off on the boys.

Part of starting such a project is gaining the trust and friendship of the kids. Through the football I have got to know them all better but it is in the water, it seems, that I have gained a little more of their trust. None of them can really swim, including Thomas, so they are very reliant on mine, and our volunteers attention, whenever they are in the water. The last couple of weeks have shown a real development in the relationship I have managed to strike up with the kids and they are now beginning to open up and we are becoming friends. They’ll even tune me if I show up late these days…

We’ve also had a little help recently from Ashleigh. I met Ashleigh’s foster mother, Caroll, picking up the veggies for the kids last week from Roger’s. Caroll adopted Ashleigh when he was very young. He was left by his maternal mother at Green Square market at the age of two and came to live with Caroll and her husband Mike when they emigrated from the UK to settle in Noordhoek where they now run a B&B. Like many of the kids in Masi, Ahsleigh went through some troubled times at school but is now a great role model. He helped us out last week during the Thursday league and training session and we hope to see him back with us again when he finds time this week.

Tomorrow Thomas and I are also going to head up to the Northern Suburbs to spend some funds that recently came in. To date we’ve had extremely limited resources, playing with a couple of old weathered balls and making do with some ad hoc kits on the pitch. Thanks to a kind donation we’re going to head north tomorrow to pick up a sock of new balls and some training bibs. We’ve also got 4 new kid’s sized goals on order so we no longer need to make do with drift wood. Happy days!

I also received an email recently from one of our former riders, Hugo Tait. Hugo is going to be in Cape Town in the next few days so we’re going to meet up and arrange a braai and a match with the kids in Masi. Hugo also made some big steps with his surfing during his time here and has recently been styling in Indo, I’m looking forward to meeting up again and exploring some of the lesser-known nooks of the Cape Peninsula. We’re enjoying one of our best winters here with great banks everywhere and some world-class waves if you know where to look. With a bit of luck Cape Town will fire for Hugo and we’ll have some more pics for you back home.

So there you go, a little more information on goings on out here. With January approaching we’ve also started getting more and more interest in our volunteer programmes that kick off at the beginning of 2010. Have a look at our new Foundation webpage, www.ttride.co.uk/foundation, for more information on these and get in touch soon if you want to join us for summer down here. It’ll be a good one I can assure you! An improvement on January at home at the very least.

Till next week,

Cheers
Tim

Super sweet….

It’s good to be back in Cape Town and back with the kids. After a weekend away it’s back into the swing of things and the passion and energy of the kids this afternoon makes me realise how lucky I am to be spending my days with them all. An explanation on the above will follow shortly. But first, last week.

You all read last Monday’s blog, of that I am sure, if not it’s in the TTR archives and worth a read. Tuesday and Wednesday were then taken up by admin, servicing the Foundation Mobile, sorting out food sponsors etc etc. Without the Bakkie and with both hands tied, Thomas lead a quick training session on the local pitch but it ended fairly swiftly due to heavy flooding from rains earlier in the week. Thursday though was a day to remember as we joined the guys from Living Hope for the league. With lots of children from across the township turning up it’s always a shambolic start and it takes a bit of time to settle the kids and get some sort of order, but once that was achieved we played a few games in the sunshine before heading over to the Living Hope Centre where we shared the soup I had prepared amongst the 100 or so kids. It was a special experience; the centre cares for many homeless and abandoned infants and to see the hospice in action and the smiles on the faces after the soup was served definitely provided a moment or two for reflection. For the first time in a while I was very definitely reminded that I was in Africa and that life for kids here certainly is not easy.

And that brings me to today. A windless morning bought with it some perfect waves and any hope of an early morning start at the keys was abandoned as I took off to 365 for a surf. With some solid swell it was time to break out the big boards and the long leashes and it was good to start the day with some hefty drops. By 10am it was time to come in, first off heading over to Roger’s to meet Merle and discuss our food provisions for the week. Roger’s is the local fruit and veg. market stall and sells local organic produce. Merle kindly donates a large box to us every other week which keeps the kids well fed and stocked up on nutrients. After a quick discussion we settled on Butternut and Sweet potatoes for the week ahead, the first soup will be prepared tomorrow.

From Roger’s I stocked up on airtime and called Thomas, or Man-tee as he’s come to be know of late.
‘Mr Conibear,’ he answered, ‘we going surfing today?’.
‘But of course Mr. Man-tee’ came the reply.
Thomas is now fully stoked on surfing and we’ve expanded the surfing scheme to twice weekly to accommodate this. I’ve also been dropping surf movies at his shack twice a week and it seems to be working. This afternoon his surfing had improved incredibly as he paddled into green waves and trimmed perfectly to the beach. As he kicked out of each wave he turned to make sure I was watching, which I was, obviously proud of his efforts. It is incredible just how fast he is picking it up and just how much surfing seems to be bringing him. It makes you remember why you started surfing in the first place. We also had the kids along, this time Godzy, Mlayi (Lethu), Jakie and Mbembe. This being their third time in the water they were pulling each other into waves and giving each other pointers. For the younger ones the ocean is still quite intimidating so gentle persuasion was the order of the day, but for Godzy and Jakie no wave was big enough. Given they can hardly swim, they are brave indeed.

We surfed as long as we could before heading back in for Hot Chocolate and pastries, then loading up and heading back to Masi. All the way back Thomas told jokes, initially in English but then in his native Xosha. Switching between voices for the different characters it was good to see him open up and to see the kids laugh away. I didn’t understand a word but the ebb and flow of Thomas’ voice was enough for me.

As we pulled in and dropped them off there were thank you’s all round and I pulled away to many smiles. Tomorrow we’ll be back for beach soccer and soup.

Another blog will follow at the end of the week.

A little call for help too! If you are in Cape Town and reading this, we’re desperately looking for a local artist for a little project next week. If you think you can be of assistance please drop us an email at info@ttride.co.uk.

Thanks for reading,

Tim