By Daniel Thomae | Project Leader
It’s feels like quite some time ago that Coach Steve, Earl and Nakahne returned from their trip to the USA. They’ve had time to reflect on the trip as they’ve settle back into life at home, and wanted to share these words with you.
“The trip made me aware that I should become more mature, because building yourself as a good human being now will make you an incredible person when you are older. The experiences I had showed me that I have to work hard in order for me to live a successful life, because success is earned and not given. Some of my top highlights were the Belhaven soccer camp we attended, how welcoming Coach Kendra's mother and father were, eating at the Brazilian steakhouse, and also going to Six Flags Over Texas.” – Earl
"I’ve always had a dream of studying in America, but I always thought it’s a dream that is out of my reach and impossible to achieve because of my background. So for me the whole trip itself was a highlight. The soccer camp at Belhaven was my top highlight; when people saw us at first they did not believe we would be that good at soccer, but we proved them wrong. In the end everyone was impressed with how we played and handled ourselves. I was really impacted by the family values I observed in America. Valuing family and unity is important because a person is a person through other people, but we don’t really find that in South Africa. I thought people wouldn’t accept us because we were from South Africa, but people wanted to hear our stories, and people wanted to hang out with us. People all accepted us and treated us as their own. That gave me confidence to be authentic and be myself; seeing that people can love you for who you are and not what you have.” – Nakhane
“It was so exciting to go on this trip, learning about new cultures and seeing the differences between South Africa and the USA. I was proud of myself being responsible for other people’s kids. I can see that I’ve grown as a mentor, being able to guide Earl and Nakhane on the trip and help them explore university. They did so well. The way the boys allowed other people from different cultures to be in their lives, the way they behaved in the camp with maximum participation; they really represented training4changeS there. I enjoyed seeming the boys growing and enjoying themselves. Seeing how hard people work for their money in America, that created more hunger and passion in me. I realized I have a lot of work to do, without any excuses. You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing, you can succeed in different ways. It’s all about being creative. My experience also gave me some ideas for training4changeS, hopefully we can start making it possible for more girls and boys have opportunities to play soccer from younger ages like 5 years old.” – Steve
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