Well, they came and they went!
The AfricaGoal team showed up in beautiful downtown Kampi ya Samaki yesterday afternoon about an hour before the World Cup Soccer game began. Remarkable to see how quickly they set up an open-sided tent, the satellite dish, the projection screen and projector, got hooked up and had an image! The crew works smoothly together without major direction, each member knowing intuitively where and how their strengths are needed. Everything went like clockwork after a minor panic that a signal was not coming in. It turned out someone had forgotten to flip a switch!
A crowd began to gather. Mothers and children, older men, young lads with time on their hands and not very bright prospects for the future–they all appeared from every corner of the village. As they gathered, local leaders began to speak about the importance of learning more about HIV-AIDS and the responsibility that everyone shares for working to keep the community safe. A local health nurse spoke very frankly and openly about what is needed, what each person needs to do and/or not to in order to protect themselves and others from infection. The village’s chief spoke out firmly about the risks, the dangers, and the need, if all else fails, to ABSTAIN!
Apart from the game itself, which everyone enjoyed and of course cheered hugely when Ghana scored against Serbia, the most popular thing were the AfricaGoal team’s T-shirts. Dark green, emblazoned with large white letters, “Africa Wins–Every time YOU prevent HIV!” I was presented with one of these T-shirts myself, and shall wear it proudly whenever I go to Kampi!
Having the AfricaGoal team with us for dinner was great! The ten team members plus three camera crew (check them out at http://www.africagoal.com/team.html) from a company that is accompanying the team, producing a photo-journal of their safaris, were joined by a couple of our neighbors, long time friends of the family and the team members. In all, we fed 19 people. The team and crew members had been traveling or working all day with no time out for lunch, so a hot meal was much appreciated and there was laughter throughout the house. Everyone managed to find a place to sleep and got a good night’s rest. They were up early and had breakfast on time this morning, then packed and departed for Nairobi. Tonight they will be broadcasting the next World Cup game in the Dagoretti community outside Nairobi proper. Tomorrow, they will set off for Tanzania.
It’s so very heartwarming for us to watch these young people give selflessly of themselves. Thus far, their tour has been easy, with welcoming accommodations, healthy food, a chance to shower and clean up at every stop. After tomorrow, they can expect nightly accommodations in low cost African “hoteli’s,” rough driving all day, meals of mealies, posho and the odd bit of goat or chicken, mechanical breakdowns (there’s already been at least one of those), rivers to ford, and other unforeseen hardships. Nevertheless, they have undertaken AfricaGoal with loving hearts and high-minded good spirits. Let us all wish them the very best of luck as they soldier on to South Africa over the next couple of weeks!
To AfricaGoal: “Salaama safiri!”
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