#Ubuntu10Year: 2018
Mentoring and educating South Africa’s next generation of great leaders is a huge effort and involves many moving pieces. Over the years since its founding Ubuntu has grown in this endeavour by welcoming more and more boys, opening a school and a residence home, expanding its reach all over the greater Cape Town area, and finding opportunities for boys to experience the wider world as part of their formation. In 2016, some of our boys were able to travel to the United States for college ID camps and expand their learning in a new culture and place. In 2018, another unique opportunity arose for seven of the U18 boys to venture somewhere new: the Middle East.
The Scheepers family, former Ubuntu House parents and involved in founding the Ubuntu School, saw the value of organizing a week-long service and learning trip for some of the older Ubuntu boys to go beyond the borders of South Africa. The boys had to be under 18, show strong character, and seek to represent Ubuntu well. Interested players submitted a trip application, which helped choose participants who were eager and willing to travel outside of their comfort zones. In June of 2018 Gerda and Louwrens Scheepers, their daughter Andrea, two coaches (Keegan and Juandre), and seven boys departed for Jordan. The group’s destination was Mafraq, where they co-hosted a three day football clinic for Syrian refugees living in the area.
A typical day in Jordan began with breakfast and devotions before heading off to the clinic at 10 in the morning. Coaches Keegan and Juandre along with the Ubuntu boys—Tevin, Shagon, Ridhaa, Taariq, Tino, and Yorick—hit the ground running and joined Louwrens’s Jordanian contact and friend, the leader of a church in Mafraq, in running their clinic. They soon encountered the trouble of the language barrier as they tried to instruct the fifty 8-12 year old boys they were playing with. In lieu of complicated drills the boys played lots and lots of games and learned to build relationships in new ways. Upon reflection, the boys noted that they didn’t realize how hard it would be to be unable to converse, but that it was cool to see how you can communicate even without language.
While in Mafraq, the leader of the church they were working with introduced the boys to the U18 football team he had put together and was coaching, made up of Syrians the same age as the Ubuntu boys. The Syrian team came to help out at the clinic in the mornings, and watched World Cup games and played against the Ubuntu boys in the evenings. One special night Taariq, Ridhaa, Shagon, Tevin, Khanyile, Tino, and Yorick were able to sit down with the Syrian team and spend time sharing the Ubuntu values with the help of a translator. The opportunity to connect with peers and make friendships across borders, cultures, and language was a unique and significant one that has continued to have an impact on the Ubuntu boys who traveled to Jordan; some of them remain in contact with the young men from the Syrian team.
At the end of the trip in their reflective group session, the Scheepers noted down what the boys listed as being difficult: learning to accept a new culture, learning how to creatively communicate with those who don’t speak the same language, learning to respect other cultures even when you don’t agree with it, learning to control emotional reactions and think before speaking, and learning to function under a different leadership structure. The trip provided valuable take-aways and encouraged the boys to make new commitments moving forward. Tevin stated that he wanted to be more appreciative of what others do for him, Yorick commented that he wanted to practice treating people equally no matter what, and Ridhaa decided he wanted to find better ways of expressing his emotions to others.
The chance to interact with a new country and culture was one that impacted everyone on the trip immensely. Not only did the group get to build new relationships in Jordan, but they also were able to swim in the Dead Sea, go on an extraordinary hike, visit ancient Roman ruins, and explore the town of Mafraq on their own in the afternoons. Altogether, these experiences sparked lots of positive growth and learning but came with challenges. For the seven boys, the trip to the Middle East was a unique opportunity for new challenges, growth, learning, reflection, and fun. It led directly into Ubuntu’s goal of shaping future young leaders of character. Exposing them to unfamiliar environments, spending time with people of different backgrounds, and devoting effort to building relationships with others is all part of the preparation to lead others well. We are grateful to the Scheepers family for organizing this great opportunity to cross borders and further invest in our boys. What an amazing trip! Want a better glimpse of our trip in pictures? For our story in photos, check out our earlier blog!
