Three Months On

Well, it's been three months since the Cambodian team returned from South Africa.  The team returned to their villages in time to work in the rice paddies with their families and the strong memories from South Africa started slipping away like sand through the hour glass.

Luckily, we had our first rendezvous three weeks after returning.  The team reunited in Battambang, sans Vrak who's family had moved to Southeastern Cambodia following his father's serious stroke.  Vrak had to stay with his father to help take care of him as he is semi-paralyzed.

The first order of business was sharing photos from the trip.  Each player had a scrap book they made from photos during the six months of training.  We printed out hundreds of pictures from the trip, laid them out on the table and the team went nuts oohing, ahhing, giggling and nudging each other as they relived their incredible journey to South Africa.  One of the memories which gets the most laughter is the photo of Linda and her crush, Johann, the German blondie.  Another team favorite is Sengvy with a player from Brazil and a player from South Africa who could be his brothers.

After scrapbooking and reliving highlights of the festival, the Football For Hope team played a match against the the Spirit of Soccer coaches.  The experience playing together as a team and the fitness level of the FFH team was no match for the Spirit of Soccer coaches.  The FFH team won 5-1.  After a team dinner with the entire SOS family, everyone gathered to watch a slide show of the trip to South Africa, put to the team's favorite songs - Shakira's Waka Waka & Kanye West's Wave Your Flag, the World Cup anthems which we heard hundreds of times during the Festival.  After the slideshow, the team did a question and answer with the SOS coaches, giving everyone a chance to hear more about the journey.  With questions such as "What was it like to be in an airplane" to "How was the food in South Africa" to "Why do you think the organizers put on the Festival", it gave the SOS coaches a better understanding of the trip and it helped the team realize all they had done in South Africa and what a unique opportunity they had been given.

We asked the team what they would like to do with their experiences from the trip and how could we build on the experience.  Collectively, the team said they would like to come together once a month in Battambang to continue learning English, begin to learn computer skills (especially facebook as they had seen all the other teams on facebook in the game room) and begin to learn coaching skills.  Done.  We committed to meeting every four to five weeks with the team to ensure the Festival experience would continue to have a positive impact on the team's lives.

At the second session post-South Africa, we prepared a presentation for the team to follow the slide show, which included prepared questions and answers.  The idea was to help the team with their public speaking and leadership skills to enable them to share their experiences with other children in Cambodia.  After practicing the presentation several times, the team had a coaching clinic with Coach Heang and Coach Kamsort.

The next day, we took the show on the road.  The team did a presentation to a crowd of 75 kids at a local orphanage, who watched the slide show in wonder.  They couldn't believe kids just like them went on an airplane and played football in an international tournament.  The question and answer sessions was a huge success with the FFH team proudly sharing their experiences and the kids from the orphanage excited to ask specific questions about the trip.  A football clinic followed the presentation, with the FFH team assisting the SOS coaches.  The FFH team took their role as coaches very seriously and they were amazing with the kids.  The kids mobbed the team at the end of the session begging for photos with the superstars, giving high fives and asking more questions about South Africa.  The day could not have been any more successful for all parties involved.

We had found our way to help the FFH team grow into leaders and to share their experience with other disadvantaged kids in Cambodia.  The team has done three presentations thus far and they are becoming more and more comfortable speaking in front of a group.  They are more confident and now realize the importance of them giving back to their communities.  Each of the team members is now coaching kids in their communities with their new-found coaching skills and confidence.