Under the Acacias - a blog about the Fulani of Burkina Faso: Soccer School

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September 18, 2009

Soccer School

100 kids aged 9-18 came together from Gorom-Gorom and Markoye for a week of fun and football at the 2009 soccer school.

(As usual you can click on any photo to see a larger version, or click here to see more photos in a slide show)

It was the vision of pastor Adama from Markoye, and he was supported in it by Ian Sutton and his team of 14 from churches in Cardiff and Nottingham, as well as Christians from local churches in Gorom-Gorom, and translators who travelled up from Ouagadougou. The local representative for the Ministry of Sport also got involved throughout the week.

Each morning there was training in different ball skills, and each afternoon there were matches where the skills were put into practise. In the evenings, the children gathered to hear testimonies and meditations from the word of God.

Other children gathered too from nearby families to come and watch, and were drawn in with games and drawing and colouring.

It was a great week. The children had a lot of fun, learned soccer skills, ate well for a week, heard good news about God's love for them, and were drawn into contact with local Christians and pastors. A team of 10 women from the local churches were up at work every day from 7am till 9pm, cooking and cleaning for all the children and for the team.

The team from the UK did really well, adapting well to the conditions, and staying mostly very healthy - although there were a few runny tummies in the last couple of days. They built good relationships with the children and the local Chrisitans, in spite of having almost no language in common. It is amazing how much you can communicate with a smile, a hug, and a football!

At the end of the week, there were competitions and prize-giving, and each child went home with a t-shirt and shoes. Footballs and kit were also distributed to local football teams.

The week ended with a match between the Soccer School trainers and the Gorom-Gorom football team. Unfortunately, while Gorom-Gorom were winning 1-0, the match had to be abandoned due to rain. The event was followed by a party at the mayor's place with drinks and grilled goat meat.