Ficksrus Free State South Africa July 10th 2011
Hollywood movies about little league sports teams are a formula—the story line requires that a struggling team of under dogs and misfits experience early failure and disappointment before being inspired to believe in themselves and go on to achieve improbable but great things. I’m thinking of that today as the football team I’m helping, drawn from the workers living on a big farm in South Africa’s Free State province, are struggling to mount a defense against a talented and well trained side from the neighbouring town.
Youth sports teams are social bodies that reflect the character and standing of their communities and any game is a constellation of these rivalries. The visitors are better educated town boys and my guys, manual labourers who work with livestock all day, are not a pretty bunch. This is not beautiful football—there is some wild play and, also, some blood. At half time players from the other side have come to complain to me. I should not be surprised—when the farm’s owner heard of my plan to help out he gave me a wary look and said: “they are a pretty rough bunch”.
There are few entertainments available to South Africa’s farm workers who live isolated lives. Alcohol abuse is rife and social indicators are generally negative. There was even a murder here in the last year—a parricide, no less. Football, like any organised sport, is an effective social development tool, an outlet for unspent energy and antidote to local boredom.
There is a buzz of excitement at today’s game and workers from two neighbouring farms have arrived and are gathered on the sidelines. This is about as good as it gets for weekend entertainment on Vandam Farm.
At half time a team meeting is held, the purpose of which is to enable the team to establish a management structure and show enough seriousness that it will be possible to help, starting with uniforms—The Vandam Pirates. The team has to make a contribution to the cost, a basic part of almost any social development project where for things to be valued they must be paid for in part.
My own role is as a facilitator. I am not in charge and not a screen between the workers and their farmer, who is funding part of the cost and already supports any positive initiative from among his employees. There is a holier than thou’ aspect to some charity and development work and, certainly, that is the basis of the international solidarity campaigns that are explicitly based on identifying with the oppressed. There may be things more ridiculous and self-righteous than this but I cannot think of them right now.
With my team trailing the score in the closing minutes of the game this band of misfits is playing the Hollywood story to script, which requires that their early outings be hopelessly mismatched affairs. But I have one ace in my hand when it comes to the turn around part of the story. The contractor working with me on my farm house and living here during the week is the area’s top football coach and has agreed to be their trainer. The Vandam Pirates will do the rest.