More than you ever dreamed of giving ...

Yesterday morning the thought of packing all of the supplies for Mamalodi really started to weigh on me. One of the things that I think can bless South African children the most is a soccer ball.

Over a soccer ball everyone becomes equal.
Over a soccer ball relationships start.
Over a soccer ball you are part of a team.
Over a soccer ball a child in South Africa grows up more privileged than a child in the US.
Over a soccer ball languages are translated instantly.
Over a soccer ball you understand each other even though you live in different hemispheres.
Over a soccer ball a kid in South Africa has a chance at a college scholarship.
Over a soccer ball an entire country can be united.

As of yesterday I had ZERO soccer balls to take to Mamalodi with us. I was starting to get into "make it happen" mode. Who did I need to call? What shipping would I have to pay -- how could we make this work?

At about 11:30 my phone rang at work. It was Steve H. He's one of the very best project managers I've ever worked with, and he's putting in about 60 hours a week working on Mamalodi stuff as a volunteer.

Steve is on the phone and he says, "I just got off the phone with Soccer Village in Blue Ash. One of the co-owners said they could get us 100 soccer balls to take, 50 ball pumps, and 40 cones by Sunday -- we can pick them up here, in town." HOLY CRAP! Really? "That's not all -- this year they have been collecting used soccer shoes to give to charity and they are all sitting in his back room -- he offered to GIVE us 600 pairs of soccer shoes to take."

Tears started to roll down my face. For the most part, those kids who are such excellent soccer players in Mamalodi play in bare feet. The 14 year old phenom that we met last year played in 1970 Chuck Taylor Converse with the heal and toe cut off because they were too small. This has become common for kids to do -- they all play in a half or a third of a pair of shoes on rocks and pieces of broken glass. Most of their toes and heals stick out. If they have shoes most of them are sandals -- not ideal for soccer. I wanted so badly to be able to bring them shoes, but I knew that at $40 a pair we would not be able to afford soccer cleats.

God Bless Soccer Village -- if you live in Cincinnati go support them. We pick up the stuff in the morning.