The game-winning goal, my first match as a collegiate player, watching my daughter sprint the length of the field to score her first goal of the season – I truly enjoy soccer and over my thirty years playing, coaching and spectating, I have a lifetime of wonderful memories associated with the game. Until recently, never could I have imagined in my wildest dreams that my next unforgettable soccer experience would occur at a remarkable school in Southwest Uganda!
Thanks to the generosity of Major League Soccer’s Steve Zakuani and his Kingdom Hope Foundation, I was able to play a role in delivering several soccer balls and Kingdom Hope t-shirts to the Rubanda Solidarity School and its 300+ students and faculty. In a part of the world where a mass of balled up plastic bags creates an acceptable “football”, words cannot describe the excitement of the kids (and adults) as the pearl-white balls where taken out of their bags and kicked onto the rustic field recently cleared for the students to have additional open play space. Immersed in the pure joy of the moment and overwhelmed by the energy of over a hundred jubilant kiddos, I had the indescribable opportunity to see soccer in its purest and most beautiful form. From the six year old girl who squealed with glee every time a ball got within five feet of her to the fourteen year old boy who possessed the innate skill, speed and grace of a future star, every kid on that field for a ninety minute span seemingly had the time of their lives.
When the chaos subsided a bit, I sat on the hillside looking over the field with a group of students. I inquired as to whether any of the kids in my huddle had ever heard of Steve Zakuani. The answer was no. However, when I pointed to the west towards the Democratic Republic of the Congo (just 20 miles from the school) and explained that the generous man responsible for their new balls and shirts was a professional soccer player from that neighboring country, I had the group’s attention. It was a powerful experience to share Steve’s story in that setting, with that audience – His journey from the Congo to England where his talent was discovered to ultimately playing at the highest collegiate and professional levels in the US must have sounded like a fairytale to those nine or ten kids surrounding me. However, my hope is that Steve’s story will be told countless times at the school in the coming months and for every kid who hears it, he or she might start to dream of the greatness they are capable of shining upon the world.
Never will I forget that afternoon on the field at the Rubanda Solidarity School. There is something special about sharing in a common passion with people you otherwise do not obviously have much in common with. I look forward to the day that I can return to Rubanda and kick around with the kids again. In the meantime, I’m going to have to rely on those rich memories from my time at the school to hold me over.
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