Well, our Son of Africa Cup was a great success. We had many boys from the area participate for the Cup. As every year, we spend a fair amount on soccer balls that we hand out in the community. Once word is out, there seems to be an endless stream of little visitors to our door asking for soccer balls, jerseys, shoes etc. Theres something good about giving them a small task so they understand the value of working for what they receive rather than just a hand out. We started to give them a small jobs like cleaning up the yard, cleaning the Talibe home, taking garbage down to the bins and recently, collecting our bottles and any tin/metal, which they can take and get money for. The boys jump into the tasks and do a great job and are so proud. We’ve held off giving them machetes, as requested, for cutting vines (lol) but they are pretty creative with using sharp rocks and broken tile pieces to cut things they felt need to be cut. We really get to learn a lot more about the boys and see the dynamics of the group.
It was a Thursday when we told the boys to come back on Sunday when we would get them suited up in their jerseys and head out to the soccer field. Friday early morning,….did I say EARLY morning?…the knocks on the gate started….the boys!, or at least some of them. Apparently the balls we had given them to practise with were done ??lol. Argo sent them away again and told them Sunday. A few more stranglers came by later, and then again on Saturday a few more times……hahaha. The number of boys increased too but unfortunately we’d have to stick with our original plan and the boys that had initially come. Wish we could have included them all
Finally Sunday arrived, along with the boys. We packed up our gear, speaker, first aid kit, bags of water and the trophy and headed to the soccer field. We had lots of spectators and cheering section which was pretty neat however, they can also be a bit harsh. The boys played fiercely and in the end , after a shoot out, Team Argo claimed the victory. Jumping, dog piling, cheering and singing and dancing followed. Not as much for the losing team but after awhile they joined in on the celebration. It was a great day! We’d see the boys all over in their jerseys over the remaining time we spend in Senegal. Cute! Hoping 2026 is even better and includes many more players.