On Tuesday we had a relaxing morning and slept in and then walked down to a local bakery for pastries. We spent the rest of the late morning and afternoon in Khayelitsha where we joined the coaches for a tour of the township to learn more about the home lives of the players and coaches we were working with. We visited the 18 Gangster Museum which was created to encourage youth in Khayelitsha not to join gangs. The tours are given by former gang members who have been released from prison and have turned their lives around. We visited the home of one of the coaches, Lindo, and she told us a little about her home and her family. Her house burned to the ground several years ago and took a year and a half to rebuild. House fires are common in Khayelitsha because electricity is connected via informal grids among homes. Most homes consist of wooden supports with corrugated siding attached so it is easy for fires to spread and very difficult for the fire department to contain them as they often can’t reach the source through all of the homes. The last major fire the township experienced destroyed an estimated 2,000 homes.

We also learned more about the history of the township with a local guide who grew up in a neighborhood not far from the soccer complex. Many people who were displaced from District 6 moved to Khayelitsha.

The afternoon was capped with a round robin tournament with the older girls who had come to the center for practice. It was a beautiful day to be out on the pitch!

— Peter & Anna