Things are going pretty well for WhizzKids right now. With the beginning of the new school year we got permission to start our programme in Lamont. Now we have 2 new schools on bord in Lamontville, at least two new schools in our pilot area Edendale and our volunteers in iLembe finally get the chance to show us what they have learned as they as well start their courses with the new term.

So there is a lot of work for us to do...
To coup better with all the upcoming tasks we now set up different teams. Head of the new Operations Team is Paul Kelly our former Football Development Manager. He and his team make sure that our field staff gets all the support they need. While our new Office Team with our CEO as Head bolsters the other teams by making sure the programme is funded and ensuring all information, documents, materials etc. within the programme and to the outside world flow smoothly and on time. And our former Project Manager Tom got finally promoted into his favourite position as Head of Research, where he and his team will measure if we get the effects we want and/or makes sure that we change what has to be changed, keep on going with what we should keep on going and dissmiss what doesn′t work for us...

Unfortunately most of us woun′t be around for the first results on these changes, as our time at WhizzKids United ends in a few weeks. But new volunteers are already on the way to take over... and we are sure they will do a far better job, than we did

Well, let′s hope The WhizzKids Volunteers

We wish you all a splendid 2009!
May all your wishes come true and all your New Years Resolutions survive the next 365 days...

The WhizzKids United Volunteers

With the Christmas Season coming up and the kids having there (mostly:) well deserved summer holidays - WhizzKids United decided to give it a break and free their staff from the slavery of daily work in a Charity:)

Therefore all the foreign volunteers are now cramped in separate corners of the house or on the couch with a traveller’s guide in one hand and their computer on the other hand, to plan the ultimate South African Christmas Trip.

So far Elias decided to visit yet another time his girlfriend in Cape Town, before both of them will travel to Jo-Burg spending their Christmas with some friends. Tom and his brother, who will arrive on Boxing Day, are planning on going north to the Victoria Falls. And I will spend an adventurous Road Trip with two friends of mine, exploring the stunning wilderness of the Garden Route and partying at the beach in South Africa’s surf mekkas…

As we won’t be back before next years we now take our time to wish you all the best for the holiday season, a merry Christmas and a splendid New Years Eve!

Cheers to you all, the WhizzKids Volunteers

Okay okay Jacob Zuma couldn’t make it. Yeah we know – probably a traffic jam.

Anyway, the good thing is most of the stuff we care about means nothing to the kids. At the end of the day what really matters is the smile on their faces, and they smiled a lot! Although some things went wrong on the day, it was a great success!

I think World Cup Tournaments are a little bit like Christmas.

Every year at the beginning of December we start making plans and wish lists, and counting the days until the final day. And when it finally comes, it rushes through faster then we are able to unwrap our presents. And despite all the unexpected accidents and disasters that appear to happen just on these special days, we enjoy every minute of it.

November 4th was no different. Four long weeks we had planned our World Aids Day Tribute Tournament at the ICC; making plans, schedules, checklists, setting up pitches and talking to hundreds of people on the phone. And of course some of our plans didn’t work out the way we intended.

Our well-prepared schedule was ready for the garbage as the players arrived one hour later than expected, the climbing wall wasn’t erected on time, and no one knew how to turn the popcorn machine on.

But instead of sticking our heads under the red carpet in the entrance hall of the ICC, we remembered the famous words in our tournament idiot’s guide. Don’t panic! With a little bit of re-scheduling, we were back on schedule before lunch.

What were the first emergency steps? First: Take a deep breath. Second: Grab a can of Coke. Third: Open it. Fourth: DRINK! And eventually let the sugar relax your brain… and don’t spill it when you realise at lunch time that the guest speakers are missing and 300 kids are about to demolish the arena by trying to eat sandwiches and to kick balls at the same time.

A quantum of solace

Thank goodness the

Undeniable, to be a volunteer for WhizzKids United could not be more exciting or thrilling than it is right now!

As the day dawns when the next 192 kids have finished our Life Skills course, everybody in 313 Clark Road is now preparing for the next tournament. Finally, the kids get their chance to show us their new skills, and we get to watch them, be with them and, and cheer with them. It is an appreciation for everyone’s work over the last few weeks and always includes great football skills, dancing, singing, cheering and proud happy faces. The tournament is the best part of our programme and always a big day.

This tournament day however will be huge!

The tournament will be hosted by one of Durban’s greatest venues, the International Convention Centre. This provides a great opportunity for us to present our programme and an even greater opportunity for the kids to show their skills. So we spread our wings of imagination to make this day the greatest of all:

In addition to the 192 kids playing, we invited every kid in the school where we are now coaching in Edendale to come along, which makes a total of 350 kids. And to combat their boredom (or disappointment if their favourite team is losing) we decided to set up a broad entertainment area which could easily outshine Walt Disney World. But our masterpiece is the guest list. It includes everybody, meaning everybody, even African National Congress President, Jacob Zuma.

You think this seems to be too big for our boots? – Well, we think to achieve the possible, one must attempt the impossible!

And we will see who is laughing on the final day, which will be the 4th of November by the way. So one week is left (brrr, what a shiver of excitement).

Although we have to admit not everything is as easy as it sounds. Our Project Manager Tom and our Football Development Manager Paul have almost glued their cell phones to t