The Redemption Run

This past November I attempted my first half marathon. Running a half marathon has been on my bucket list for some time now. I remember one day receiving an email from our SA Country Director about the Soweto Marathon. This was it. I was going to run the half marathon. 21km - 13.1 miles in support of GRS. I would submit myself to 21kms so Grassroot Soccer could continue providing life-saving health education, HIV testing and counseling, and giving youth positive role models. I searched the internet for a training plan, convinced some coworkers, began training, and started fundraising for Grassroot Soccer.  

As race day approached, I felt more prepared and motivated to conquer the 21km than ever. I had some great long training runs leading up to race day but if you haven’t heard the story, race day was not in my favor. We were late to the race and had to run at least 3km, passing the runners, to the start line. While running my drawstring bag broke, I lost the others when I stopped to use the bathroom and hunt for a bag drop, I got stuck in the hundreds of 10k runners and by the time I pushed and shoved to the front, the gunman told me to run because he was about to let the 10k runners go. I took off - frazzled, stressed, overly anxious, and with a broken bag now tied around my neck (I never did find the bag drop). I caught up with an older gentleman also trying to catch up to the pack and outrun the 10k. Looking back, I should stayed pace with him but my ego got me, I wanted to run faster. I needed to find the pack. I turned up my playlist and tried to get lost in the beat, ignoring the signs my body was telling me that I was about to break. I rounded a corner somewhere between the 3km and 4km mark, pulled off to the grass and saw my breakfast.  I was shaking and trying to re-group when the older gentleman I had so eagerly passed, casually ran by and hollered to see if I was alright. I gave him the thumbs up and waved him on. Then a traffic officer walked up the hill. He told me I needed to stop and return to the finish area, get water, and medical attention. I looked at him as if he was crazy - people donated $$ for me to run this race, I trained for weeks for this race. What was he thinking telling me to quit!? Deep down, I wanted to cross that finish line but the officer was right - mentally and now physically I wasn’t going to. Running is so much more than just your legs. The stress and anxiety caused by that morning's events mentally broke me down. I’ve never felt a feeling like that. Walking back to the finish area, I was embarrassed. The 10k, now in full swing, was running opposite me. I was walking the wrong direction, completely defeated. How was I going to tell my friends, family, and coworkers that I didn’t finish? How was I going to tell those you donated to GRS for my run? Shoot, how was I even going to explain it the others who were running, when I was somehow waiting, cheering them on at the finish? In typical Betsy fashion, I tried to avoid the topic at all costs and immediately secretly looked for another half marathon that I could run. 

Fast track to one month later. I am now back home in the US, waiting for some papers in order to apply for my visa. The stress and uncertainty about the future was alive and well. I had talked to Ally, the M&E intern on our team, before I left and we said that we both wanted to run the Two Oceans Half Marathon in Cape Town in April. It is regarded as the most beautiful marathon in the world and hosts thousands of runners for both the half (21km) and an Ultra marathon (56km). Heck, I didn’t know if I would be back in Cape Town but I knew I had to do it and would figure out logistics later. This was it, my redemption run; my run for all those who donated to GRS through my attempt in November; my race to say thank you; my race to push away stress. I woke up at 3am the morning the race went live. It went live at 10am South Africa time and these entries go quick. At 3am I joined the “queu” of runners. The site told me it would be at least 1hr and 20 minutes before I was allowed in. I left the site up, set a new alarm, and went back to sleep, waking back up when it was finally my turn to pay and get my entrance. SUCCESSFUL! Ally and I would be running the Two Oceans! I kept the race on the down-low and elected to forego fundraising to keep the pressure off - I was still in debt to my last donors on my promise to finish. 

Ready to rock 'n roll!

Fast forward to Friday, April 3, 2015. The day before the big race. It is Easter weekend in Cape Town so we have 4 days off of work. Ally and I went to the Two Oceans Expo Friday afternoon to pick up our race packets. We were both feeling nervous about the race as neither of us felt as though we had prepared as we had for Soweto. Ally stays pretty active but I had only run as far as 7miles in the last two months. And I only did that once. The atmosphere and the vibe at the expo was contagious, though. We couldn’t help but get excited for the experience of the most beautiful marathon, the Two Oceans. 16,000 people were running the 21km and 11,000 for the 56km. Now that’s a lot of people, sweat, and positive energy. We had a pasta dinner Friday night, trying our best to cover our lack of training by stuffing ourselves with carbs. The race was set to start at 6:00am the next morning. Determined to actually start with the race this time, we decided to fetch a cab at 4am. Looking back, that may have been excessively early, but it was for the best. We were able to relax at the start line, go to the bathroom, drink water, takes pictures(!!) and for me, flood my body and mind with excitement as more and more runners showed up to run. People were sporting their running club attire, the official race shirt, or other gear, but Ally and I were proudly repping GRS in our #iamafootballer shirts! The music got turned on which means that Ally and I may have been dancing, singing, and ignoring the fact we were about to put our body through something hectic. But who cares. I was pumped and in a state of mind I haven’t experienced in a while. The atmosphere was incredible. I don’t even know how to begin to describe it. This was my redemption run. This was for GRS and the donors from November. Nothing was going to stop me. This time, I was going to cross that finish line even if I needed to crawl. 

It was still dark when we slowly but surely step foot across the start line. I normally run with music. I turn it on the second the gun goes off, but something was different this time. Ally and I both elected to leave our music off for the start. There was something magical and calming about running in the dark, listening to the sound of feet pounding the pavement, and just being in the moment with thousands of other runners. After months and months of overwhelming stress, frustration, uncertainty, and a sense of unsettledness, I finally felt at peace. I would periodically look down at my shirt stamped with "Grassroot Soccer" across the front and think about the amazing staff, coaches, youth, and the important mission that got me to sign up for the Soweto half marathon in the first place. Without them I may have never attempted and would not be running side-by-side Ally in her 2nd half marathon for GRS and in my redemption run. 

As we reached the 1km mark, runners cheered and threw their hands up. The same for 2km and after that cheering squads filled the entire race course cheering and waving signs (my favorite being “Go Dad, run like zombies are chasing you”). Running on the M3 toward Muizenburg, I realized I was going the perfect pace. I wasn’t huffing and puffing to the point where my heart and lungs needed me to slow down and my legs weren’t antsy to speed things up, either. I was in perfect rhythm. I was right where my heart, mind, and body needed to be - in synch. The entire race seemed to shockingly flow just like this as we weaved through the hills and trees with a slight drizzle keeping the sun in check. I was surrounded by runners of all ages, genders, races, and abilities. People were simply putting one foot in the front other, moving toward finishing the 2015 Two Oceans half marathon. I was in a happy place. The 20km sign eventually appeared, the pavement turned to grass, and the finish area came in sight. I began sprinting like I’ve never sprinted before. My high school track coach probably wishes I had had a finishing kick like this back in the day. Five months later, the half marathon was finally....CONQUERED!

You can clearly tell I don't blog often and I would normally never write a post like this but I had to because I am beyond excited to finally publicly send THANK-YOU KILOS to all those who supported GRS back in November. Thank you:

Mom and Dad

Katie M

Kelsey G

Mimi

Caitlin

Anna 
Ali G
Paul

and to all those who did and continue to support in other ways. 

You all are rockstars and helping to change so many lives!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. And remember when I promised to do a little of the below at the finish line of Soweto in your honor? I did, don't you worry. 

Sending lots of thank you's from the finish line!!! 

So many people!! 

In other news: 

**Today, 6 April, marks the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. Grassroot Soccer is using the power of soccer to empower youth to stop the spread of HIV, become role models in their communities, put an end to GBV, along with so much more. If you are interested in learning more about or supporting our work, please get in touch with me or visit our website. We would love to hear from you! If you are a college student graduating this May or know someone who is, I encourage you to visit this page about our year-long internship program (this is how I got involved with GRS, and LOVED it). 

Traveling Solo in Kenya

Traveling alone….Scary? Sometimes. Fun? Absolutely. I have never traveled solo until this trip to Kenya. My thoughts leading up to my departure revolved a lot around scorecards (GRS M&E love) and anything but the trip really. Maybe this was a good thing, because thinking about it, traveling solo to a country I know very little about, including the language, is a bit scary. Yet, this trip did everything to convince me that I might just travel the world solo. My reasons:

1) The people you meet.

          When traveling with friends or family you have a tendency to talk and hang out with them instead of branch out to those around you. I can’t tell you how many wonderful meaningful conversations I had with my taxi drivers, the other hostel guests (1 worked as the East African Google Developer, 1 was a retired professor from University of Oregon, and 1 did some sort of work with a nonprofit water project), the hostel staff, the people sitting next to you on public transportation, and even the airport workers. These conversations ranged from politics, prostitution, South Africa, America, music, school systems, aid work, Nelson Mandela, you name it. I learned a lot about Kenya and life from these various conversations and looking back I know for a fact that if I was traveling in a group I wouldn’t have sat in the front seat of the cab next to Lawrence for 2 hours talking about life and prostitution. Clearly, the conversations are great.

2) Expecting the unexpected

            It wouldn’t be adventure if everything went perfectly now would it? Traveling solo means that when something doesn’t exactly work out you have to figure out and being alone adds half the fun. This is the part that scares me most yet gives me the most adrenaline. You never know what could happen and what you might gain from the experience.

Take for example getting stuck in the middle of the bush Kenya with a broken down taxi and no cell phone. Yes this happened on my way to Sara Jo at the Daraja Academy. Luckily, people are kind enough to let you borrow their cellphones and you end up walking up the road and leaving the taxi driver and other passenger on the side of the road. Hey, in my defense they kept reiterating how dangerous the road was after dark. Clearly for the mzungu girl it was 5x the danger and I did try to help push-start it before I left.

Or take for example, a stranger giving you a rose in the parking lot because you look lost. Yes, I was lost but the nice man handed me a rose and offered to call the person I was looking for. Ended up giving the rose to the VAP team. Perfect thank-you gift! 

Or when your credit cards get shut down when you try to leave your hostel. Yeah that happened to-apologies to all those that woke up to random texts/facetimes. Time changes are not easy!

Or the fact you can meet people who can take you on a free game drive where you see baby elephants, zebras, hyenas, giraffes, buffalo, hippos and more! Huge thanks to Morgan, the Mpala Research Center, and SJ for that! I can now say I’ve seen animals J

Karibu Kenya

My trip to Kenya was way too short yet beyond incredible for two reasons: VAP and Daraja.

Vijani Amani Pamoja (VAP)

When it came down to it I only had 1 full day in Nairobi. Some might want to explore and do all the touristy stuffy like visiting the Nairobi National Park, the big market to buy crafts, or stopping in to a museum. Me, on the other hand, spent the day visiting a school, walking through the slums, eating ugali, and talking about how to further the work of great nonprofit. Only the best way to spend my only day in Nairobi!

The day was spent with the VAP team. VAP is a partner organization of GRS. Since starting with GRS I have only heard incredible things about the team; Enounce, Oppo, Oti, and Nancy. It turns out everything I’ve heard is true and more. I went to VAP with the mere task of talking to Oppo, their M&E coordinator, about M&E related things I won’t bore you with. However the visit was so much more than that. Their office is a tiny room, barely enough space to fit 2 desks, a bookshelf and two chairs. The small room is nothing compared to the size of their hearts and the passion that flows so wildly from the room. I was blown away with how hard they work for the cause because they want to see change. They were telling me how other organizations have heard about them and are coming to them for advice and see them as role models!!! AH! I’m pretty sure I had a huge smile glued to my face from the second Oppo greeted me with a ginormous hug outside of the office building. The team took me out to lunch and ordered me some ugali and chicken stew. It was DELICIOUS! After lunch, Oppo said he would take me out to an intervention. Of course I couldn’t decline the offer. We met Oti and several other coaches out at the school.  During our walk and waiting times, Oppo, Oti and I decided that when we all somehow become millionaires we are going to start a professional soccer team. So yes, my life plans have changed. The intervention was great to watch and the students were participating like crazy. They were asking questions about stuff they didn’t understand and showing off their knowledge of HIV/AIDS. The HIV/AIDS battle begins with youth. They are the change makers that can turn the tide. To see these youth engaged in learning about HIV/AIDS gave me chills. This can change lives. This can change communities. Peace Together Youth.

By the time Eddy, a coach, had gotten me back to the city centre, I had officially spent almost 7 hours with the VAP team. No other way to spend a day.

The Daraja Academy:

The Form 4s singing for everyone!

The point of my trip to Kenya was to visit SJ who has been working at a girl’s academy called Daraja since June. The school is home to 104 very very very intelligent girls from all over the country who would otherwise have no opportunity for a secondary education. Saturday was “Prayer Day” at the school. The girls’ families are invited to come to the school to wish the Form 4s (seniors) good luck on their national exams. These exams which take place over about 3 or so weeks determine if students will be able to go to university or not. There about 33 tests in subjects such as chemistry, biology, English, Swahili, and Algebra. Students who receive good grades (As) can get their university paid for by the government--a huge deal to students who come low income families. Students who receive low grades will probably not go on to further education. A lot of pressure rides on these exams. You could tell that these girls, were studying hard. SJ said that they may wake up at 4am to study and stay up late. 

However, on Saturday it was all fun and smiles. I lost count of how many times the hair on my arms stood up from the incredible moments. The first came when one of the students’ families arrived. She wasn’t near the gate when they first arrived but all of the girls started yelling for her. The next thing you know she is bolting through campus with the biggest grin on her face. She runs up to her family and gives them a huge high five and a hug. It was precious. These girls are away from their families for so long and to most of them their families are their backbones. They study hard to make their moms or aunts or sisters or dads proud. A part of me immediately missed my family but like the girls, we are away to be change makers. 

The second hair chilling moment came when the preacher, who was incredible and very inspiring, offered to pay for the top girl’s university tuition. HOLY COW! We were in shock. The crowd immediately broke out in cheers and claps and huge smiles. Smiles, cheers, and claps sum up Daraja. There is so much happiness and dedication that fills that campus. Here are 104 girls that are so eager to learn it’s astonishing. I can’t help but think of all the girls worldwide that are so eager to learn yet are denied the opportunity. I had flash backs to all those nights in college when I complained about homework or just didn’t turn in an assignment and settled for a lower grade. What I was doing. For all those reading, embrace the opportunity that is in front of you to learn, whether in school or not. Spend those extra hours actually reading the book instead of skimming, take the time to enroll in a free online class in a subject you know nothing about.

Those of you who know me, know that this stuff is what I love. Discovering the stories of those that don’t get enough credit. The smallest people in the world make the biggest difference whether it be a girl in a school or a youth that can protect themselves from HIV/AIDS. I am going to shamelessly plug right now for these two amazing organizations so they can continue to make waves in their communities. If you have interest in

1) Donating to VAP so they continue turning the tide on HIV/AIDS in Nairobi youth you can do so here

2) More information on Daraja and their sponsorship program can be found here


Asante Sana!

Let's Play Catch-Up!

Welp clearly you can see that I am horrible at updating a blog. I warned you! For some reason it’s so daunting. Since my last post we passed the 1 and 2 month marks. Crazy I know. Time is flying.   I could write everything here that has happened but that is way too ambitious, so instead here are some quick snapshots:

1. Work is great as always. I won't go on further as to not bore you with my nerdy obsession with databases and numbers. Just know that I love it and am learning a ton. 

2. I am no longer a picky ‘vegetarian’.

            Oh yes you read correctly. 9 years later. It began as a challenge/bet with a friend to never say ‘no’ to any type of food people offered me in the first month and has continued. I still don’t cook it necessarily, but will gladly grab some bacon on an avo and feta pizza. The amount of meat available here doesn’t help this either. And I would like to call out a certain person for never coming through on their end of the bet! Still waiting, you know who you are.  

WE DID IT! 

3. Ran a 10k

The Cape Town Marathon and 10k was at the end of September. Since we all know how great of shape I am in, I thought running it would be a great idea. It was a great idea indeed, not for running (I was sore for a week), but for the experience. Running on the waterfront with other GRSers was fabulous.

Go, Go, Go

4. Push-started a car 

On the side of a main highway too I am no mechanic but when the intern car breaks down good thing we have a lot of hands....those that can change a tire as well as those that can get out and give the car a little push.  All in the name of WHALE day! 

5. Skillz Street Graduation

Skillz Street is the curriculum for all girls. I was able to attend the holiday camp graduation and celebrate with about 80 girls in song and dance. Maybe one of the happiest days of my life. So much energy and excitement.   Video Here!

6. Attended a rugby game

We bought jerseys and pretended to be the real deal for a day. It was great. South Africa vs.       Australia and the Springboks won! Hier Kom Die Bokke! 

Yes, we did buy crazy neon, flower, patterned hats

7. Attended my first overnight music festival

Bonaroo is a thing in the U.S. Rocking the Daisies is the smaller scale South African version. Got to jam out to Alt J, The Hives and I think Hog Hoggidy Hog? Pitched my first tent, not sure I did much to help but hey I'm counting it. Oh, and also had to yell at some people who were very sure that the tent Kmo and I were sleeping in was theirs...all while Kmo was dead asleep. 

I'm not even sure this is everything. I will try to get better at updating this regularly but no promises. Maybe after my trip to Kenya next Wednesday? Oh yeah I'll be heading to Kenya for 5ish days. First Africa semi-solo travel :))) Until then.....

Sharp sharp from Cape Town with love,
Bets

Out in Khayelitsha

Over the past week I have watched my interweb world ever so slowly fill with more and more pictures of friends reuniting back at JMU and citing "back at the best place in the world", "reunited with my best friends" or the like. I admit it struck me hard. It is weird to be thousands of miles away from somewhere that holds so many great memories but then at the perfect moments I am reminded why I'm here, writing from Africa.

My team was out of the office all last week so I was left with very little to do after only being in the office for 2 days. Maybe a blessing in disguise because I was able to spend two days out at site in the township of Khayelitsha. On Thursday, I got to observe and take part in my very first GRS intervention!!!!! I wish everyone reading this could have been there with me-it was incredible. The intervention was our utshintsho curriculum for grade 10 learners. Utshintsho means change in xhosa. It is the curriculum that follows our Generation SKILLZ for grade 9 learners. It is geared more toward changing power relationships and gender stereotypes. 

Coaches getting ready for the intervention

I went to a high school down the street from the center with 3 coaches, Eric and Anna, and Bulweka. We walked in to a crowded classroom filled with students ranging in ages from maybe 15 to 25 dressed in their matching red uniforms. After several whispers and stares we were given seats in the back of classroom as students got up and squished in their friend's desk to accommodate us.  The intervention required students to break up in to groups and of course the coaches pushed each of us into a group. I was greeted by several hellos/molos, some phrases in xhosa, and a wink from the boy I sat down next to. The groups were asked to discuss what they learned from Utshintsho (it was the last day of the curriculum).  I missed most responses due to a very large language barrier-my vocabulary remains at hello, thank you, and how are you- but luckily the boy sitting next me would give me a run down every now and then. The answer I got most was "how to say no". They tried to speak English as much as they could for me but it was hard. I was even asked to respond to the questions we were discussing and give my opinion. They made sure I expanded on my responses and never forgot me in the group. The second class had even more learners and again my group was great at trying their best to include me and make sure I knew what was going on. After the interventions when school was out, we were walking out of the school and we passed several students from my group in the first class. They smiled and waved as if we hadn't just met. As always I am amazed at how friendly people are. What amazed me more was hearing the responses from students about how they can say no, how to respect a woman, and how to break down power relationships. It may be only a small start and may be only words and not action from the students but at least it is there in some space. 

Coaches doing an activity on giving feedback

On Friday, I was able to sit in on a coach development session. GRS coaches are as important as our program participants. They are the young adults that are giving their time to implement the curriculum, being role models for their communities, and directly changing lives. Coaches are only with GRS for two-years and in that time we hope to equip them with professional and life skills as well as to empower them to be great facilitators and educators in their future. These development sessions are just a small part of the opportunities for coaches to expand their skills. 

SONI!

The topic of this Friday's session was constructive feedback. The coaches were broken up into groups for several activities that included walking through scenarios and creating constructive feedback situations. Now mind you that this is a group of about 30 young adults (ages 18-25) that are all high energy and very outgoing. It made for several times of outburst laughter and few of frustration from Buntu-the group leader. The session ended with coaches breaking up into groups of 5 to discuss their 'most significant story'. They were then asked to share their stories with the group at large. The stories that were told were those that you might read in magazines. We would be here for a while if I recounted all of them but as discussion spurred after coaches told stories and experiences one coach chimed in with something that almost put tears in my eyes. And I quote this from Scott's blog--he was taking notes on the session:

“The choice to change is on the participant. We have already made the choice to change ourselves, to be the change we want to see.” Everyone smiled, easily recognizing the paraphrase of Ghandi. “The most we can do is give others the opportunity to do the same. That is why we are coaches. With GRS we can give these young people a chance to choose. We should not be so critical on ourselves if some decide not to make that choice.”

These coaches are amazing

The session ended on that note. Heads nodding in agreement. A smile from ear to ear appeared on my face as if I just been handed the key to life.

After these two days I can't help but smile and know exactly why I'm not at JMU. It's not so that I can change the world but so I can share the stories of the truly amazing people already changing their communities every day.