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"We were going to face our fears & overcome"

Over the last year two young men from Kick4Life have represented the organisation at the Laureus YES programme, a youth leadership development course run by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Men's first team player Kamohelo Lecom Makateng and Relebohile Rex Phate, part of our No.7 restaurant team, have embraced the experience. Here Lecom reflects on the latest residential in South Africa...

"Fifteen of us from different NGOs came under one roof at the Shongweni spirit of adventure in KwaZulu Natal South Africa. We were told that we were going to face our fears and overcome them. So at the camp we did abseiling, rafting, rock climbing, forest assault, camp fire and my worst fear which was snake pit. We were split into three groups and it's through each other that we all overcame our deepest fears as we all worked as a team.

"The highlight of this trip was meeting the All Stars and Springboks teams respectively. For the first time in history both teams rode in the same bus to go out in LIV village, a home for the vulnerable children and orphans. There was a big roar when the bus got there and all the children were so happy to see their stars. We played and also facilitated games about sports bringing peace to the world. The kids were happy but most of all Laureus managed to get the two teams to put aside their rivalries and bring the smile to those kids, that was big.

"We also watched an upcoming movie called Beyond the River which is based on a true story about canoeing and the two people from different backgrounds and races coming together to work as a team and win the competition. We also had breakfast at Mercedes-Benz offices in Durban, the Vice President of Mercedes-Benz came to our camp before and told us about his inspiring story of how he got to where he is today. Mercedes-Benz SA is a big sponsor of Laureus Yes so they do visit now and then.

"The biggest lesson I learned was that we all came from different NGOs and backgrounds but we all have a story to tell and we are all using sport as a tool to change lives.One night we all sat by the fire with our drivers and mentors/leaders and everyone started sharing their personal stories which made all of us cry. Despite our tough childhood we still managed to be resilient and make something out of our lives.

"I am proud to call the class of LaureusYes 2016 my family, I have learned so much from them and they will always be close to my heart. I learned to trust the next person during the activities and that was the instructors, I learned to be resilient in any situation, to use sport to bring peace and positive change to the world. It is hard to put all my experience in one form but I hope that all that I can transform what I learned into real life situation and help kids as well as my colleagues at Kick4Life. I was the kind to start things and not finish them but after the camp and training I know I have a lot to offer the world and I will finish what I start. We worked as a team in most of our activities and together we managed to accomplish and finish all the tasks given to us and I will be bringing a lot of teamwork to Kick4Life as I am now certified team player."

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