Sharing Knowledge, Strengthening Systems: Annie’s Time at Kick4Life
When Anne-Marie ‘Annie’ Hilsdon first considered volunteering in Lesotho, football was far from her area of expertise. An anthropologist, researcher and retired university academic from Australia, Annie has spent decades studying cultures and societies around the world before dedicating the past 10 years to international volunteer assignments across Asia and Africa. It was only after watching the rise of women’s football during the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Olympic Games that she became curious about the sport and the communities it could bring together.
“I actually wasn’t interested in football until very recently,” she recalls. “It was the Women’s World Cup, the Olympics and watching our Australian women’s team that made football exciting for me. I thought, ‘Why not go somewhere where I don’t know much, but I’m interested?'”
That curiosity led Annie to Kick4Life through the Australian Volunteers Program. Having previously worked in countries including Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, Rwanda and South Africa, she was eager to experience life in a small African country. It was only after arriving in Lesotho that she truly discovered the organisation, its people and its unique approach to transforming lives through football.
The transition from university life to Kick4Life’s lively office environment was an adjustment. Accustomed to working independently, Annie suddenly found herself surrounded by a bustling team of colleagues whose enthusiasm and collaboration quickly challenged her first impressions. At the same time, adapting to a new culture, language and way of working reminded her that every volunteer placement brings fresh opportunities to learn. Rather than seeing those differences as obstacles, she embraced them with curiosity, humour and openness, qualities that would come to define her time at Kick4Life.
Originally recruited to mentor Monitoring and Evaluation Intern Selemeng Thipana, Annie’s role soon expanded across the organisation. Working alongside Community Programmes, the Football Academy, senior management and the Communications team, she helped strengthen the systems that enable Kick4Life to measure, understand and continually improve its impact.
Working closely with Selemeng, Annie introduced new approaches to monitoring, evaluation, learning and research while encouraging curiosity and shared problem-solving rather than simply providing answers. Together, they reviewed monitoring tools, refined focus group discussion guides, strengthened participant assessments and improved case study methodologies. They also explored why expected programme outcomes are not always reflected in assessment data, identifying practical improvements such as simplifying questions and addressing language barriers so participants could better express their experiences.
Reflecting on the experience, Selemeng says Annie’s greatest lesson was showing that learning is a shared process. “If she didn’t know something, she would honestly say, ‘I don’t know,’ and then we would work together to find the answer. We would go online, do research and explore different solutions.”
Beyond Community Programmes, Annie worked closely with the Football Academy to develop an integrated monitoring and evaluation system that brings together football performance, academic progress and character enrichment into a single framework. The system provides coaches and tutors with a more complete picture of each young person’s development, enabling better collaboration and more informed decision-making.
She also partnered with Kick4Life Country Director Motlatsi Nkhahle on an organisation-wide staff development research project. Through surveys and in-depth interviews with employees, they explored career aspirations, professional development and organisational learning, producing recommendations that have already informed new staff development initiatives while laying the foundation for longer-term improvements.
Alongside this work, Annie supported Kick4Life’s storytelling by mentoring the organisation’s communications officer, helping strengthen the structure, clarity and impact of stories published across its digital platforms. Her guidance encouraged a stronger focus on communicating not only what programmes do, but why they matter and the difference they make in people’s lives.
Reflecting on Annie’s contribution, Motlatsi says her greatest strength was not simply the technical expertise she brought, but the way she helped colleagues think more deeply about their work.
“She was always eager to help everybody and always came in with those prompting questions to really understand the context. She used those answers to contribute towards the evolution and improvement of our tools, whether in the Academy, Community Programmes or my office.”
He adds that Annie’s influence reached far beyond individual projects, helping build confidence, strengthen capacity and encourage a culture of continuous learning across the organisation.
Looking back, Annie considers the Football Academy monitoring system, the staff research project and her work with the Lesotho United Support Network among the highlights of her placement. Being voted Teamwork Champion by her colleagues was another unexpected honour, but it is the people she says she will remember most.
Outside the workplace, Annie embraced life in Lesotho through hiking in the mountains, birdwatching, horse riding and exploring some of the country’s most spectacular landscapes. One of her fondest memories came while working alongside Academy staff to develop the integrated monitoring system. Bringing together coaches, tutors and Academy Manager Mahapiloe Putsoane, the experience demonstrated how different perspectives could come together to build something stronger than any one person could create alone.
As her placement comes to an end, Annie hopes the organisation continues to nurture the qualities that impressed her from the moment she arrived.
“Kick4Life is a special NGO. It has a special management team and a special team of staff. The place is special because of the people who work here. I hope everyone continues to stay curious, remain open to learning and keep inspiring the young people you work with.”
For Motlatsi, Annie’s legacy will extend well beyond the six months she spent in Lesotho.
“We’re very grateful that she chose to spend this important time in her life, which she could easily have spent resting at home in Australia, by coming to Lesotho to share her expertise with us. We will definitely cherish everything she has worked on and contributed to.”
Through thoughtful questions, shared learning and genuine collaboration, Annie leaves behind more than stronger monitoring and evaluation systems. She leaves behind colleagues equipped with new knowledge, greater confidence and a deeper appreciation for continuous learning, ensuring that the impact of her volunteer placement will continue to strengthen Kick4Life long after her return to Australia.
