Joburg has been quiet for the past two days, no soccer action! We got used to rushing home and being stuck in traffic as people find their way to the stadiums. But in all this silence I spent time at the Team Village of the 32 teams taking part in the Football for Hope Festival which kicks off in Alexandra on Sunday.

Young people are taking part in a mixed 5 aside tournament which has no referee and where disagreements are resolved through dialogue. I spoke to two of them, 17 year old Hemanta Acharya and 18 year old Mubasher Hassan. They are part of the Football United Team from Australia. Both are refugees. Hemanta is Bhutanese and Hassan is Sudanese. Other team members are from Kenya, Iraq and Cyprus.

They are excited about being in South Africa and looking forward to making new friends from other teams. While they are here for the soccer tournament they will also be learning about being good leaders and HIV/AIDS amongst other issues.

Today, the soccer action returns with Ghana taking on Uruguay at Soccer City.

I’m wearing a t’shirt with the map of Africa and I feel like a Black Star!!!!

In the second issue of the Kubatana vendor wrap, Zanele Manhenga wrote about people who make Zimbabwe work. She cited a kombi driver as an example and explained how these people are important to our day-to-day activities.

When distributing the second vendor wrap in Greendale, we met Mai Fungai who operates a tomato and vegetable market. Her crew includes Mai Sharon, Mai Peter and Mai Matwins. With their tomatoes neatly packed and ordered in an appetizing manner, Mai Fungai was not hesitant to have a photograph taken. Posing in several stances, she proudly shouted “Ndini iyeyo nemusika wangu” meaning ‘it is me with my table’. With her colleagues shouting in support the whole place turned lively as we laughed together.

In these people it is easy to notice the time and effort that they employ in neatly packaging their tomatoes and vegetables. What cannot be hidden from their character and faces is the pride that they have about their work. It is clear that these women do not have much in terms of material wealth, but they have all that it takes to be happy and enjoy their work. It is true that positive thinking and enough effort yields positive results and satisfaction.

Surely if we could all be this happy and proud of our work, Zimbabwe would bloom with the flowers of joy.

Young Zimbabwean foot ballers.

The whole of Africa unites in celebration of Ghana’s victory over the USA.  Africa has every reason to be extremely proud of Ghana who “match the best qualities of athleticism, stamina and never say die spirit”. Player Asamaah Gyan said “We’ve done it before … Ghana is one of the best in the world cup, not for Ghana alone but, for Africa”. I am personally very impressed with Ghana’s performance as they are not capable of matching the USA in terms of money and expenditure put into sport, but yet they are able to not only match, but also better the USA’s performance on the pitch.

The Production Company, an outfit inspiring “partying with a purpose”, held an event last Saturday out at Pomona Stone Quarry. The set was the most creative that I’ve ever seen in Zimbabwe and an eco-fashion show pushed the usual conservative boundaries we find in Zimbabwe. Here’s hoping for more from The Production Company.