On Friday 13 January, the Anna Foundation welcomed a team of American University students to kick off the year in style with a soccer skills clinic. As part of their sports tour to South Africa, the Case Western University Women’s Soccer team chose to visit the Anna Foundation’s after-school project in Robertson for a day filled with fun, games and skills development.

After taking a tour of the after-school’s facilities and learning about the educational, sports and life skills support offered to the children on a daily basis, the soccer team took to the sports field with the children. Each visitor was paired up with an Anna Foundation learner, and together in these pairs, they took part in the various icebreaker games and soccer skills stations planned for the afternoon. This allowed individuals from both groups to get to know each other better, and they thoroughly enjoyed engaging in this way. The children were extremely impressed by the ladies’ abilities on the field and had a wonderful time attempting to compete with them.

It was not only time and skills that the team chose to share with our learners, but they also made a generous donation of second-hand sports equipment. This equipment will be used to further enhance the Anna Foundation’s sports programme which is aimed at encouraging the holistic development of the child through physical education.

This was a wonderfully enriching experience for our learners, and the Anna Foundation would like to extend a big thank you to the Case Western University Women’s Soccer team for their generosity of heart. Thank you also to Edwin Doran Sports Tours for organizing the visit. This is how sports can change lives, and we are glad to be a part of it.