As previously described, my husband is English (born and raised there, emigrated to Canada in 1970s after meeting me) and has an inborn love for soccer. He plays on a soccer team (the Old Timers' League for 45 and over, which consists of many other players from the "Old Kingdom"). They travel away to tournaments a couple of times a year to play teams from all over the province, all just for fun and to keep fit (with the help of ice-packs, knee bandages and beer).

Although he has always read my writings about Rwanda and is greatly impressed with the accomplishments of the President and his countrymen in stopping the Genocide and taking the country from the hell-hole it was after the Genocide to where it is today - peaceful, prospering and a model for good governance - it wasn't until he learned how much Rwandans love soccer that he became enthusiastic about visiting Rwanda.

One day, about a month before we left, he arrived home with a box of deflated soccer balls each with individual pumps. He said he was going to give them to the kids in Rwanda as a way of us getting to meet them and learning a bit about normal, everyday life there. I thought it was a great idea, as I'd already envisaged him playing soccer with street kids or in a school field.

Then shortly before we left, as if the soccer balls weren't enough in their own right, he decided they should each have "Jackie Jura" and "Orwell Today" written on them as a way of promoting the existence of my website. I thought this was totally unnecessary, mainly because most children in Rwanda don't have access to electricity, let alone a computer, and also, my website isn't one that children anywhere frequent, let alone children in Rwanda. But, he insisted and I left him to his own devices.

Our plan was for him to take a deflated soccer ball and pump with him whenever we went out-and-about in Rwanda, one for each district we visited, and give one away by the end of each day, choosing a child or group of children who caught our eye.

That now sets the background for the first successful soccer ball give-away which occurred on our second full day in Rwanda, Monday, July 3rd.

go next to SOCCER BALL GIVE-AWAY #1 or back to index at DESTINY DESTINATION RWANDA