From Streets To Ice

The year is almost at it's end and the process of starting up a Non-profit is a grueling one but with all that's going on, the street skater boys have really impressed. Almost religiously the lads have gone to practice every Sunday and it can be said with confidence that they are now worthy of being called ice hockey players. Mogamad(12), Zihaad(13) and Irshaad(14) have excelled tremendously this past year and in 2014 all three of them will be up to receive their Western Province colours. Mogamad, the youngest, scored a hat-trick at the last PeeWee game of the season.Mogamad has been invited to play the opening game for the All Stars on 2 December 2013. I could not be more proud of him as his enthusiasm for the game and skating makes him a true hockey player. Next year will bring us many challenges and I am looking forward to seeing the boys release their full potential

The Journey So Far

To all our readers I would just like to thank you for the support. The process of starting a Non-profit is no easy job but by far the most rewarding job, I can tell you that. My journey has been quite tough and I do not see it easing up any time soon. It is hard sometimes because a waiters salary is so inconsistent and it is mentally draining, trying to juggle bills and making this project a success at the same time. I have come to an realisation though, and that is that time is on my side. When I started this project I was in such a rush to get things moving and in the end just was disappointed half way down the road because I was either let down by certain people or upset because " the system" is just messed up. Now I am in a different space and have excepted that things do take time and forcing it will only make yourself stress to much. Eston has been working round the clock to finish his final exams and he still continues to amaze me with what he can create with film. Our video releases have stalled for now until Eston has finished his finals. Then he will be taking sometime off to see the parents. By the end of July Eston will be back and we, as a team, will be pumping out new video footage at least once a week. We unfortunately have no more gear to film our journey which is a bit of a bummer. Until now we have been fortunate for Eston has had permission from his University to film our project with their gear, however, his studies have come to an end and I am at a cross road. James from Uthondo has been giving me some advice and hopefully by the time Eston has returned from his rest, I will have raised funds for our gear to get our story back on track.

Sunday Awesomeness

It was just another regular Sunday for me, which meant picking up the boys at 7:50am. As I drove towards the meeting point I could see little Gamad bouncing up and down like a rubber ball, obviously excited to get to the ice rink. I just love the drive on Sunday mornings because there is absolutely no traffic and what makes it awesome is that Sachi and Gamad have such a funny sense of humour that we keep ourselves entertained with a lot of nonsense talk. Their skills have improved so much these past few months and I finally purchased street hockey gear for both of them, so that they can practice in the week as well and it totally shows. Both of them are much more confident with the puck and stick, the skating is just so natural to them. When they came off the ice, Jason took them to the equipment room and kitted both of them out with all the gear that they need which includes, skates, ice hockey sticks, helmets, upper and lower body padding which amounts to about R6 000($600) Then he gave us a couple of Forms that will register them for the Western province Ice hockey Association, which would put the average player back R3 500($350) a year. As you might have gathered by now my boys are not average and I am so privileged and proud of them to be recognised as serious contenders for the league. Registration will take a couple of weeks but soon they will be playing competitively, which is what we aim to do with so many more kids at The Imilli Project. On the drive back to town, they could not stop bubbling about the gear and their first match and how one day they going to play for South Africa. A dream that just became a little bit more real on this awesome Sunday.

Free Stuff

Today was one of those days that just put a smile on my face. Eston has been working very hard on his studies and it has been tough for him trying to juggle studies with the project. One thing that does have an impact on him is his back. He injured it as a young boy and there are some days that he will be editing in excruciating pain. It does not help that he spends most of his time on an old manky plastic garden chair either. I was busy working online and came upon this website called Greater Good SA which is a really awesome website to connect with causes and people who are looking to reach out to non-profits. I saw a post that advertised free office furniture and quickly thought of Eston.I sent the guy, Terry , an email not expecting a response at all because people go nuts for free stuff. Eston and I where busy working on episode 3 when the email from Terry came through with his phone number . Twenty minutes later Eston was sitting in his new(old) chair! Thank you so much Terry, you have made a young editor very happy and I hope your new office space is the bomb! It is the reason why I am still smiling right now, we do not have much to build on our project because, to be honest, we are poor waiters and students trying to make a difference. What I do know is that we are on the right path because since we started this movement everything has fallen into our lap and we are only so grateful for that. God has our back on this one , well at least mine, not sure what Eston is being punished for :) Our next big mission is to set up our computer class. We have the facility, we have the people that is going to install it for us(for free) all we need is computers. As soon as we are registered, which will be in June, we can apply for computers from certain companies. Like everything else is a lengthy process and we simply can not wait that long, we got things to teach man! So if you know of any company or individuals who are looking to get new equipment or have new computers and got a bunch of the old working ones stashed somewhere, please email us.

Ice Hockey Night

Last night we took the boys to their first ice hockey game. I have never been to a game myself so it was a new experience for all of us. After having a quick meal at Nando's, we bought our tickets and took our seats quite close to the rink itself. Man what a game. We played United Arab Emirates and SA completely thrashed them. At half time the score was 8 - O but what we all noticed was the pace of the game. Clearly it is the fastest ball sport to date, if you can call a puck a ball. The intensity on ice is truly insane! The speed and agility these guys poses is phenomenal. It is definitely not for the faint hearted as these boys plough into each other like massive overloaded trucks that breaks have failed. You can not believe the hits that some of these oaks take but they just get up and carry on! The boys where fixated on the game and you could see the excitement on their faces as they probably imagined how they would play an a couple months time. I'm just so glad that they share the same enthusiasm and passion for skating as I did. When I saw them skate for the first time I knew they would. It is a combination of adrenalin, focus and knowing your abilities and pushing it to the limit. You think nothing can ever beat that feeling until you do something like bungy jumping. Another Episode for another time though.

Duran on Ice

It was an early start for me today. I was up and on the road by 4 am, determined to get Duran some ice time. This week we have the Ice Hockey world championships being held at Grand West Casino. I spoke to Jason, events organizer for the Western Province Ice Hockey Association, on Friday to try and organise some ice time. He informed me that it would be really tough to get scheduled because of the world championships starting on Monday. We made arrangements for the 28th instead and told him that I'd send him the links to our episodes as well. About five minutes later I got a call back from Jason and he was like "Scheldon, we have to get this guy on ice immediately!" So this morning was exactly what I expected. Being his first time on ice ever, Duran attracted quite a lot of attention at first, for it was ice hockey practice for some. He was a bit sketchy at first but soon found his feet and was going backwards in no time, as if he was born on ice! This boy truly has an amazing talent and as soon as he got off we had professional players approaching him wanting to know how he is that good! What an experience it was, unfortunately Eston could not be with us today so we do not have any quality footage on film but I did pull out the old trusty blackberry and got some sick footage of him skating. I wish you guys could see the raw excitement on his face, it was priceless. We stayed for a bit as players from Greece had the opportunity to use the ice. Duren was completely fixated on them and after a while just turned to me and said: "I want to do this!" I replied: "Well you're doing it." What a day it has been! The first hockey lessons on Sunday the 28th of April should be epic!

Duran Kotze

I know right, weird title to a blog. It will all make sense when you guys get to see our second episode out on Wednesday 10 April. On Monday Eston called me, as I was just leaving the gym and said to me, "I've got the camera, keen for a mission?" So we headed out to Stellenbosch, about 30 minutes drive from Cape Town. I met Duren in the streets of Stellenbosch a few months ago. I saw him zoom past me on skates and scrambled to catch up to him. I was so impressed with his skill and wanted to know more about this kid. He invited me to his home and I was quite shocked when we arrived. He lives next to the Stellenbosch dumping site with his grandma and mother in a 3 x 2 meter, badly damaged Wendy house. He shares a bed with his mother as there is not enough space. We soon learned that the dumping site was their salvation. It is where Duren goes everyday to find something to sell to feed the family. This kid not only looks after his family but "sponsors" three teenagers that he is currently teaching how to skate. When ever he can, he barters and exchanges different items that he has found on the dumping site for wheels or skates, for the simple reason to teach these kids how to skate. He is a phenomenal person and skater and I can't wait to see what he can do on ice!

Ice Skating

Yesterday, Sunday 30 March, we took the skater kids to the ice rink in Cape Town. It was supposed to be their first Ice hockey lessons but being Easter Sunday the trainers where not available. So we took them for a chilled session on the ice instead. The camera crew and I set out in the afternoon to meet them and their parents in Bo-Kaap. From there we hit the road to Grand West, a huge casino and entertainment centre where the Ice rink is situated. To be honest I think I shared the same excitement as the kids when we finally got on to the ice. Having not skated for over two years it was like riding a bicycle again. As I suspected they had a natural feel for the ice as well. In a few minutes they where dashing around the rink like experienced ice skaters and I found it quite hard in the beginning to keep up. The "go pro" camera was an absolute godsend and we captured some cool footage of the guys skating. The camera man and I both wiped out at one point and sustained a couple of nasty ice cuts, but nothing serious to write home about. With what we witnessed on Sunday, I am even more confident that our skater boys are going to dominate the ice hockey lessons. Catch our first video post on Wednesday the 3rd April!

In-line Skater kids

It has been a tough few months getting the ball rolling on our project but we are finally in a position where we are able to help a few Inline Skater Kids! On Sunday my new team member and camera man, Eston Van Der Merwe, joined us in the streets on Bo-Kaap to find and film a few of the very talented In-line skater kids. After randomly approaching people in the local community , we were pointed in the direction of Sarchi, a thirteen year old boy with some exceptional skating skills. Soon we had him and 3 of his friends skating the streets showing off their skills. I approached the parents and told them about our mission and with their permission we are off to the ice rink on Sunday. There the boys will be suited in Ice hockey gear to start their ice hockey training. It was so awesome to see the excitement in these kids eyes and they are looking forward to Sunday's ice hockey session. Being an ex-skater myself, I know how easily these guys will learn the ropes and hopefully soon we can get them competing. Our first action footage of the street skating will be posted on Wednesday the 3rd April on Facebook. Please "like" our video to get regular updates as our story unfolds on film.

Crowd-Funding

One of our main sources of funding will be via crowdfunding. For those who are not familiar with this term, now is a good time to Google it. To make any project or invention or campaign a success on crowdfunding websites you need to make a video of three to five minutes long, post it on these websites with an description on what you are trying to achieve and offer online users reward for any donation that they make. Crowdfunding is what makes The Imilli Project stand out from any other NGO in South Africa. Although its been around since 2006 and attracts millions of people from across the world on a daily basis, it is still not a familiar term in SA. No longer do businesses or individuals have to rely on Investors or government to pursue their goals or dreams. We are still in the process of making our video and have filmed most of the content in khayelitsha including interviews with a few of the individuals who will play a major part in the project. Please check out indiegogo.com and rockethub.com. These are but a few of the many successful crowdfunding websites available online today.

Social Media

The Internet is the revolution of the twenty first century and we as a modern NGO, have embraced this powerful tool to help the less fortunate of our country. Our goal is to use sport as a medium to teach persons involved important aspects in life which include, discipline, routine, punctuality and of course confidence. When these aspects are part of your life it gives you direction and leads to a bigger and better life,which is of utter importance for The Imilli Project. We aim to empower every pupil involved with the project with computer knowledge to a point where they will successfully be able to build their own businesses online and see the computer as a household appliance and super important work tool and not a luxury for the rich people.

Imilli: The Beginning

Thanks for taking the time to check out our site – even if you came across us by accident! The project is in its very early stages and so we’ll be using this blog to document our process and interact with all of you. Our first accomplishment has been securing a venue in khayelitsha, however we still need to raise funds to equip the facility with computers and sports equipment. Before we can open our doors, we need a minimum of 20 computers on top of sports mats, roller blades and roller skates, knee and elbow guards, hockey sticks and a climbing wall - we will also need to get sports kits for the kids to wear; It would be amazing if we could get some of these items sponsored. We would also like to get refreshments sponsored aswell as possibly transport for the kids that use the centre. So, thats where you can help – do you perhaps have any suggestions regarding sponsorship or know of anybody/company that may be interested in helping the project? Do you have IT skills or sports interests that could qualify you to work with the project? If the answer is yes to any of these, either comment below or contact us directly – oh and of course, if you can; donate!