When I first arrived in Cape Town, I had a clear plan for my Leadership in Action project. I wanted to run a coaching programme that would use sport as a tool to teach teamwork, discipline, and confidence. I expected to spend my time delivering a general sports programme, but within days of arriving, I realised that what the community really needed was more specific. The girls at SOS Children’s Villages had a deep interest in football but had never been given a real chance to play. It became clear that there was a genuine hunger to learn, and I knew that was where I needed to focus my energy.
The programme that took shape was a continuation of the work that LIA Scholar Youness Robert-Tahiri had started the year before. He had laid the foundations for girls’ football in the village, and I wanted to build on that momentum. From the very first session, the excitement was obvious. The girls showed up early, eager to play, and their enthusiasm created a real sense of purpose for the project.
We began with the basics: dribbling, passing, shooting, and teamwork. Many of the girls had never been formally taught, so everything started from the ground up. What stood out to me most was how quickly they learned. Even though the sessions were simple, every week they came back sharper and more confident. One of the biggest turning points came when I realised that none of them actually knew the rules of football. They could play in an instinctive way, but they did not understand offside, free kicks, or even how matches were properly structured. That session where I finally got to sit them down and explain the rules became one of the most rewarding of the entire programme.
For the first time, they could connect the skills we were practising with the bigger picture of the game. The joy and focus on their faces when things started to click reminded me why sport is such a powerful educational tool. It was not just about physical activity. It was about helping them see themselves as players who belonged to something larger than the field we were on.
To celebrate the end of the programme, we organised a trip to watch the University of Cape Town’s women’s football team play. For many of the girls, it was their first time watching a live match. Seeing female footballers competing at such a high level completely shifted their perspective. After the match, they had the chance to meet the players, ask questions, and even take photos together. That day felt symbolic. It was more than just a fun outing. It was a moment of representation and belief. I could see how inspired they were, and I hope that it helped to challenge the unspoken notion that football is a sport only for boys.
Week by week, I watched their confidence grow. They started organising informal matches on their own time, something that had not happened before. The desire to play was no longer something I had to encourage; it was something that came from them. That was when I knew the programme had achieved something lasting.
Halfway through my time at SOS, I faced an unexpected challenge. I injured myself and was no longer able to coach physically. At first, I worried that this would bring everything to a stop. But leadership is often about adaptation, and this was my opportunity to prove that. I began looking for other ways to contribute and noticed that many of the children spent their afternoons doing very little after school. They were restless, often bored, and looking for stimulation. That was when I decided to introduce chess.
At first, I was unsure how it would go. Chess was something completely new for most of them, and I did not know if they would have the patience for it. But to my surprise, the response was overwhelming. Within days, chess became one of the most popular activities in the village. Children would run to grab boards as soon as they saw me setting up. I started teaching the basic rules, and from there, we moved on to tactics and simple openings. What struck me most was how much they enjoyed thinking. The game demanded focus, and it gave them a different kind of space to challenge themselves.
The biggest highlight came when one of the girls who had picked up the game quickly ended up competing against adults and actually won. That moment captured exactly what I had hoped for: to create something that could outlast my time there.
Looking back, I am proud of how the project evolved. It did not follow the plan I had before arriving, but it ended up becoming something much more meaningful. I learned that leadership is not about imposing your vision, but about listening and adapting to what people need. The girls’ football programme gave them a sense of empowerment and belonging, and the chess sessions gave all the children a new outlet for curiosity and concentration. Together, these two projects created different but complementary forms of growth.
The most rewarding part of this experience was seeing the transformation in the children’s attitudes. When I first arrived, many of them seemed hesitant to engage. By the end, they were initiating activities, supporting one another, and taking pride in what they had learned. I also grew as a leader in ways I did not expect. Being forced to adapt due to injury taught me humility and creativity. It showed me that the essence of leadership is not control, but the ability to inspire and sustain momentum even when circumstances change..
Working at SOS Children’s Villages has been life changing. It reminded me that small interventions can make a real difference when they meet genuine need. It showed me the power of listening and adapting, and how joy, discipline, and community can emerge from something as simple as a game. Most importantly, it taught me that leadership is not about standing at the front, but about creating spaces where others can thrive.