Checkmate

A block away from Power Child is another German NGO. This one is called Women for Peace, but still has a number of programs for school children. Much like Power Child, the majority of the children start to show up after school lets out around 2:30pm. When we arrived for our second day of work at Power Child, Marcus (the acting director of Power Child) had tasks for us to do as soon as we arrived. Half of us (myself included) headed to Women for Peace to help them prepare for the children’s arrival. It was unclear to me what the relationship between the two NGOs was, and I really had no idea what to expect.

We learned that Women for Peace has a number of after school programs and really has long term goals for the kids who attend them. In addition to helping the kids with homework and providing an organized soccer program, Women for Peace also offers ballroom dancing lessons, music lessons, and chess lessons for the kids. The ballroom dancing and music programs have existed for quite a while and the children compete in the area.

When we arrived, we received a quick tour of the facilities, and I was impressed by the large collection of trophies atop the television set that I was told had come from the ballroom dancing  and music competitions. Most had different children’s names written on them, but some were simply awarded to the Women for Peace Center. After making lunch for all the kids, we split up to plan activities for the afternoon.

I offered to help with the chess program and met with Lester, the 20-year-old German student who was the main chess instructor. Lester and I discussed the level of the chess that the children were capable of playing and his teaching strategies. His plan for the upcoming months is to enter some of the older and more advanced chess players in a tournament in Cape Town.

When the kids arrived, I taught many of the younger ones how to move bishops and rooks. Lester was using chess to teach them sportsmanship, and os each player was required to shake hands before and after the game. We played a few games with only pawns bishops and rooks to get the hang of it, but the kids quickly grew tired of that and begged to play with the king, queen, and knights too. Their desire to learn and keep playing was very inspiring. Next we played some games with all the pieces, and I decided to work with the self proclaimed “chess king.”

We worked through a number of chess puzzles on paper and then played a few matches talking about each step. While the “chess king” made a number of mistakes, he was always quick and eager to learn why his moves were not as safe as he thought. By the end of the day, he was flying through the puzzles and making few mistakes. Lester congratulated me on the work and insisted that I do the bungee jump. I’m still not sure that I’ll do it, but he told me that once I get to the bridge, I  will end up doing it. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see if Lester is right.

- Matt Spaulding