Sean soon worked with the local YMCA to develop a community basketball team of 3rdand 4th graders called the Albert Park Rough Riders. Simultaneously, Sean expandedhis basketball circle, meeting players and coaches from other communities. He met afew friends at Durban University of Technology (DUT). Vusi Khumalo was Sean's firstintroduction to, and first friend from DUT and Umlazi. Thabani Nkosi was another friendthat came along soon after. They all shared a passion for the game. One day, Vusi andThabani called Sean and told him to come to Umlazi, Section M.Through Vusi and Thabani's connections in Umlazi, Section M, they began to use 3 or4 basketball courts as the primary area to run programmes. During their first event inUmlazi, Sean recalls all three of them on the phone with schools, concerned that the kidswouldn't show up because they were so late in arriving. "We soon looked up to see over200 kids walking towards us, ready to play basketball." They stood tall, prepared to facilitatewith frisbees and tennis balls for team-building stations. Programmes in Umlazi trendedupward from this point forward. Between games, Sean vividly recalls seeing the Umlazicoaches bringing DJ's while the kids would break out in dance competitions. It wasn't justbasketball, it was an entire vibration of unparalleled energy, flowing through everyonepresent. Today, Sean refers to Umlazi as "the heartbeat of the entire global organisation, notjust South Africa."PEACEPLAYERS SOUTH AFRICA STORYBOOK17
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