PeacePlayers South Africa Storybook FINAL - Flipbook - Page 55
I. SNAKE PIT IN SHONGWENI
Shongweni is a popular location for staff and participants retreats. At Shongweni, there
is an obstacle course consisting of a team-building activity called the snake pit. The snake
pit is a dark dungeon-like, underground maze where teammates crawl on their knees and
elbows to navigate their way through to the other site.
Thobani remembers Ntobeko being on his team and right in front of him as he followed
him to get through the course. It was in the snake pit where Thobani found out he was
claustrophobic. At some point, he felt unable to breathe fully. "The snake pit was only 2
meters long, but it felt like an hour," says Thobani. By this time, Thobani had lost track of
Ntobeko and didn't know where to go.
A participant came behind him a few seconds later and grabbed his leg. The participant
then says, “keep moving, coach, follow me.” Thobani admitted that the young participant
“sounded like he had it under control, so I kept it moving and followed him.”
After reflecting on the situation, Thobani realised that a participant “pushed me and
encouraged me to keep going forward.” Thobani usually played the role of the encourager
and guiding force at this stage in his career. This situation presented the opportunity for a
participant to do the exact same thing for him. Someone younger than him pushed him past
an uncertain situation and helped him persevere.
PEACEPLAYERS SOUTH AFRICA STORYBOOK
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