PeacePlayers South Africa Storybook FINAL - Flipbook - Page 14
THE HUDDLE
“Umlazi is the heartbeat of
PeacePlayers worldwide, not just
South Africa.”
SEAN TUOHEY ON UMLAZI
"Back then, basketball didn't have
stereotypes or race behind it. Kids
don’t see colour first, they see people.
Put a ball in between them and they
can communicate in the language of
basketball. Seeing those relationships
form was one of the best things I ever
saw in my life."
MENZI ZUNGU,
PEACEPLAYERS ALUMNUS
"What I think we did really well is, we listened. We were
very clear from the beginning that this wasn't our idea.
Sports had been used for centuries to unite people, and
we showed up very humble and we weren't showing up
as two white Americans either, with this idea of, 'Look,
we have the answer to solve South Africa or Northern
Ireland’s problems,' and I think that humility allowed us
to kind of be quietly behind the scenes, you know,
making good noise. But really, saying, 'This is going to be
your program, and how can you shape this program in
a way that's going to work for the country?' Because we
were able to listen, because we were able to adapt on the
fly and really understand the hot button issues in each of
the places we went, and empower the local communities
to understand that this was theirs, not ours. And our
opportunity for success was to really help everybody else
shine, and it’s that ability to listen deeply that is I think
what made PeacePlayers as strong as it is.”
THIBAULT MANEKIN, CO-FOUNDER
“I remember when Steve Kerr [Former NBA Champion and Current NBA Head Coach] came down,
people loved the NBA in Durban at the time. We did our first clinic in Molweni on a plateau with kids
from Molweni and Umbumbulu. The wind was blowing, so the kids would almost throw the ball into
the wind, knowing how to use the wind to their advantage. It was funny because when Steve Kerr first
arrived in Molweni, he air balled his first two jump shots."
SEAN TUOHEY ON MOLWENI
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PEACEPLAYERS SOUTH AFRICA STORYBOOK
