PeacePlayers South Africa Storybook FINAL - Flipbook - Page 40
Menzi Zungu knew little details about
basketball before Playing for Peace. He
was introduced to the Playing for Peace
through Thabani Nkosi, who Menzi played
basketball with occasionally. Teaching and
communicating the game to young kids was
a learning curve. When he finally got a feel
for coaching, Menzi says, "from that day on, I
fell in love with the program. When I was out
there [on the basketball court], I didn't care how
much time I spent with the kids. I just knew I
was doing something good for my community."
Menzi compares his relationship with Thobani
to Thibault and Sean's relationship. They
were four young men from entirely different
backgrounds. But they were all eager to make
a difference. "When Sean and Thibault came,
everyone in Umlazi accepted them for the good
they were doing. Kids just wanted to bounce
the ball and learn, while parents saw that their
kids were opening their minds to something
new." Seeing Sean and Thibault's enthusiasm,
Menzi says, "I knew I needed to step up and be
a leader in my community." And so he did, in a
huge way.
Menzi was part of a group that saw the
program grow from 4 teams in year one to 8 in
year two, and so on. Eventually, people started
donating hoops once the program gained
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PEACEPLAYERS SOUTH AFRICA STORYBOOK
