“Hi, I’ve heard about your organization, I would like to volunteer for you, is it possible?”

With the white SUV, my dear driver turns into the dusty road leading to the organization office … “it should be there, where the basketball court is” in the middle of the reddish soil. The field is exposed to atmospheric agents, the sun burning cracks the cement, reminding of the face of an old woman.

The driver escorts me almost like a bodyguard. “This is not a good neighborhood” he told me, “are you sure you want to go? It is the Muslim slum, you must not trust, are known to be thieves!”

Under the mango tree some kids are playing in a circle, a little one takes me by the hand and wants me to play with them.

As I entertain the children, from the barracks at the bottom, a young man appears, he looks like a giant, surrounded by a positive light. With a sincere smile, he waves at me.

“Did I talk to you on the phone?”

“Yes, come in, please.”

We get into a small, dark room, and sit down at the desk. As it is often the case in Ghana, there is light off, the fan does not go … A shelf full of sneakers of all sizes, more or less worn, behind my shoulders, a series of hidden cups on a shelf in the upper left corner.

“What are your skills?”

“I have volunteered with kids and teenagers for many years, in hospitals and as a basketball coach”

“Ah, Do you coach? good! You can come for a trial on Saturday with the female team ”

“A trial?” I thought between myself … “but is he serious?”

Then I added: “I would also like to teach math and science, do cultural activities and …”

“Let’s start with Saturday training, then we will build on that”.

Somehow speechless for the composure and hermetic sentences of my interlocutor, I go back to the car with a much smaller enthusiasm but also more curious.

Spending most of my time abroad, I have my opinion, maybe wrong, about the presumption of superiority, intrinsic in most Europeans. You perceive a bit of arrogance when interacting with other cultures, as if we were always the ones called to teach and the counterpart can do nothing but to learn. For me it was obvious that I was able to easily train the young girls of the community … but I was pleasantly disagreed.

On Saturday afternoon, I get out of work and I rush to the children’s playground, cheerful little boys play barefoot or with slippers, skinny girls sell water or snacks on the field. Football players challenge themselves in the surrounding, aggressive, naked torso, they do not hesitate to run over you if they are fighting to score.

And here I meet my new team, I’m excited.

Not very tall girls, except for one, are timidly approaching the field where I’m introduced as a “guest coach” who will conduct a special lesson … with an easy going approach and a little communication difficulty, given my accent, I start to lead the warming up:”Two files, from and go, Let’s start with the lay-ups”.

After a few minutes, I can’t believe it: quick, smart players, good shooting technique … I have to sharply raise the level of the exercises I had prepared. They are obedient and affectionate, a pleasure to train them. They welcomed me without prejudice, without fear, without indifference.
 As soon as the female session ends, the under 14 is preparing for a match, but before starting, the players join in a circle and pray together, a deep emotion. In the slum, there are not only Muslims (the majority) but also Christians and Catholics, and in an era when everybody talks about terrorism and fear of the other, these little men give a lesson of life to all of us. No matter if you call it God or Allah, the only important thing is that they are together, protected and happy.While watching the match Moh approaches me: ” you seem very comfortable with the girls, would you like to come next week?””Maybe because I suffer the Peter Pan syndrome … Of course! I cannot wait”.

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