Football is great but....

...there are much more important things in life! As I reflect on my beloved Spurs failing in their attempt to overcome Chelsea in this years League Cup final I have also been thinking about Synergy, and the task ahead. And the truth is that our task goes well beyond what happens on the pitch.

I have often talked about the on-pitch struggles and successes of Synergy, but to focus just on football would be a misrepresentation of what we are really about. At Synergy we love football, but that is just one facet of what we do. Football is the point of contact which gives us an opportunity to get along side young people who, for the most part, have little experience of church, and would normally be unlikely to think about ever going.

Firstly football gives us that opportunity to broaden their horizons and opportunities. That includes 50 Synergy players this year, whose talents have enabled us to find bursaries for their education, from primary right up to university level. For some players this means lightening the financial load on their already overstretched parents and enabling them to attend better schools than they would otherwise be able to afford. But for many others it goes beyond that; for them it’s the difference between educational opportunity and no education at all.

Take John as an example, his single parent is desperately poor to the point that even though he has a bursary, his parent is not even able to provide the other school requirements beyond school fees that his bursary covers, such as a uniform and books. Despite our limited funds, we do our best to provide these requirements where parents have no way to meet them, ensuring that the offer of a bursary doesn’t go to waste for the want of money for a uniform.

Secondly football gives us a chance to speak into their lives, not just on matters of a sporting nature, but through lessons for their wider lives. Take 2 of our senior first team players, David and Paul, who have recently become fathers. The small match day allowance they receive from Synergy for being Big League players certainly helps in some small way, but perhaps more valuable than that is the continued life skills and mentoring they receive that is challenging them to be the good fathers that this nation so dearly needs.

Or then there is Tony whose poor decision-making led to problems with alcohol resulting in him being thrown out by his parents. The mentoring and discipleship that Synergy provides has helped Tony get his life back on track, sobering up, changing his behaviour and bringing reconciliation with his parents. Time and again, we have been thanked by grateful parents and teachers who have seen the work of Synergy bring about real change in our players attitudes and behaviour.

Whilst trophies and titles are great, they are not the measure of our success. It is the stories and testimonies such as those above that is what really matters, and what Synergy is all about.

If you would like to support us in what we are doing, we are in real need of monthly sponsors, so please do get in touch!

And on another note, some new staff for the Baby Unit…

Good things come to those that wait – after months (really, about five to six months) of waiting, frustration, and yes tears (on Sarah’s part – God (and most other people) knows she’s a cry-baby!), we are now (whisper it) fully staffed on the baby unit.  Yes, we can’t believe it either!

OH… No…. wait for it…. Now we’re not fully staffed anymore…. The new member of staff has had to go back to school to retake an exam.  Frustrating?  You think?????  It’s like a roller coaster!

Anyway, now once again we’ve been provided with another staff member, so now once again, we’re fully staffed, and Sarah is doing training *again* today – not a thing that she greatly relishes, in view of her ever-increasing girth and general discomfort.

Assisting her in training will be head nurse Cathy, so that, should any staff leave during Sarah’s absence, it will be no challenge for Cathy to whip out her new baby unit computer (kindly donated by one of you!) and train up any new staff!

Of course no story about the Baby Unit would be complete without a cute picture of a ex-tiny baby, now chubby and healthy.  Here’s Baby Wasswa (who featured in our mid-November blog).  His little sis died very soon after birth, but Wasswa did well, despite his tiny size.  And now look at him – not so tiny anymore!  Time for some exercise, m’boy!

Waswa as he left the Unit

Waswa Today!