Current stats: 706 DreamBags handed out to date 49 DreamEvents have been held 8 DreamFields have been built
	Four DreamEvents in 36 hours, 44 schools involved and 660 young players proudly taking the field in brand new kit – however you look at it, the weekend that began on Friday June 25th was the most remarkable in Dreamfields history. It began at sunrise in the eastern village of Lilydale, on the border of the Kruger Park, and ended the next day at dusk in another rural place – the township of Tigane in Hartbeesfontein in North West Province. For the first time ever, on Friday night, we staged a tournament under floodlights, in the Cape Flats community of Kensington in Cape Town – our first event in the Mother City. And as part of a packed Saturday, we took the Dreamfields Project to the Mpumalanga village of Elukwatini, in rural Mpumalanga, in partnership with the students of Cida City Campus. As Friday dawned in the village of Lilydale, members of the Dreamfields team and staff from the game lodge Sabi Sabi – began preparing for the arrival of 13 schools, nine of them primaries and four secondaries. The Sabi Sabi conservancy is close by and has established an enviable reputation for caring for the wild on one side of the game fence and for investing in communities who live on the other. This DreamEvent had something rather unusual about it. In addition to the 13 DreamBags handed out to the teams, Sabi Sabi provided each school with a bag of netball kit. So while the soccer was played to a chorus of cheers and chants, on two fields in Lilydale, the girls from 13 schools played out a netball tournament of equal excitement and intensity. As the Lilydale event moved into the afternoon, another soccer-loving community nearly 1 800 kms away in Cape Town was beginning to get ready for their DreamEvent. Kensington on the Cape Flats produced one of South Africa’s finest footballers in Shaun Bartlett, who played for Bafana Bafana in the 1996 African Cup of Nations. That tradition of strong community clubs is centred at the 14th Avenue Sportsfields and it’s there that a group called Life Zone does their excellent soccer development work. Life Zone has taken 11 primary schools in the area under its wing and provided coaching, organization and most important a focus for hope in a community facing significant challenges from crime, gangs and drugs. Dreamfields was delighted to work with such an organized partner, and the Kensington event lived up to all our expectations. On a cold and damp night, hundreds of parents and spectators gathered to watch this under-9 tournament, which was sponsored by a range of contributors, including a number of individuals, Target Projects, Best Life Magazine and our founding partners BHP Billiton and Old Mutual. The teams – mixed boys and girls – were organized into three groups of four and played fast-paced end-to-end matches on small pitches, eight minutes a game. Semifinals followed, and then the final which was won by Wingfield Primary. The event ended close to 11pm but the young footballers were still wide awake. And for Dreamfields, this DreamEvent was the start of what we hope will be a very fruitful relationship with an excellent community-based project. From the wintry weather of a Cape Town Friday night, we moved the next morning to the dry heat of Hartbeesfontein, a tiny mining town in North West Province. Hot rather than cold, bright sunlight not floodlights – but for the rest, the atmosphere in the Tigane township stadium was just the same. Young boys wearing brand new kit for the first time in their lives, playing the game they love and live for with a new sense of confidence and style. The 10 primaries sponsored by our partners for the day, Uranium One, included a number of farm schools, the first time Dreamfields has really reached this especially under-resourced group. And they gave as good as they got in an excellent tournament that produced a final between two unbeaten teams: home favourites Tigane Primary and Bakang. It took penalties to separate the teams – Bakang never missed and some of the Tigane boys ended up in tears. But they will get another chance. Uranium One put massive energy into the event and the company is committed to doing more to water the seeds that were planted on a memorable day at Tigane stadium. And finally to the village of Elukwatini, which lies in eastern Mpumalanga, close to the border with Swaziland. This DreamEvent was sponsored by the Hawthorn Trust and our partners for the day were the students of Cida City Campus, who also used this tournament of 10 secondary schools to offer lifeskills education and important information about HIV-Aids. The tournament itself produced some outstanding soccer, and DreamEvents coordinator Silas Mashava declared the standard of play as good as anything he has seen. Nearly 30 hours of soccer, 660 pairs of new boots and dozens of new dreams inspired – after an exhausting but exhilarating 36 hours, the Dreamfields Project team feels more convinced than ever of the generous spirit of South African individuals and companies, and of the power of this beautiful game to inspire our children and our communities. << Back