When Anneli heard that I was playing Ulti here she asked if HUC would be willing to make a donation of some discs and rule books to our team. A huge thank you to Hamilton Ultimate Club and those who helped facilitate the delivery of discs all the way to Zomba, Malawi. The kids were so happy to receive the discs, and it’s great to know they will continue playing after I’m gone.
A few differences between ultimate in Canada and ultimate in Malawi...
- It’s so hot we’re sweating before we even start playing.
- Most of the kids play in bare feet.
- There are baboons running between trees on the sidelines.
- Most of the communication between people is in Chichewa (the official language in Malawi), not English.
- A few examples of Chichewa words we use on the field…
- ‘Tiyeni’ = ‘let’s go’ (the kids yell it after the pull as they start running for defense)
- ‘pangono’ = ‘slowly’ or ‘a little’ (basically means ‘chilly!’)
- ‘kusewela wabwino’ = ‘good game’
So remember to pack a disc wherever your travels take you. It really is a game you can teach anywhere despite any language barrier. Although I’m sad to be leaving my Zomba Ultimate Team soon, I’m really excited about coming home in time for most of the HUC season. Thanks again for your donation!
Hurricane Katrina - September 2005
Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and one of the deadliest
hurricanes in the history of the United States. Katrina formed on August
23 during the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season and caused devastation along
much of the north-central Gulf Coast of the United States. Most notable
in media coverage were the catastrophic effects on the city of New Orleans,
Louisiana, and in coastal Mississippi. HUC donated $1000 to the Canadian
Red Cross thanks to Unknown Legends 2005. Please view the certificate
from the Red Cross
Unknown Legends tournament from 2000 - 2004 raised $5000 for Big Brothers
Big Sisters of Hamilton and Burlington. Click
here to view the letter we received May 5, 2005.
HUC felt a great appreciation for the use of the HPH fields. We donated
$1000 on behalf of HUC. Click
here to view letter we received March 31, 2005.
October 21, 2004
We played with HUC for 3 seasons. Each season was a great time - much
fun and competition and sometimes even winning. Since September 2003,
we’ve been working in Central Africa. We work with Mennonite Central
Committee (MCC - a Christian NGO) as program coordinators in the countries
of Burundi, Rwanda and in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
We work with local NGO’s who promote peace and reconciliation. Our
role is to build their capacity and to help them do better what they are
already doing (and can do better than us). We are also involved in humanitarian
aid, (helping with food, blankets, clothes and seeds to refugees and communities
hit by natural disasters). We are also helping write a curriculum of peace
for elementary school teachers. Since there has been war here for 10yrs,
part of our goal is to encourage people, help them with their trauma and
help them realize that there is hope and that war is not the answer.
As we left for Africa, HUC donated discs and t-shirts for our work here.
Since then, we’ve taught and now play Ultimate with about 20 youth
in our town at least 3 times per week Although they’d never seen
a disc before, we now have great, competitive games that really foster
"the spirit of the game".
Recently we returned home for a quick visit and HUC again donated discs
and some money for the work with the guys. With the money, we plan to
buy shoes and other pratical things for them.
The most encouraging thing is to see the joy in these guys when we play
and when we talk after a game. One of the guys, Desire, who is a regular,
lives with his mother and 3 siblings in a tiny 2 bedroom house. Sometimes
they run out of food and they struggle to get supplies for school. Their
father was one of the first to be killed in the civil war - he was crucified
simply because of his ethnicity. Rebels then sought to kill the rest of
the family. Desire, (about 7 yrs old at the time) tied his 3 year old
sister to his back and escaped into the forest where they hid and scrounged
for food for a week without being found.
The other day, Desire said to me how much he enjoys playing since it
takes his mind off his problems and he has such a good time.
As we seek to help with the many, many needs, we’re gratetful for
how HUC has taken an interest in and support our work here. As the African
concept of ‘Ubuntu’ states, "I am because we are".
Doug and Deanna Hiebert, Program Coordinators - MCC
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