Two years in a row! Last year, August 29 and 30, our friends from Australia, Kaleb and Johnny came to visit the Manila Slum Program communities for a basketball clinic. Fast forward a year later, Kaleb came back last August 29 to 31 to share his basketball expertise with the kids of MSP.
This was made possible through Captivating’s Adopt A Project initiative. Kaleb has been doing work as a coach in Australia out of his love for the sport, his passion closely documented on his platform, Evolve Hoopz or @evolvehoops.au on Instagram. When he partnered with Adopt A Project Initiative, he was able to raise USD 3,862.19 in donations! All proceeds went to the kids because he believes that “every child deserves the opportunity to pursue their dreams. Through basketball, we can provide practical support, build meaningful relationships, and remind these kids that they are seen, valued, and loved.”
What’s different this time? It turns out, every new experience is a delight and filled with new insights. For starters, he tried a slightly different approach. Last time, the groups were bigger, so now, he worked with smaller groups to focus on the kids’ individual skills and progress. We asked him, Why basketball? What about it helps you connect with the children more that words cannot? And he responded candidly,
“Basketball is something that connects anyone. No matter the nationality or age of gender, basketball connects people (which then) leads to other things like deep and meaningful conversations or support through different situations. (In my experience,) I was older than the players, spoke different languages, and have had a completely different life experience—but basketball brought us together.”
Now on his second year coaching in the Philippines, we were curious as to what made him keep coming back. He answers matter-of-factly: “The people.”
“…From the players I got to coach, the Sanghaya team, the communities, and even just the little interactions. I absolutely love the Filipino people and culture. They’re all filled with so much contagious joy, and I feel so much love when over there. It was so rewarding to see some of the same players from last year and see how they’ve grown and developed with basketball but also as people.”
As we tied all these back to the main goal of MSP, which is to educate, we profoundly realized more how Kaleb’s personal values align with ours. Before he flies back home, we asked him what he would tell someone back in Australia about why his basketball clinic matters, and he took us with him to his train of thought,
“One of the big things I noticed was all the signage in English.” He later discussed this with the team on why they are like that, and he learned that it was because many of the establishments in Manila are marketed towards the middle class. Since English is not the first language of Filipinos, especially those kids he had been coaching, it made him “realise how important an education is for kids in these communities, as it allows them to learn English and then get a job which will support them and their families. I’ve been explaining this to people in Australia to demonstrate how powerful the work done through the program is.”
To echo Kaleb, basketball brought them together in this part of Manila. Whatever it is that transcends age, language, culture, social class, upbringing, and other differences—humans will always find ways to connect through shared love of something. We are truly grateful for Kaleb and his heart for sharing what he loves with these kids. We also thank the donors, and especially our implementing partner, Sanghaya Foundation, for facilitating a warm welcome and stay for Kaleb.
Hopefully until next year…And if fate permits, the same time!
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We need 10 people or families each willing to donate USD 3,500 | AUD 5,000 per year for 3 years to start in a new community. Help us provide education and support to children and families in Manila’s slum communities.
With your support, we can stop the “slum story” with this generation of children.
