Thuso Writes About NYC

Thuso with former Kimberley Interns

I arrived in New York on June 30^th and was picked up by at the JFK Airport in New York by Hooter [former Kimtern]. Since it was 8am in the morning we decided to go home and take a shower and after that we set about to explore New York! I got a chance to have breakfast with one of the previous Kim interns Taylor Downs which was great since I had not seen him in a very long time.

After that we got a chance to do some sightseeing. I must admit that it was too much for one day, but it was all worth it. I got to walk through central park, see Times Square, go on the Staten Island Ferry, and even check out Nora’s previous college Columbia.

All the sightseeing and traveling between Washington DC and New York was fun, but none of those came close to the reason why I traveled to NYC: speaking at the Third International Forum on Sport for Development. 

t was a little tough and a little scary preparing for such a big event, but I had a bit of an advantage, and that was the fact that what I was bringing to the forum was something entirely different and straight from the ground. I was speaking about my personal experiences in the world of sport for development from being a coach for GRS to managing staff and coaches.

My presentation went really well, even better than I had thought it would. People got a chance to see some of the work we do and thought it was very good. They especially appreciated the short story that we had included in the presentation from one of the Danielskuil participants, Portia. I also spoke to some of the other speakers at the forum and learned quite a lot for them.

In short, it was a fun and very educational trip. I am very grateful to have had the chance to go on this trip. I am especially grateful to everyone who helped with the presentation and setting the trip up, the Kimberley team for all the support and for taking care of all site business to ensure that I do not get any interruptions during this trip, and also all the previous interns who took time out of their schedules to help make my stay in NY and DC a very memorable one.