The Moses Foundation

The Success Story of Manzini Athletic Club, Swaziland

Where hope would otherwise become hopelessness, it becomes faith.  ~Robert Brault

What a fantastic day was had  by all the team here at The Moses Foundation  on Tuesday morning the 27^th of August 2013 , as we were presented with a once in a life time opportunity to  meet the coaches and the athletes from The  Manzini Athletic Club (MAC) who were on a visit to the green isles for a number of days to stay with the founder of the Manzini Athletic Club Father Martin McCormack.

Founder of  (MAC) Fr Martin McCormack, Tshidi Mdluling, Mcebo Dlundlu and Head Coach of the (MAC) Muzi Mabuza- Ballydesmond GAA club sponsored tracsuits and sports bags for the athletes on their recent visit. Fr Martin hails from the village.

Muzi Mabuza the Swaziland National Athletic coach and Fr Martin McCormack, a Salesian priest from Ballydesmond, set up Manzini athletic club back in 2008. The club works alongside the poorer children most of who are orphaned and have been left with either one or no parents but have the drive and potential to succeed through knowledge, education and hard work.

‘’All our athletes come from extremely poor backgrounds and the club along with the Moses Foundation help contribute to school fees and clothing in most cases.’’

 Father Martin McCormack has dedicated many years of his life working with the poorest children in Swaziland and encouraging the positive attitudes and drive in all his athletes. Throughout his years in Swaziland he has covered over 60 schools and his never ending work has reached out to over 8000 orphans.

Father Martin McCormack will now focus on his position in the Salesian parish in Castletroy where he will work in leadership development training and as curate in the parish . He will continue to support the club and work in Swaziland..

’’ As you can imagine finding food and clothing is a never ending task but with the support and thanks to the Irish people and The Moses Foundation hundreds of children have gone to school because of their generosity’’.

Founder of the Moses Foundation Donal Herlihy being presented with the London Olympics 2012 official Swaziland teams tracksuit by Head Coach of Manzini Athletic Club Muzi Mabuza , Mcebo Dlundlu, & Tshidi Mdluling.

Manzini Athletic Club has given its athletes a huge amount of independence and opportunities that would otherwise have never been possible. One of the athletes who spent some time with us on Tuesday is Mcebo Dludlu who received an eye operation with the generosity of the Moses Foundation who before that was otherwise blind and has gone on to win two gold medals while running for the visually impaired men’s 100m and 200min Lusaka last year. Mcebo will now take part in the upcoming Paralympics to be held in Brazil in 2016.

Another successful athlete derived from the Manzini Athletic club who was unfortunately not with us on the day is Phumlile Ndinisa. Phumlile escaped her captivity from child traffickers at the age of  6 by jumping from a moving vehicle and this resulted in huge injuries and severe damage to her hearing. With the support and encouragement from  the (MAC)  Phumile has gone on to take part  part in the 2012 London Olympic Games and  has been awarded a scholarship by the International Athletics Association to train in the Mauritius for the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games.

The stories and successes of this club are beyond imaginable and it is growing each year with more and more talented athletes. To help train these athletes the club needs to respond with coaches and one of the newest members to the team is Tshidi Mdluli., who has spent the last 6 years in college in Cuba with the help and support of  Fr Martin McCormack and the Moses Foundation to receive her degree through both Spanish and English as a qualified professional fitness coach.

The Moses Foundation Charity Run

We are always on the lookout for sponsors and opportunities to help with the Moses Foundation funding. We will be launching a Moses Foundation Run before Christmas and would appreciate any of the Running clubs to facilitate and offer one of their local 5kms runs between now and Christmas to be in aid of  The Moses Foundation.

If clubs could contact The Moses Foundation Fundraising Depaertment; Emer O’ Callaghan 086 8422817 or email emerthemosesfoundation@gmail.com and a marketing package including a tshirt for each participant will be posted out in aid of the event. www.themosesfounation.com /twitter: moses_2003 and facebook: themosesfoundation

 

 Mcebo Dlundlu, Tshidi Mdluling and Head Coach of the Manzini Athletic Club Muzi Mabuza on their recent trip to Ireland

www.themosesfoundation.com