Jul 9 2013
Boys of Steel
“You just have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be, Clark. Whoever that man is, he’s going to change the world” Jonathan Kent, Father of Superman, Man of Steel
At Muizenberg Beach Club, the objective is not only to give its members amazing opportunities but also to teach them a valuable set of life skills.
Our most recent endeavour was to get the kids to commit and persevere with MBC and their goals. Our solution was the star chart. The idea is that each child would get a star for every session they attended and extra for good behaviour – sometimes stars are even taken away for bad behaviour. The child with the most stars at the end of the month gets a surprise ‘reward’.
Yesterday evening was the much anticipated reward night. The winner and the runner-up, Asi and Phila, were taken out for burgers.
It was particularly fitting for Asi, who pipped Phila to the top spot by one star which he had earned for sharing his chocolate with another boy who had none… And thus ended up in Spur for their ‘buy one get one free burger’ night. That little piece of chocolate he gave away earned him two massive burger meals!
I wonder how the other boy felt, what he thought when Asi gave him his chocolate. I’d like to think it will inspire him to copy Asi’s altruistic behaviour in the future, especially in an environment where it is more common to grab and fight over scarce treats.
What really strikes me is what a humble guy Asi is. It was almost as though he thought he didn’t deserve his reward. When Ant revealed the surprise part of the evening – to watch Man of Steel at the cinema – he almost walked away in disbelief! That tells me his act of kindness really came from his heart.
Asi recently confided that he’d like to be a police man or a fire fighter when he’s older and you can tell from his loyal and kind nature, he excels tremendously in helping others.
We often talk at MBC about role models, someone the boys can look up to and learn from. I believe they have a role model amongst themselves. It may not be a pro surfer or a celebrity but it is someone they can actually relate to – one of their own.
When the evening was over, Ant received an SMS from Phila reading “Wow!!! I had the time of my life, it was awesome! The stars are worth fighting for”. His gratefulness made the evening a million times worth it’s value and I’m sure whoever they grow up to be, they will always remember MBC and their reward to see Superman.
