Intern Coach Interview: Siphosethu (Elvis) Gqada
SoHK Intern Coach: Siphosethu (Elvis) Gqada
At SoHK SA it is vital for us to develop the soft skills of the Intern Coaches. One of the major skills we focus on is being able to see when a child is struggling, even if it isn’t always obvious. Not all children reach out for support, so it is key for the Coaches to pick up on non-verbal and environmental cues.
Read the interview below with Intern Coach, Siphosethu (Elvis) Gqada, about how he identified a child who needed a bit of support, and what the plan is for providing the necessary:
Could you tell us about a SoHK participant you have connected with?
Rust (pseudonym) is a SoHK participant who comes from the North African countries (not sure about the specific country) and has just arrived in South Africa this year.
He is a very shy and socially anxious individual as he is new to the environment, plus he is not used to speaking English on a daily basis. Our first 1:1 was on the 1st session we delivered at the school and it happened only because I observed that he was very quiet and none of the students were actually speaking to him. I approached him after he chose to step aside from the session and just watch.
Why do you feel you and Rust have connected?
Through our conversation I found out that he’s not strong in English, so a lot of people do not quickly understand what he says because of his accent as well. He is also very new to rugby (just like I am) and he is used to soccer so I understand the shyness of trying a new thing and being scared of being judged by the other students.
How do you plan to strengthen this connection?
Rust keeps removing himself from the sessions more and more and through our conversations I am finding out that he has nobody to speak to in school, even at home he doesn’t have a lot of friends (since he is new) so he is alone, most of the time. What I like about him is that he is okay with just being around even if he doesn’t really engage, at least he is open to conversating with me when there is a session happening.
In our last session I called one of the boys that I saw speaking to Rust at least once, and asked him if he could sort of give Rust an orientation and take him through the stuff they do in school. Plus, I want him to have some company in school so that he could get a bit used to and comfortable with the new environment. I am hoping this buddy system helps Rust, I shall monitor the progress in our future engagements.