For most people heading to the Sevens from overseas, getting here means simply buying a sevens ticket, an air ticket and getting on a plane.
For teenagers Lucky Zwane and Sandile Mkhize it meant a legal battle through the South African High Court, the Department of Justice, a high court order and, in a last-ditch effort, two brilliant legal minds working on the case for 24-hours straight.
The pair has no criminal past. In fact, they have no documented past of any description. As orphans in Soweto, there was no proper paperwork to obtain passports. 'We had to do everything to make it happen. We could not contemplate the thought of them plummeting to the depths of despair if they could not go after they had been on a high anticipating it,' says Dali Sizwe, project director of The Soweto Schools Rugby Group, who have headed to Hong Kong for the journey of a lifetime this week.
In stark contrast to the 'match box' government houses where they live an impoverished existence, the youngsters from Soweto last week found themselves in Hong Kong, meeting with heroes on the pitch. The trip is a ground-breaking exchange visit as part of two Laureus support-based projects. Laureus is a sports based charity operating in more than 80 countries. Its ambassadors are sporting legends from a diverse array of sports.
Former Springbok captain Morne du Plessis who is leading the group for Laureus in Hong Kong last week, said 'the phrase 'no journey is made in vain' applies here, and every moment of this visit is life-changing for these youngsters'.
'These 10 kids aged from 16 to 18 have had an incredible few days. Most of them have no criminal past; their only crime was to be born into poverty. They played in the Hong Kong Youth Championships. They stretched the comfort zone and went boxing with Operation Breakthrough. We cannot quantify what this journey will have meant for them. The benefits will happen over the next decades.'
