England football manager Fabio Capello went on an unusual overseas tour earlier this month. His destination? Maseru in Lesotho, where he visited an HIV testing centre. What was really unusual, however, was the ingenious method the centre used to grab the saturnine coach’s attention. They sat him in a room with a 14-year-old boy who was about to receive the results of an HIV test. “It was tense in that tent,” said Capello. “I was very worried – I had a few difficult moments in there.”
Fortunately the boy tested negative. “We scored a goal, so to speak,” pronounced the relieved onlooker. Continuing in philosophical mode, the art-loving football man reflected: “I suppose you could say this was a very good experience for our soul because it makes you understand the hardships in the world…I feel enriched because I have seen things that make me think and whenever you think, you get richer.”
If anyone can think of a better way to wake up jaded westerners who are bored of AIDS stories, please post it here.
