With 917 DreamBags distributed to 13 755 children, eight DreamFields built and 76 DreamEvents in two years, the Dreamfields Project says “it had a good year” in 2009.

“We are just finishing our ninth and tenth [soccer] fields at the moment. Our total invest- ments in disadvantaged communities will be about R13,5-million at the end of 2009,” Dreamfields founder and CEO John Perlman, a well-known media personality, tells Engineering News exclusively.

He adds that, this year, the organisation will be building two more fields in the Bushbuck Ridge area and will be returning to its very first field in Tshisahulu, in Venda, to turf it.

“We hope to reach the target of 15 fields before the 2010 FIFA World Cup.”

The Development Bank of Southern Africa has committed R6-million to the building of soccer fields in at least three rural areas. These include Tshisahulu, Driekoppies, just south of the Kruger National Park, and Elliotdale, in the Eastern Cape.

Launched in October 2007, the Dream- fields Project is a section 21 company funded by the world’s largest diversified resources company, BHP Billiton, and insurance group Old Mutual.

The company believes that soccer is a team game, and teams build better schools. It provides DreamBags – full sets of kit – to schools across the country. Each DreamBag contains three soccer balls, 15 pairs of boots and 15 sets of kit, including numbered shirts, shorts and socks. Kit is supplied in the colour chosen by the school and boots provided according to sizes requested by the teacher in charge of the team.

Dreamfields, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education, seeks to put resources for playing soccer into township and rural schools across South Africa, quickly, efficiently and in a way that reaches the most remote corners of the country.

BHP Billiton is part of the highly successful Partnership in Education Network. The Network aims to boost matric pass rates and to improve the skills of school principals and teachers. The Dreamfields Project, with its focus on schools, fits in well with BHP Billiton’s commitment to South Africa’s children.

Dreamfields is not only about a material legacy of grass and posts, but it uplifts souls by giving communities an opportunity to bond in a spirit of unity.

“We believe this project can contribute to a change in the national psyche of South Africa, to grow our confidence and pride from the communities up. BHP Billiton is proud to be a part of something so exciting,” the company says.

Perlman notes that, this year, Dreamfields, in conjunction with BHP Billiton and Old Mutual, will be hosting a three-day tournament for 32 schools, most of them from small towns and rural areas, which will be known as the Dreamfields Cup.

“The passion for soccer in some of the communities is amazing. One does not need to encourage kids to play soccer. Our challenge is to get a good system in place. We want the kit that we distribute to be in the school colours and the boots in sizes that each child requests. Putting a system in place to deliver that quickly and efficiently is a challenge. Since we work a lot in the rural areas, building a network of suppliers is both a challenge and an inspiration.”

He says that, in terms of the field building, the company is trying to come up with low-cost and low-maintenance soccer fields.