Wests Tigers inspired by confronting speech from African charity worker

When Michael Maguire wanted his Wests Tigers players to have some awareness of the struggles of the real world, he turned to the man whose confronting experiences inspired him.

• Latest updates: NRL teams round 2
• The proof Crichton’s no Souths traitor

He is the Wests Tigers’ Super secret weapon.

On Tuesday, Zimbabwean-born charity worker Super Dube gave a raw, confronting and inspirational talk to Tigers players about the impoverished challenges facing African nations.

Wests coach Michael Maguire first met Dube 18 months ago during a 10-day humanitarian visit through Africa with charity agency Caritas.

Dube is visiting Australia and Maguire asked him to explain the hardship of living in Zimbabwe to his players, hoping it would instil a steely edge when they face physical and mental anguish on the football field.

Quietly spoken, Dube, 49, has links to Caritas Australia and is a facilitator who determines where funds are directed to poverty-stricken Zimbabwe communities.

Tigers players sat in stunned silence listening to Dube, who told of villages that face the horrors of child trafficking, living with no water or food and kids having to walk 10 kilometres to find supplies.

Wests Tigers players get a real life lesson from Super Dub. Image: Brett Costello

“Super inspired them and gave an insight into his life and inside his communities,” Maguire told The Daily Telegraph. “He spoke to them about not having any water or food. The fact kids can’t go to school.

“The silence in the room said it all. The players were very focused on Super’s story.

“Super has come from an environment of hardship. He will go into villages and assess where they’re at before working out the best way for them to build their community.”

Ahead of Sunday’s clash with the New Zealand Warriors at Campbelltown Stadium, Maguire hoped to give his side some perspective about persevering through adversity.

Maguire in Zimbabwe for Caritas in 2017.

“There were villages I visited where they had no water or food, at all,” Maguire said.

“They are just waiting to see where they would get their next drink or they pass away.

“It’s about providing them with a starting point and to build an infrastructure which is long-term.

“There are tough situations where there are child trafficking. At the age of five, young kids are taken from their villages. They don’t see their parents so they build places for these kids that gives them an opportunity to grow into life.

“Because they don’t have food or water, there is a lot of disease.

“The young kids have to walk up to five, 10 kilometres just to get water. They will carry buckets on their heads. You’ve got animals — alligators, lions — all going to the toilet in the water. The diseases are rife. A simple bore allows them to have a better life.

“They can’t get money out of an ATM for weeks. They don’t have food in the supermarkets for weeks.

“You’d be driving around and you’d see some horrific things we just don’t see in our world here.”

Maguire couldn’t forget the work he saw with Dube. Image: Brett Costello

Maguire saw Dube’s work first-hand and the communities’ reactions blew him away.

“He is an incredible character and a really giving person. It’s all about helping people get to a better place. He has a lot of influence in that space because he has helped so many people,” Maguire said.

“When we drove into the villages in 2017, he was a like a superstar because they know they are one step closer to help.

“The biggest thing is the gratefulness we should have. One thing I am pushing with the players is being aware of these sorts of things. It puts you in a better head space to get through whatever you might face in life.”

Dube is in Australia seeking funding and spreading the gospel of Caritas for Project Compassion.

“It was great meeting Michael again and talking to his players,” Dube said. “Basically, I was sharing the work that we do with Caritas and all the challenges people are facing in terms of shortage of water and what we are doing to assist them.

“It impacted on them to hear the stories from someone who comes from these communities.

“We have a number of projects that we do so that communities have access to clean water. That includes the installation of solar powered water systems that are contaminated. That water can then be cleaned for communities so communities don’t walk long distances.”

Offering support and aid to Caritas has been a passion for Maguire.

“It’s about helping provide water for the people in each village, helping build some infrastructure, bores. That allows them to build community programs to grow food and then sell-off the food to provide an education for their kids,” Maguire said.

Originally published as Wests Tigers inspired by confronting speech from African charity worker