GDM never fails to amaze me; this summer was my third visit to the club. So I decided to try and tackle this, why have I been there three years running? What is it that makes me keep going back?
No easy answer really, but for me GDM intrigues me so much because of the desire of everybody involved to learn and develop and achieve more. Plenty of clubs and communities would be content with the progress already made. But not the people of Manica, and that for me is what lures me back at every opportunity! I want to be a part of it, seeing the difference of just 2 years ago with how the club and the community is now, is vast. The club is representative of the town itself, ever expanding, ever developing, always bettering itself. It is this quiet determination that really pulls me back, each time seeing how far the club is moving forward. Whether that be on the football pitch or in the classroom, Futeco Park or Short's farm, there is never a moment of satisfaction, it's always about the future and making it better.
It is this attitude that I think is so remarkable and also something that is missing from my own culture perhaps. This determination to make the most of every opportunity is something that perhaps I have in my lifetime been guilty of lacking, but maybe that is no fault of my own just a fault of my culture and society? Perhaps...
I am so grateful for my experiences in Manica for helping me reflect upon myself and my own culture and enable me to see things in ways I had never previously considered. GDM has been a wakeup call for me, a life changing, and thought provoking experience that I hold very close to my heart.
It has helped me gain greater understanding of a sense of what community really is, what development is, and ultimately what a society is. It is amazing to see the power of people if all are working towards the same thing. I am thinking specifically of the FutEco Park here, a dream for many clubs all over the world. Many would leave it just as a dream, wake up and be satisfied with what they have. But the determination and courage of GDM and the Manica community to work to make it a reality is inspiring and the thought of the end product excites me greatly.
One thing is for sure though, the second it is finished, there will be something else on the agenda... Now that is exciting!

- By Alec Norton (ex Arsenal Gap-Year participant)