Part of the magic of GDM is that we are remotely situated in the beautiful village of Manica in Central Mozambique. This is a blessing and a curse, since very few Westerners will stumble upon Manica or get introduced to GDM by chance! On the upside once someone goes through the effort to travel to Manica they are rewarded with the experience that is 'out of this world'.

Our relationship with Arsenal in the Community has been fantastic, since it makes the Manican youths feel that they are not alone, and that they are part of the global village. The Founding Fathers of the Arsenal-GDM relationship is Walec (Will and Alec) who's personal commitment and passion put GDM on the (North London) map. Through Alan, Sami and John a formal relationship developed.

2011 is a massive year in that two Arsenal Gap Year groups came to live and work with GDM in Manica. The first group was the ever entertaining Drew and Adam (DRAM/ADREW?) who goes down in history as the first official Gappers. One can not explain what massive impact they had. All their trials and tribulations was canonized in a very well written blog series that reflects the VIDA REAL of Manica: http://www.gdmthearsenalway.blogspot.com

Their adventures were even captured by the very popular Young Guns website:http://younggunsblog.co.uk/2011/02/arsenal-making-waves-in-mozambique/

Our second group who is currently in Manica, building on the foundations of the previous lads is Mego and Will. Again GDM was lucky to receive British boys that actually has pleasant personalities and that works very hard. Besides having lots of fun "Wigo" is having a serious impact as role-models for the A-Team. For a very entertaining read and a real reflection of life in Manica, have a read: http://www.arsenalinmozambique.blogspot.com

Using the net can never be a replacement for face to face interaction, but its a intro and tool to stay in touch. That is why GDM also have our own website: http://www.fcmanica.com and a page on Facebook called http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vida-Real-GDM/106043499485526

Through these real life visits and sharing through blogs and other websites, GDM can be part of a global dialogue, staying in touch and adding to the story. Hope to see you in cyber space and that will hopefully lead to seeing you in Manica! Everyone is welcome, like Robin, who just emailed from Germany and now he is there! From a German emailer to a GDM real life friend. Super cool.