Donald Driver didnt know what to expect when he agreed to accompany Green Bay Packers teammate Aaron Kampman on a trip to Africa in late February.
Check out over 100 photos from the trip in a first and second gallery.
The 10-day excursion included two nights in a dorm-like hotel in Mutomo, Kenya, with no air conditioning or ceiling fans. At least the players were provided with mosquito nets so they could sleep.
Theres no way you would be able to sleep without mosquitoes tearing you up, said Driver. You have bugs in your room that youve never seen in your life.
Driver spent part of his teen years in Houston living out of a U-Haul truck, but some of the conditions in Africa astounded even him.
It touched me, because Ive lived homeless before, but to that extent, no. Ive never lived like that, he said. I think that makes you appreciate the way you live. I didnt have any problems compared to what they have over there.
Why would two highly paid professional athletes, joined by their wives, spend their offseason free time walking through the slums of Nairobi, standing amid squalid conditions, witnessing the heartbreaking reality of a country stricken by hunger, an AIDS epidemic and an unsanitary water supply?
For Driver, who was reluctant when his wife, Betina, first suggested the trip, it was an eye-opening experience.
It changes your perspective on life, he said. It makes you appreciate what you have. You cant complain about the little things we complain about.
Driver and Kampman hope to encourage other NFL players to make similar trips to broaden their views of the world. They also feel compelled to reach out and help the less fortunate.
You get a different reality of the fact theres a lot of need in the world, said Kampman. Everyone can do this. It doesnt just have to be a professional athlete.
Where soccer rules
In Africa, where soccer dominates the sports scene, pro football players are rarely recognized.
You say football, they think youre a big soccer player, said Kampman.
Driver said only one man knew who he was during the trip.
He was like, I watch you all the time on TV, said Driver. You catch ball. "former QB", good player. You great player. I love you. Let me see (your) hands. Oh, big hands.
It was more touching that this one guy knew who I was out of millions and millions of people in Africa.
One of the most humorous moments occurred when the players spotted someone wearing a Frank Winters jersey.
Out of all the things, this guy riding a bike down on a dirt road and he has on a Frank Winters Green Bay Packer jersey, said Driver. I wish we could have stopped to take a picture. He probably didnt know who Frank Winters was.
While attending a church service in Nairobi they met a little girl wearing a Packers jersey. The players, with kids of their own, were clearly touched by the African children.
We go down the street and see this little girl sitting on the corner, recalled Driver. She waves. She looks just like my daughter.
Meeting youngsters
The players traveled 5 hours on dusty, bumpy roads from Nairobi to Mutomo and visited schools where poverty is the norm.
These kids sitting in their desks, no shoes on, they are dirty, going to school, said Driver. Their parents cant take care of them. Thats touching.
Makeshift soccer balls were made out of rolled up plastic bags strung together by twine. Kampman keeps one of them on his mantle as a memento.
When Kampman and Driver brought real soccer balls to one of the schools, it caused a delirious stampede.
Ill never forget it, said Kampman. Feet pitter pattering on dirt as fast as they could. It was pretty cool.
Kampman will also never forget, during his first trip to Africa last summer, holding AIDS infected twin babies that were the same age as his youngest son.
I dont have a problem telling you that hit me pretty hard, he said.
Kampman, who with his wife Linde also traveled to India in 2007, said its easy to feel overwhelmed by the enormous needs. So he is trying to take small steps to make a difference.
Every life has a story, he said. When you start to look at it that way, you say I dont care about the statistics. Its better than doing nothing. It beats the alternative of just Oh thats too big, Ill just go back to my life. Were made to give ourselves away.
The players participated in a tour sponsored by World Vision, which specializes in humanitarian aid, and also hooked up with Vapor Sports, a Christian organization that ministers to the poor in Africa.
Kampman and Driver plan to bring their children along on future trips.
We want to expose them to these realities so they dont grow up with just a local world view, said Kampman.
You cant come over and not get involved. When you touch and taste and smell and see, it makes a difference.
A bumpy ride
One part of the trip Driver said he could live without was the short airplane ride to the Masai Mara region of Kenya. Once there, the players enjoyed an awe-inspiring safari, including an up-close encounter with zebra-eating lions.
But getting there was the hard part.
We flew in this plane that I would never fly in again, Driver said. None of the seat belts functioned, and passengers were jostled about the plane, which landed on a dirt road.
Youre just all over the place, said Driver. I was sick going over and sick coming back. I think Id take a nine-hour drive (instead of) this 35-minute flight.
That was one of many uncomfortable moments, but Driver said he thanked his wife for talking him into going to Africa.
It was a great experience, he said. I wouldnt trade it for the world. I will go again.