He grew up in Bermuda playing a bit of cricket like most boys his age, but it wasn?t until he went to Zimbabwe a year ago that Derrick Walker?s interest in the game really blossomed.

So much so that already the 12-year-old, a left-handed batsman and left-arm pacer, is talking about a career as a professional in England once he finishes school.

He cannot wait to go back to Bulawayo to be back among his friends, playing cricket. His mother, JoAnne Walker, took him to Zimbabwe 15 months ago when she went there to do some volunteer work.

Initially reluctant to go, Derrick now enjoys growing up in Zimbabwe and experiencing the new culture.

He replied with a quick ?no? when asked if he missed Bermuda at all, though he does miss some friends and the food, particularly hamburgers.

?I like to play cricket with my friends,? said Derrick of his new environment, speaking with a slight African accent.

?I want to stay there for six years until I finish school and then go to the UK to college for soccer and cricket. I want to play soccer for at least two years and make a lot of money like David Beckham and then to play cricket.

?I used to play baseball and basketball here but now I don?t enjoy those games as much as I used. I knew how to play cricket but I didn?t play that much. Out there we start school at 7.30 a.m. and end at 1 p.m. and sports start at 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.?

Already he is thinking about being a Test player himself one day.

?At nights he would say ?I can see me now on the field playing internationally?,? said his mother.

?He had some magazines where you can go to Europe and to a college that trains nothing but cricket and that?s what he wants. He wants to go to one of those schools that will make him a professional cricketer.

?When we were here (in Bermuda) I had him going to music on Saturdays, he always wanted to play cricket but I had him going to play music and singing.?

Derrick played the African drums from the age of three with the Empress Manners Dancers and then studied the recorder with Shine Hayward, as well as becoming one of the first members of the Cathedral Boys Choir under Dr. Gary Burgess.

It was a bold step for Ms Walker to leave Bermuda and travel to Africa for the first time, not knowing what they would encounter in a country that is experiencing turmoil under president Robert Mugabe whose Government has been reclaiming land from white farmers and giving it to blacks.

?We?ve had days when the Opposition has tried to shut the city down, three of those days,? said Ms Walker.

?On the third day there was some violence and that was not far from where I was. Of course those days we did not leave home.

?That was the Opposition trying to demonstrate against inflation being increased 400 per cent in a four-month period, which made it very difficult for people with prices going up but salaries not going up.

?I remember an experience he had when he had to queue for bread and sugar in our neighbourhood supermarket, which made him more appreciative of the things he took for granted, as most of us do. Sometimes we would go home with no bread.?

Those occurrences were not enough to sour the experiences of the Walkers in Africa, rather it helped Derrick develop tolerance of not having basic things which the African children go through on a daily basis.

?Even at our lowest points we never thought we would pack up and go home,? said Ms Walker. ?Derrick was my inspiration, he reminded me of my purpose for being there.

?I was president of the Sandys Lions Club in 1997 and did things here in Bermuda that was very rewarding, but to be able to serve on a different level was so rewarding. My soul has been satisfied. Those material things don?t go with you to your grave, they get left behind for someone else to utilise.?

Because Derrick has already expressed his desire to finish school there, Ms Walker has not made any plans to return to Bermuda just yet.

?Because Derrick has a six-year plan I would like to take it year to year and see how it goes,? she said.

?I will trust in God and believe he has a plan for my life. Fear will come if I had to leave Derrick there to complete his six years. If I was ten years younger I could give it six years with no problem, but I need to think in terms of coming back and settling down.

?I opened up a can of worms here. I?ll stay for as long as I can. The experience has changed his vision, he?s more focused. I would like to think his value system has been reinforced.

?In the beginning he had to really work hard to keep up with his peers who are very focused and hard workers. They play hard and study hard. His visits to the villages have changed him tremendously. He realises that that what he grew up with in Bermuda, not every child there has the same.

?He went through a period where he wanted to give away his things. In giving you can see how much the people in the villages appreciate being given a second hand pair of shoes or clothing.?

Initially the trip was to be for a year, but it could last two, even three years with Derrick enjoying it so much.

?I can see Derrick?s change in attitude towards school and I like the environment that he is in with the children speaking two languages, some of them three,? said Ms Walker.

Shona, Ndebele and English are the three languages spoken in the country of about 12 million and Derrick is learning to speak Ndebele.

?These people have a different passion about life than what we live and of course that is good for Derrick,? she stated.

?He reads way more than he ever did and in his class, the seventh grade, he read the most books for the school year.?

That may have been helped by the fact that, while there was a television in their house, it was broken.

?The school gave it to us and we never repaired it so we went the whole year without TV, so we had a lot more quality time in the evenings, played more games and did more talking,? revealed Ms Walker.

?The thing I?m impressed about with the young people is that they know they don?t get the key to life until they are 21 when they announce their womanhood or manhood. Their parents keep them pretty close to them.?

She added: ?We try to teach our children certain things but when we don?t live them it can be confusing to the child. I got to live out my childhood dream.

?It made me more appreciative of what I had. I have no regrets, I would do it again.?

A presentation fund-raiser will be held tomorrow evening at Clearview Guesthouse from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Those interested in attending should call 293-0484, ext. 301.