Another full day coaching in preparation for tomorrow's festival and we return to having a full complement of CWB Coaches and all are in full fettle at the 7am breakfast meeting time!
First stop was as yesterday, at the GHS Buea School. Word must have got around after yesterday's visit as instead of the 60 'lively' kids we were confronted with 138! Starting slowly, possibly due to the number of 'new' kids we had five stations playing pairs, followed up by a round of non-stop cricket very competitively and very successfully, with some big hitting and some incredible catching. In no time at all we were trying to organise a group photo, with mixed success, and heading off to Molyko School for our, and their, second visit.
If we thought the first school was hard work, it was nothing in comparisons to Molyko! Disorganised chaos, arguments, fights, football, and a teacher disrupting sessions collecting names of the 'big hitters' for tomorrow's festival, all got in the way of the coaching and games for another 160-odd kids, all on one football pitch! However, this CWB Team is immense and each rose to the occasion, and raised their voices to get the HIV messages across. It was madness in the midday haze and the team were deserving of a chip butty and cold drink for lunch back at the hotel.
After lunch it was back to GHS Buea Town School for their pairs session. How many kids? Seven games of pairs. 12ish-a-side. 180 kids? Ran almost like clockwork. Plenty of talent on show, plenty of ABC's and plenty of smiling faces.
There's nothing quite like an African celebration when winning. Both teams stand in anticipation, eagerly awaiting the outcome. The first team score is greeted with muted cheers and polite applause, neither team quite knowing whether it's a good, or potentially a winning score. The second team score is dragged out for effect. Once announced there is a nano-second pause as the teams compute the impact, and then………….one team looks down to the ground and what might have been, the other bursts into wild celebration, running away at pace, arms waving, cheering, laughing, smiling, screaming in delight. It truly has to be seen to be believed and enjoyed.
love the african celebration description, so true!!