The last two weeks have been phenomenal, if not slightly surreal. Cameroon has thrown up some big surprises, one of these being that the itinerary we were given by Victor at the start of the trip has actually come together. We've played in an 'international' cricket match, featured twice on CRTV (Cameroon's version of the BBC), been guests at the foreign ministers' own Commonwealth Gala, and in amongst all this we've actually done the odd bit of coaching!
One of the lasting memories I'll take from this trip came on the first day of coaching. Asanti school was the destination. Not only was the roller-coaster of a ride up the dirt path to the field quite an adrenalin thrill, but I also met a lad called Garin. On first glance, he wasn't much more than your average street kid hanging around by the school playing field, but in true CWB fashion, I engaged him in a game of catch, trying to create some conversation by explaining the ABC messages at the core of what we do. However, as all 10 year olds tend to do, he soon got bored of my 'lecture' and a simple game of catch, and so sloped off back towards where he lived.
It was at this point he caught my eye, as me and Dave Terrace suddenly saw him cartwheel down the hill before continuing to walk on his hands down towards the bottom of the field. At this point I wanted to find out more about this unremarkable looking boy, dressed in ragged clothes that wouldn't even make it into a charity bag back home. To my luck, he emerged 10 minutes later with 2 other young lads, both younger than himself. Both almost as acrobatic. After another game of catch, and a few cartwheels, I challenged Garin to a fitness competition…and soon decided, after being outdone on the clap press ups, it was time to take him to big school. However, much to the amusement of various members of the team, I went down incredibly quickly with my one handed press up, and failed to come back up!
It was at this point, I decided I'd give up on being outdone by a 10 year old, and instead started chatting to him. To my surprise he spoke incredible English…and I soon found out he was an Anglophone in what was a French speaking area. He'd never been to school, but still spoke 2 languages, and entertained himself day by day by hanging about on the school field, and was delighted to receive a CWB wristband, and feel included in what was going on. Something I was only too happy to do.
At the end of the session, the three kids stayed to wave us off…and I thought that would be the last I saw of Garin. However, 2 days later, after taking the morning off due to a dodgy belly, I was delighted to see he'd managed to squeeze into the group photo at the end of the session, hovering on the periphery, alone, but again looking to be apart of a group of children, proving sport can break down boundaries.
The other memory I'll take from the 'Roon was set in Obala. The madness of coaching in Africa was more than evident with 350 participants, and what seemed like double the number of onlookers at one point during the session. As well as having a ball of a time, I remember one kid vividly, mainly due to his miniature stature, not too dissimilar to my own. Despite his size, he could more than hold his own (don't judge a book by it's cover comes to mind)! I didn't catch his name, but the constant smile on his face, even when getting crushed in the group photo at the end, and constant enthusiasm made his face stick in my memory. I felt guilty when seeing him in the mass pile up at the end and soon dived into rescue him and allow him to be seen at the back by holding him up on my shoulders. The young lad was delighted, and I hope he'll take a lasting memory of cricket and HIV/AIDS messages into the future, in a region not so clued up on the disease as in the centre of Yaounde.
So they're my two 'stories' as such, those described to all new volunteers that they will take home from a CWB trip. Everyone has their own, but these two will be mine.
I've had a whale of a time out in Cameroon. I've shared and made memories with a fantastic team, and met the driving force behind Cameroonian cricket. The local coaches have been phenomenal, and I believe Cameroonian cricket is in safe hands with the likes of Victor, Carine, James, Winston and Dorian, to name a few, driving it forward. I'll always remember my time here, and look forward to hearing how the cricket world of Cameroon develops into the future.
Liam – Honorary member of One Direction, Team Cameroon 2014