I found myself saying ‘wait and see’ more times each day than I could ever count. CWB trips are all about adapting to situations as they arrive – when a tournament team of 8 show up with 173 kids there isn’t really much point in putting too much effort into planning too far in advance!
It hasn’t got any easier writing these summaries or explaining to people what the trips are like – no amount of photos and anecdotes can quite portray the sights and sounds you experience even on a bus journey, let alone during a coaching session.
Statistics and numbers are always required, in our short time in Yaounde and Buea we coached just over 2000 children across 18 schools. We trained up over 30 new coaches to carry on the work between trips. We visited 3 orphanages and ran 2 festival days, we played in 1 Commonwealth day celebration game, appeared in 1 national newspaper and gave 2 national TV interviews. We also racked up over 10 injuries between us. We’ve sat in countless head teachers offices for numerous uncomfortable welcome chats. We stayed in 2 hotels and ate more chicken and chips than we care to think about. We celebrated 1 international womens day in style, donated 3 x 25kg bags of rice, over 200 tshirts/cricket jumpers/football shirts and the better part of 1000 tennis balls to schools, the cricket federation, orphanages and to helpers out and joiners in at various sessions (although some of those may have gone walkies).
But do these numbers really sum up what the trip was about and what impact it had, on the coaches, the volunteers, the kids, the teachers, the cricket federation and everyone else involved? How can they ever?! The smiles on kids faces, the singing and chanting, the high fives and the cuddles cannot be replicated, even with the best digital cameras and all the will in the world (although we have tried our best!)
It’s been a complete joy leading this team of almost entirely new volunteers and joining them in their first trip to Africa. Reliving those experiences of market stallholders balancing an array of products on their head for advertisement never gets old. The team all did fantastically well – and are truly part of the CWB family. I cannot wait to continue to chat with them as they come to terms with everything they encountered on the trip. Because you experience so much in such a short space of time that not all of it can be processed straight away – memories come back to you on a gloomy day at your office in the UK several weeks later that make you chuckle. Being called auntie, mother, sister (and sir) on this trip will certainly keep me entertained for a while longer.
All the luck and best wishes to the Uganda team still out on their project – keep soaking it all up 🙂
If you are reading this blog and even remotely considering applying to a CWB trip there are no words to explain how much I encourage you to take the plunge. It will be an experience you will never forget.
Project Leader signing off from duties, for now, knowing everyone is back at home safe and sound… after an epic 30 hour journey back from Buea with some very tired volunteers. I suppose after the two weeks and journey back we experienced, one delayed bag going round the carousel at Istanbul isn’t the end of the world!
Laura