How has it been three days since we managed a blog?! It’s been an incredibly busy few days … So what have we been up to?
Well, we have survived the rain, the broken down bus, the muddy ‘roads’ and everything else the last three days have thrown at us. CWB trips are always a rollercoaster ride of smiling faces, games of rocket ball, dancers, chants, interesting timings, emotional stories and good old African bus journeys and of course this trip has been no exception.
Let’s go back to Wednesday. Having started our journey to the orphanage, we were told it was a bit hidden’ and we picked up friend of a friend Vincent along our way to guide us there. The bus got stuck (again) just outside and I fear we may have woken the littluns we had just visited with the engine revving required by driver James to set us free. Some “bits and bobs” tasks along the way, including catching up with Wendy who was running One More Day centre when we visited last year, led us to our school for the afternoon, Muthaiga primary. Patches of ground, split with dangerously incognito barbed wire fences made our playing facilities for the afternoon full of long matches chanting our BAT messages. Here is where it all took a turn, with some bus issues leading to a broken window and a trip to town to find a perspex sheet to replace it. This resulted in an excellently extended session, playing loads of games and matches with the kids. With George in charge, Tasha took it on herself to help some girls who were collecting water in broken buckets to clean the classrooms. She certain!y had her CWB moment in this school, with these girls opening up to her about their situations. I will leave it to Tasha to explain in her own words as they will do it more justice than I ever could.
Having given up on us the afternoon before, the bus was sent to Nanyuki for repairs and we hurtled our way to the next school in safari buses, with the top open, tunes blazing and wave tennis games on point. We arrived a little windswept to Africa Academy where we came up against our most challenging school yet… Not because of the students or even the teachers but a director who did not want us to speak on FGM messages in the school. It was an upsetting experience mostly due to the contrast to all of our other experiences here in the last two years in an otherwise incredibly open and welcoming community. In true CWB fashion, we adapted and delivered a shortened HIV/AIDS session, introducing messages about equality, teamwork and respect to an intelligent group of students. Katie managed to join the clinic and run some appointments for ladies in the local community. After tea and coffee at the school, we all headed to a phenomenal spot for a group photo on a rope bridge featured in the Warriors film. We leapt out of the way of oncoming motorbike traffic and all made it across,some of us holding on a little more tightly than others! It was time then to head to Daraja Academy, a scholarship school taking intelligent future female leaders from across the whole country who cannot afford a secondary education. Here really is where this CWB trip story begins as this is Nancy’s school, the sister of Benjamin and Daniel who was protected from FGM by her brothers and family. Fiercely intelligent and motivated she greeted us with beaming smiles and hugs. Although the heavens opened only 20 minutes into our session, cutting another session short, the conversations with these young women were worth our visit and we are visiting again on Saturday to run a whole school session including a young leaders class for the school council. These girls will be able to take cricket and sports lessons in their communities across Kenya to tackle social issues and I know they’ll excel.
Friday saw a return to the most rural setting I’ve ever coached in at Soit Udo primary school. Last year, it was clear that visitors were not common here but the change in openness was clear here. We took 80 kids and played fun games while delivering the BAT message and in true CWB fashion we all contributed with our experience. Hannah interviewed some students and again, I will let her tell you In her own words. Katie spent some time with a pregnant student who had only just returned to school. After some emotional conversations and a teary bus ride, the team split into two groups;Katie absolutely acing a session with the health workers in Dol Dol with Hannah, Daniel and Esther and the rest of us heading to One More Day centre for a quick visit before heading to our final school of the day, Kiwanja Ndege. One More Day Centre is always inspiring. Check out last year’s blog for more of our experience there. With the team split, it gave some of the cricket coaches the opportunity to run the FGM station and Jules and Ben certainly ore that stepped up to the plate. This school was a repeat visit and we hope to spend some time there on our next trip, with the school for students with mental health challenges as well as the mainstream school kids.
All CWB trips are emotional and this FGM trip has definitely generated some tears. Being here is so important for so many reasons, from giving the kids a fun afternoon to genuinely changing their lives. I’m always saying it’s impossible to explain what these trips are like you can’t explain what it’s like to coach cricket with a backdrop of African Savannah,you can’t explain what its like seeing dorm rooms in a school or orphanage and you definitely cannot explain what its like when kids open up to you about their life stories. All you can do it try and I hope this effort has done even one tiny bit of explaining our experiences here this week.
Laura