Hip pip, Huye!

Days 5 & 6 in Huye: 

Day five dawns and as Project Leader all has gone pretty much as hoped for and planned. Then our first school of the day cancels as we’re sat in the bus about to depart. Not to worry. There are video interviews to be filmed, festival and Week Two schedules to be finalised (until the next time they change) and wax printed materials to be bought. Two schools in the afternoon Kibondo Primary and Regina Pacis Secondary. The first, a private school, saw 150 immaculately turned out children in yellow sports kits jogging a warm up while we set up.An hour and a half of drills and ABCs and we head off for a two hour session up the hill, where, upon arriving in the middle of a whole school lesson break, Team Rwanda entertained 300+ students with a game of serious cricket, interspersed with sideline conversations on condom use, silly poses and general tomfoolery. Silliness over, the team duly put another 100 kids through the CWB funhouse before darkness fell and our last night in HuyeFestival day in Huye and two team members are a little below par following attacks of the Rwandan Intestinal Hot Shoe Shuffle, but the show must go on. 9 schools, 72 kids and 36 quick cricket matches over four pitches over 3 hours in a round robin tournament. Well that was the plan. 9 schools became 8 when the Principal from the host school decided his team were not playing, despite us using his field, and 8 schools almost became 7 when one school decided to hold exams until 10am, meaning they’d be almost 2 hours late!
Still we delivered. Two four team round robin tournaments including catching up with the late teams matches and by midday we had joint winners in the Primary section and Claire’s winning secondary school, Regina Pacis, completing a clean sweep of 6 wins from 6 games. After a quick stop to collect lunch and suitcases we made the picturesque 5 hour journey to Kayonza, to be greeted not by the promised glass of fruit juice, but by no power & no hot water. At least the wifi was working.
You’ve got to love Africa!

Thom Manning / Pappa G / Captain Slap / King of Calves / Project Leader