Today we travelled about 30 minutes from our base in Huye to a new town for CWB Gikongoro for two different sessions at ES Nyamagabe, with our lunch in the middle, where we watched multiple games of Muzungu (white person in Rwandan!) vs Rwandan pool tournament whilst enjoying the Rwandan buffet.
Within the school sessions we met multiple groups of children, some which returned to the second session. With the secondary school children, the drills became more game based, with the competitiveness of older children shining through. Me (Meg) and Jess both agree that there is a huge difference in skill level and willingness to participate when it comes to secondary and primary school children. Within the secondary groups they understand personal space, whereas the younger children will grab on to you with every inch of their life!
When waiting for the second session to begin, we found ourselves playing a classic game of ‘duck, duck, goose’ or now more commonly known as ‘rock, rock GOOOOOOSE.’ Within the game was younger school children including those who may not have been enrolled within the school. The game was very quickly picked up by the children, even with the language barrier. Multiple ‘playground games’ were enjoyed including those that are academic, such as a prime number game, which one our team members created (and we both won at!). Other games consisted of socializing and inclusion, where everyone within the circle would learn the names of each other. This meant we all had to pay attention and listen to one another when pronouncing our names.
Towards the end of the session, grey clouds rolled in, hiding the sun making it very apparent that a storm was brewing. We all had to quickly gather the equipment and run towards the stadium stands for cover. As the storm began to form the winds picked up, sending the sandy ground into the air and into our eyes, which amused the children very much, watching us struggle with watery eyes.
Whilst we sat and avoided the rain, the HIV awareness messages were delivered to all the children in both English and Rwandan. After the messages had finished it was clear that with the rain still coming down the children couldn’t leave so would need entertaining
Tyler was then called to the front to divert the attention back towards the ABCTS message, however he took centre stage with his BIG personality. Tyler went on to run around in the rain dancing as he went, which sent the children into hysterics. His running around finalised with a dramatic flip and knee slide in the pouring rain, drenching himself.
We ended the day by running away from the rain and towards Eddie, his bus and his buffet! We’ve tried the famous fish soup and oranges which were more like greens as they were very sour and we’re almost adamant it was a big (Li)m(e)!
A successful day on placement all round!
Meg and Jess
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