Day 12 – 15th March | CWB – Rwanda Spring 2012

A relatively quiet day for half the group saw us take a visit to the PEFA orphanage in the morning. This was somewhere a number of our party had visited on previous visits and we were warned it would be an emotional experience. They weren’t wrong. A raggle taggle group of teenagers, toddlers and children seemed delighted to see us though and there was some fearsome hitting from the kids especially when the CWB volunteers’ backsides were offered up as targets. Of particularly interest to the team was the presence of a very stout baby whose double denim outfit was one of the more interesting fashion choices on show.
After the coaching session were we treated to some lovely singing and some outstanding rapping from two of the lads – one of whom asked Richie if he could manage his future career when he flew to England!

In the afternoon the group split as Lee and John took on the task of coaching 14 local players through their CWB coaching assessment. This is a vital part of CWB’s mission in Rwanda as when we leave we want local coaches to continue the cricketing education of the schools we have visited.

The rest of the group returned to the Rwandan orphanage project which was yet again a lovely experience. It was an especially emotional experience for me as I got a chance to speak to Alex, a young man who lost both his parents in the 1994 genocide. He has decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a football coach and now he coaches the boys at the orphanage – Alex spoke movingly about his experiences and you’ll be able to read a transcript of our interview over the next few days.

It was great to finish the day back at the Oval where we watched the Rwandan national team go through their paces using kit CWB had donated – it was a beautiful evening and as the sun set over the Kigali Oval I really couldn’t think of many places I would have rather been.