A review of Day 3 through the eyes of George Perceval…
For me, this third day was a day of experiences which you could never ever forget. It started with us being mobbed by near to 100 primary school kids which was quite incredible. The smiles on the kids faces as you produced the first tennis ball from the bag is something that will always stay with you.
The first coaching session of the day went very well with a chance to take the lead and gain the confidence to send through the ABC messages. The second session was the first introduction to the madness of the schools break time. 150 children running towards you each grabbing for the nearest tennis was a daunting idea at first but once you get a bat in your hand and 3 tennis balls the rush of adrenaline kicks in and it becomes natural. Unfortunately, Adam had to miss the majority of this due to a serious amount of blood being lost…via his nose!
The afternoon facility was something that any British school would be privileged to have. The full size astroturf football pitch was an amazing surface for playing cricket on. We arrived 40 minutes before the kids so we decided to have quick game of cricket before the coaching ensured, with Jono boring a lot of people by hogging the batting. The coaching session gave all of us new volunteers the chance to lead properly and boost confidence levels to a whole new high.
The evening was our chance to say goodbye to the Duchess and Phil with a lovely meal out at Heaven, one of the best restaurants in Kigali. Having finished up at the restaurant we headed to ‘Hotel Rwanda’ to see the Manchester United vs Real Madrid game which to a few of the guys in particular was a hard result to accept.
A brilliant day was topped of with a first experience of a Rwandan club ‘Planet’. Turning out to be one of the most interesting and eventful nights out of my life. After Planet, some first experiences of motorbike taxis took place, with helmets being lost on the road while driving! (Well done Adam!)