Riviera, ROP, Rwanda….

So we’ve finally landed! After a gruelling journey here via Ethiopia’s finest airport, the team arrived safe and sound. After checking into our accommodation, we took a drive to see a local cricket match. For a couple of the team, this was a great opportunity for them to see the standard of cricket over here and it was fair to say these team members were impressed. We ended the night in the local Havana Bar, with Castros being hit hard by the team and becoming a team favourite once more!

So day 1 of coaching was upon us and we were already two team members down with Greg and Lee doing some great work in Kinihira to increase playing levels up north and getting coaches trained up! Back with the rest of the team in Kigali, we visited a school by the name of Riviera High School. The facilities were very un-African and were right out the top drawer! Described by Jamie as the second best school he’s seen in Africa, we set about our coaching drills and getting the ABCs chanted early on! I have great confidence in the team after they were eased in nicely to a CWB project!

We finished our session and soon moved onto the Kigali Genocide Memorial. This even second time round for me is just as hard hitting and I know the rest of the team very much felt the same after going round the centre.  With the genocide being such a massive part of this country’s history, the visit to the centre is needed to get close to comprehending the magnitude of what actually went on 20 years ago…

We rounded off our day with a visit to the amazing Rwanda Orphanage Project. For me, it was great to be back. For everyone else, it was great to see the fantastic work they do and the enthusiasm of the kids there. As per every visit, cries of “Come on bowler” greeted us along with the beaming smiles of 70 kids! A few sessions were set up, ABCs were chanted and the trip is off to a great start!