In case you’re not up to speed on your Kinyirwandan, Agapira Hasse means ‘put the tennis ball down’. It is without a doubt the most useful phrase I’ve picked up so far and possibly in my entire life.
Day four began with the team splitting into two. Me, Greg, Jono, Eric and Landry went to GS Gahini to teach two groups from the senior school. It’s fair to say the first group weren’t the most lively and energetic group that we’ve taught but there were some talented cricketers present.
The second group were slightly younger and really got stuck into a game of rapid fire. Most pleasing of all were the questions they asked us during the wrap up, they had so many things they wanted to ask us about HIV/AIDS and the quality of the questions meant our session overran slightly but it was great that we were able to provide so much information
After a brief stop for lunch we were off to what we have affectionately named ‘Scrabble School’ because its name contains so many letters and is unpronounceable to anyone who isn’t Rwandan. This time we were teaching primary school children so the enthusiasm levels were up to eleven and we had a great couple of hours taking them through relays and the volume they were chanting their A B C’s at by the end of the session was near deafening.
For our final session of a very long day we stayed at the same school whilst the rest of the gang joined us and we coached students from the local university. Those who had played cricket before had a game of pairs with Jono, Greg, Lee, Landry and Jackson. The rest played rapid fire. Eric was in charge and very kindly nominated Lesley and I to play two games in baking heat. I’m pleased to say that my team (team Condom) won both games and that my stunning one handed catch was much admired by my team mates.
All in all an exhausting day but one with a huge amount of fun and variety. We showed today the range of ages that CWB can work with and the ability that we have to tailor our message for the different age groups is one of the things that makes it so effective.
Tomorrow is our last day in Kayonza. The whole team has had a great time here and I think we’ve all put a real shift in, ably assisted by the local coaches who have been fantastic. We are holding a festival in the morning which all the schools we’ve been to this week have been invited to and then I’m reliably informed we have the afternoon off. Watch this space people.
Ben