Olympia
I decided to volunteer to come to Rwanda because I was so intrigued and interested to see what I could do to help the children and puts as many smiles on faces as I could. I had previously volunteered and had the best time of my life and felt the need to come and help even more people.
It’s hard to say my favourite part of the volunteering as all of it now holds a place in my heart. If I had to pick I would be the excitement and determination you see in the children to learn and to become the best people they can.
Grace
I volunteered to come to Rwanda as I needed to develop my confidence skills when coaching large groups of children and idea of developing my own skills plus helping raise awareness about HIV/AIDS through cricket made it sound even more worthwhile.
My favourite part of the trip was definitely when we visited a disabled school in Muhanga; the energy and determination shown by all the children inspired me. The smiles and the giggles of the children will stay with my forever.
Jacob
I decided to volunteer in Rwanda because it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I had never done anything like this before and having the chance to help children less fortunate than myself is something I have always wanted to do so I jumped at the chance when it came up.
The most enjoyable part of the trip is knowing that I have helped many children understand the effects and dangers of HIV and AIDS. This has been done through teaching them the ABCT message and also sitting down with whiteboards and directly asking them about the disease. Overall it has been an amazing experience.
Sam
I volunteered for this trip because I’m a big adventure junkie and when someone says I’d be crazy to do something, I always do it. I knew that whatever I was to do out here would make some sort of difference and that is my favourite kind of adventure.
A personal favourite moment of mine was in one of the first schools I visited on the trip. I got bombarded by the children who were fascinated about my hair and during the games they were overly happy and enthusiastic. It made me realise how important this trip was going to be to everyone involved.
Antonia
I chose to volunteer on the trip to Rwanda because, despite my lack of experience in sport coaching (pretty much none), I was really intrigued to learn how CWB use cricket alongside the health messages about HIV. I also chose to apply does It because I wanted to be able to be there for the students whilst they have the experience of a lifetime and to build up my practical knowledge of pastoral care whilst also dealing with my own emotions out here.
The trip as been absolutely incredible so it is hard to pick one stand out thing that has been my favourite moment. The countless smiles on the children’s faces as we do the sessions is top of my list. But one stand out moment for me was at GS Munyinya School in Muhanga district. Their English was not very strong at all but when we asked a group of secondary school students to answer the question ‘How does playing sport make you feel?’ One student used his English skills to help the other students write their answers on the white board and he then read out their answers to the rest of his team. He was very brave and his English was amazing and it was their working together as a team to answer this question which has really stuck with me.
Leighton
It was an opportunity to test my self in new surroundings, coach a new sport, experience a new culture
My favourite moment was visiting the first orphanage and helping every child get involved
Dan
I decided to volunteer in Rwanda as I wanted to participate in something which was outside of my comfort zone, as well as helping children and communities less fortunate than myself. Its hard to say what my favourite part of the trip was, as I have had an amazing time throughout. If I was to pick a moment it would be when we visited Saint Josephs school in Muhanga. The children were really enthusiastic and welcoming, they loved playing cricket together and it was great to join in for once. Not only this, but we all joined in their after school activities. Me and leighton got the opportunity to play basketball with the sixth formers. They embarrased us at points, but we still won 3 out of the 4 games. We showed them who the real mzungu Lebron James and Kevin Durant were.
Molly
I chose to volunteer in Rwanda because I saw it as an experience of a life time. I have volunteered in the UK within swimming and enjoyed it very much and thought by coming out here I would learn more about cricket and make memories I will cherish forever. In addition after reading the CWB website and talking to people at uni who have previously been I was inspired to come out and help those who do not have the opportunities I do at home.
It is very hard to chose my favourite moment of the trip as everyday has been incredible and I’ve enjoyed every second. An overall moment has been seeing all the smiling faces and receiving hugs from all the kids who have been so excited to see us. Especially at a school in Muhanga called La Misericorde where the kids were so engaged and willing to join in with everything we put in front of them even those who were disabled and couldn’t join in as much, they got as involved as they could and didn’t stop smiling! These moments I will remember forever and have made me realise I will definitely do something like this again in the future.
Apart from this I have loved getting to know Lee, Eddie, Joseph, Vero, Eric and Emy who have all helped me to understand the culture out here more and taught me new life skills I will use in the future (I will also thoroughly miss them – especially Eddies beaming smile!) Wakanda Forever!!!!
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