As we draw closer to the end of this amazing journey, I have really started to appreciate Rwanda and its incredible culture; everything from the food to the politeness of the people. I feel extremely sad to be leaving soon however Rwanda will hold a special place in my heart forever!
This morning we went to a school in the suburbs of Kigali which had both Primary and Secondary students. As we only had 1 hour with each year group, we focused on developing key cricket skills with Primary; me and Olympia were on batting. We started off by introducing ourselves to the children and warming our main muscles up and then got straight into relays. Some relays consisted of balancing the ball on the bat up to a cone and turning back, bouncing the ball on the bat up to the cone and turning back, and dribbling the ball along the floor up to the cone and turning back. After they had completed this we then did a test with the children to make it more exciting but also to re-iterate the important message of testing yourself for HIV/AIDS. To see the children having so much fun with a cricket bat and a tennis ball made me extremely happy as it was evident that they don’t get to play with equipment like this usually. When our hour with primary was up, we all squeezed in for a big group photo and shouted “AAAWWOOOOOGGGAAAA”!
We then had the Secondary school children and I was partnered with Emmy. Our job was to run a big game of Rapid Fire to keep the older children entertained; they loved it! The older children are very competitive and it was nice to see them all participating with such enthusiasm. Many of the Secondary pupils speak very good English so it was nice to have conversations with them about what their favourite subject at school was and what sport they played.
In the afternoon we got the chance to watch some women’s national team cricket – Uganda vs Kenya. The atmosphere was so pleasant at the cricket match with the sun beaming down, music playing and good company. It was also an amazing opportunity to watch the Women’s National teams. I’ve never seen a cricket game and I felt very privileged that it was in Rwanda and linked to what we are teaching in the schools. Furthermore, the women had a cracking game! They were awesome in every aspect; their fielding skills to stop certain balls from hitting the boundaries and the accurate throws…AMAZING!
As it was our last night in Rwanda, the RCA (Rwanda Cricket Association) kindly treated us to an evening meal at the Blue Bell Hotel. There were some very important people at the dinner which made me feel important. We had a very good time and ate some very good Indian food. After a speech that Eddie made, I realised the amount of hard work which goes on by RCA and CWB who made it possible for this trip to happen! I thank them from the very bottom of my heart and pray that our paths may cross again!
The dinner made me realise how many new friends I have made in Rwanda: Eric the Men’s Rwanda National Cricket Team Captain, Joseph (WAKANDA FOREVER!), Vero the Women’s Rwanda National Cricket team Captain, and the 8 people who I came on this trip with. I feel so grateful that I was given this opportunity to come on this life-changing trip and meet so many inspiring people.
P.S a big shout out to the coolest and cleverest guy, Mr. Audifax! Have an amazing wedding and hopefully see you again!
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