Day 5 – Muhanga to Kayonza

The week built up to a big festival full of 8 enthusiastic kids from each of the schools, primary and secondary, that we have coached ready to join in with a big competition of rapid fire.

We arrived at what can only be described as Muhanga’s most interesting pitch which was full of bogs and a couple cows wanting to join in on the fun. This festival highlighted the more competitive side of not only the children, but their teachers as well, especially when the ball was hit out of the zone or a run was not fully made.

Thankfully we had Joseph on hand to defuse the situation and dish out minus runs to keep the game fair. The DJ turned up (two hours late) to play us some old classics such as Elvis, which kept morale high as we performed our typical English dancing skills which instantly put a smile on all the children’s faces. However at this point lunch was the main priority so they joined in after. We created a circle and one by one the kids danced in the middle completely out doing our dance skills – however we were able to learn some new moves.

During the festival rapid fire was played which is a game involving two teams, one batting and one fielding. The batters have three balls on cones which they have to hit as hard as they can and then run round stumps as fast as they can until the fielders get the balls back on the cones in the same place.

As coaches, we learnt some more Rwandan words such as ‘Inuma cona’ meaning behind the cone as the fielders liked to be cheeky and step forward. Overall the festival was a success and Munyinya school finished on top for both their primary and secondary school. Vero handed out certificates to all the teachers of the schools as they posed for a picture with Lee as though they had just won at the ashes.

As always ABCT was the main message throughout the festival and this is what we ended on. The message was delivered loud and clear by Leighton who got all the kids involved with shouting what it means. It was also lovely to see Joshua from the RCA at the festival who plays a major part in the CWB team as he was able to witness us in our prime as coaches and see everything Lee has taught us over the week.

However the day of coaching came to an end earlier than usual, and continued with a 3 hour journey to Kayonza – HARD DAY FOR EDDIE. Eddie drove us to our new hotel where we ended up with 7 tired and hungry students wanting to get to their rooms only to find out they were double booked. Luckily for us Lee knew another hotel down the road who were very welcoming.