Day 2 of our trip to the land of a thousand hills started much the same as the first; a trip to try and sort the SIM and cash issue. Still no luck on the cash front, however we now have SIMs with enough data to last the trip. One out of two ain’t bad.
The first big outing of the day was a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial. We knew this wouldn’t necessarily be an enjoyable experience, but it’s an important one nonetheless. The site is both a harsh reminder of the country’s recent history, as well as a powerful statement as to how far it has come.
The afternoon saw the group split into two teams, each at a school in the shadow of the Gahanga Stadium from Day 1. For our school, what was suggested to be 100 kids quickly turned into two groups of 104 and 148, one after the other. Starting with relays had every one of them catching, batting and roaring like lions. They had infectious enthusiasm that spread to us all. I took some advice from Lee the day before and took a second to close my eyes, and the noise told me they were enjoying themselves.
We then split into smaller groups, with each activity focusing on a different skill. Our catching session managed to last 40 minutes, which left us incorporating some of the All Stars games, like the classic Head, Shoulders, Knees and Ball. The language barrier once again proved a challenge, but a few words from Eric and Lee have helped further. For example; hagarera, which means stop. In a sentence ‘hagarera fighting over that ball!’. I also think I heard them calling me a ‘muzungu’ (similar to the Spanish ‘gringo’) a few times!
They ranged from a few older kids to some very little ones, who spent the afternoon trying to acquire tennis balls (you can see one of them in the photo above!). We left with most of what we arrived with, with the exception I’m sure of a few balls that are likely being thrown around the classrooms now. The activities today provided opportunity to bring in some of the vital messages we want to get across, both around HIV awareness and gender equality. On a day that the ECB has provided a response to the ICEC report, I personally relished in having a boy and a girl competing in the Head, Shoulders, Knees and Ball final.
The debrief confirmed what we all thought, another thoroughly enjoyable couple of sessions and feeling more comfortable with the large groups we have had. I’m sure we’ll get even bigger groups over the next couple of weeks. All I can say is: bring it on!
– Josh Smart:: Elstow Cricket Club; favourite cricketing – memory meeting Brett Lee at an Australia v Northants Ashes warm-up game.
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