We asked the new volunteers 5 quick-fire questions to reflect on their trip.
(1) What was your favourite value that we have included in our messaging and why?
Ned: Kwishimisha which means fun. Making sure that the children were having fun was really important to me as it meant the other messages would be easier to introduce.
Anna: KWISHIMISHA!! Fun is often a value we forget about, but it’s fundamental to kids and adults coming back to play the sport. I’ve loved seeing so many children smiling during our sessions, followed up by asking “when do you come back?”
Abi: “Gukorera hamwe” which means Teamwork. Our cricket games and drills reinforced this idea, which really made sense to the kids, particularly when they had to compete together in teams during games of Rapid-fire Cricket!
(2) What item have you packed that you would leave behind on your next trip, and what item would you bring?
Ned: I took a pair of tracksuit bottoms with me and they never left the case as it was always in the 30’s. I wish I had taken some deep heat just to ease some tired muscles.
Anna: Leave behind the neck pillow. I’ve tried it so many times and it’s never worked 😂 Must bring: hydration tablets. Essential for long hot days in the sun
Abi: I brought too many spare sports shirts and mostly only wore CWB kit during the days. I would bring some big speakers to pump out tunes while we coached, cos I think the kids would love it!
(3) What is your favourite session that you delivered?
Ned: We had lots of really good sessions but the ones that stand out were coaching 20 girls more technical aspects of cricket and St Agnes where we had really young children who had never picked up a ball playing cricket and were all just really excited to be out and playing.
Anna: Favourite session? Any session with the P2-P4s! (The little ones!) They just love having fun and learning by doing.
Abi: We visited a lovely private primary school on a steep hillside in Nyagatare, which most of us volunteers declared it was our favourite session, as the kids were so engaged, enthused, and easy to work with. It reminded us that coaching can be energising, not just tiring!
(4) What is your highlight of the trip?
Ned: Being swamped by hundreds of kids at break time and getting them to copy me doing heads shoulders knees and chicken.
Anna: My highlight has been the Nyagatare festival. This was a brand new region for CWB and we saw 200 children learning and competing in rapid fire. The local sports leaders also came down to watch and learn about cricket. Nyagatare – watch this space!
Abi: Seeing the crazy celebrations at the end of our first tournament in Kayonza. It was greater than if they’d won the Premier League! Also visiting the Kigali Genocide Memorial, which was both powerful and moving.
(5) What has been your favourite Rwandan dish?
Ned; I did eat my fair share of goat brochette on the trip and it was always really nice.
Anna: I’ve loved all the fresh fruit – it tastes so much better than what we get in the UK. However at the end of a long day, a chicken brochette hits the spot.
Abi: Ugali & Sombe – It was very similar to the food I have in Burkina Faso, called tô! It was great to have something that tasted homely on the other side of the continent.
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