CWB first-time volunteer Mat Danks' news radar goes off the scale with a particularly juicy bit of progress from Northern Uganda…..
Now, it’s James’ turn on the blog round up tonight and you can read all about the fun and games of today over there.
But I stumbled on this little beauty of a story, my news radar went haywire and I just had to share it.
First thing to observe is that as far as cricket's concerned, Northern Uganda is virgin territory. Nobody plays, nobody watches. Ok, there's plenty more in the south but in the north… nothing.
While we’ve been in Gulu, we’ve worked with a number of schools and missions of different types and they’ve all been an absolute joy.
One of them is a boarding secondary school just outside Gulu called the Sir Samuel Baker School which is home to about a thousand boys from around the north of the country.
The school dates back to 1959 and is named after the Devon-born explorer, politician and game hunter who did a great deal to spearhead the abolition movement in the late 1800s.
While visiting the school this afternoon, we found out a little about the school’s history.
Back in the 1960s and 70s, cricket was a key part of the curriculum.
The school regularly played matches against schools locally, nationally and even across eastern Africa.
But, as a result of what many Ugandan’s still politely call ‘the instability’, cricket completely fell off their radar for decades.
For the best part of 40 years, cricket was all but forgotten.
This is until very recently when the Cricket Without Boundaries team arrived and inspired what is already a wonderfully sporting school to seriously set about restoring the school’s old cricketing glories.
In a matter of weeks, the progress is astounding. They clearly have a host of naturally gifted sportsmen who have grasped the new sport they’ve been introduced with both hands.
Their aspiration is to be able to play competitive matches against schools in Kampala within twelve months.
This is a huge, huge ambition but one which, watching the enthusiasm and talent of the boys who have been involved with the CWB sessions, could certainly be achievable.
If the CWB vision of helping cricket take root in the north of the Uganda is to become a reality, you have to look for tangible progress.
In a matter of weeks, this school is already blazing a trail, providing real inspiration to the volunteers and, hopefully, providing inspiration to other schools in the area.
Bring it on.
6 comments
Hannah says:
Sep 26, 2012
Reading this in bed listening to the football ( we're losing mat and Yusuf). I'm holding back the tears as I read this because I am so incredibly proud to work with this fantastic charity and you wonderful volunteers who make all of this happen. Hope the trip continues to bring you all these fantastic moments.
Stacy says:
Sep 27, 2012
you are all stars, kee up the great work xxx
Sal says:
Sep 28, 2012
Awesome, what a tale these lads will have to tell their grandchildren one day. x
Jo says:
Sep 28, 2012
Loving reading the blogs every day.. What an amazing job you are all doing….. 🙂
Mike and Veronika says:
Sep 28, 2012
Keep up the good work. We are looking forward to being out there in November and seeing Joseph and Yusuf. Michelle – wait until you have completed your level one before trying the William Tell with a cricket bat.
Mike and Veronika
CK says:
Sep 29, 2012
This is really inspirational stuff, guys, and what we're all about! CK