Uganda Autumn 2013
The Finale

The Finale

Our last cricket day. Festival day, Fort Portal. Eight schools: six primary, two high schools. While a fiercely competitive primary tournament raged behind us, Alpha and I oversaw the high school matches. And there was a bit of David and Goliath about it. Nyakasura High School are the western region cricket champions and currently 3rd...
HIV and Uganda: mixed messages?

HIV and Uganda: mixed messages?

David Jamieson, chief interviewer. Now for a little summary of things so far from my perspective. On the 9th we were able to use the independence day celebrations as a time for us to travel but also to reflect on what is happening in Uganda right now. In the President’s speech to celebrate 51 years...
How cricket turned a flood-hit community into a sea of smiles

How cricket turned a flood-hit community into a sea of smiles

Day 12 Luke writes… On our first day in Fort Portal we ran a day of training for around 25 teachers from the local schools. The group contained a number of people experiencing cricket for the first time as well as several who informed us they had been using the sport as a tool to...
Leaving Kilembe in a Spin

Leaving Kilembe in a Spin

By Clare Ross As John once said ‘The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry’…and so we faced the prospect of our final day in Kilembe with no schools to visit. Thankfully, Luke and Alpha got on the case sharpish and by 9.30am had managed to drum up some interest with Kilembe...
Day Nine

Day Nine

By Luke Sellers There are many things from our time in Kilembe that will live long in the memory; the breath-taking scenery, the insatiable appetite for cricket and the warmth of the people. But above all of these it is the stories of two very special women in particular that will leave the most enduring...
International Day of the Girl Child

International Day of the Girl Child

By Rebecca Lockyer We were back in Kilembe for a full day of schools coaching; we arrived to a number of schools already waiting patiently with their teachers/ coaches from yesterday. ‘Africa time’ must not have made it up the valley. The dedication and enthusiasm from these guys has been awe inspiring. One school walked...
Coaching Saddam Hussein

Coaching Saddam Hussein

By Clare Ross The start of the second stage of our trip sees us near Kilembe; a beautiful valley setting, tucked amongst the foothills of the Rwenzori mountains. However, being in this valley comes with its perils. The area was hit by a devastating flood on May 1st; 6 people lost their lives, over 50 houses destroyed and much...
The Big Five One

The Big Five One

By Clare Ross It’s independent Uganda’s 51st birthday today. A day that sees us moving on from Mbarara to Kasese. Our journey sees us pass a school independence day march, drive through the Queen Elizabeth National park and meet a Spanish man cycling between Kenya, Uganda and Sudan. Bold. We time our arrival at the...
Mbarara Festival Day

Mbarara Festival Day

By Andrew Bullard For the second or third night in a row we had had the pleasure of being kept awake by all night gathering behind our hotel. Initially, thinking it was pretty bold to be throwing all night parties on a Sunday and Monday night, I think the whole group was sobered by the...
750 kids, three schools and one diplomatic incident

750 kids, three schools and one diplomatic incident

Today’s blog is written by the team’s resident ‘psychoanalyst’ and newly appointed social secretary, Dan Pledger After being around for several years you could be forgiven for thinking that all the crazy firsts for CWB would be pretty much done. Today proved that this is definitely not the case! We arrived this morning at Army...
Teacher training, latin lessons and how not to prepare kids for exams

Teacher training, latin lessons and how not to prepare kids for exams

By Luke Sellers With more than 130 children shouting the ABCs at the top of their lungs, day three in Uganda came to an ear-splitting and inspirational close at Boma School, Mbarara. The afternoon’s coaching session – which took place on a golf course – was a heady concoction of cricket, chanting, free-style dancing and...
Cows, cranes and chaos

Cows, cranes and chaos

By Clare Ross "I'm positive" Something I was told, completely unprompted, within the first 5 minutes of today's cricket. This and the rest of the day's ABCs has reinforced how important not only the cricket, but also the HIV/AIDS messages are as part of CWB's work.  Luke had got everyone: CWB'ers and the teachers, doing a little icebreaker...