An 8.30 brekky brought the team back together. Simon continued his demolition of the local sausage….the only thing pinker than Lesley’s nose in Uganda, while the rest of us chose to abstain from taking this risk and remained faithful to beans on toast and a cup of tea!
9.30 we hit the road. Coaching teams were decided en route as we passed a bike being driven by a chicken (spotted by Lesley, who may have started hallucinating). Team A: Lee, Simon, Lesley, took the 10-12 slot at Police Primary ensuring 183 kids enjoyed some cricket & got the ABC messages. Team B: Colin, Mark, Lois & Derek took 90 kids at a dusty Gulu public. We nearly lost Lois at break time, disappearing under a sea of kids, only to reemerge with 10 of them hanging from each arm inflicting the biggest Chinese burn imaginable. Colin lost his 100% cotton hat ( never good in 30+ degrees after a case of Grand Cruz) but the 90 kids got some good prep for tomorrow’s festival. Team C: Grant, Ollie, Lizzie & Grace went to Sacred Heart and took a thumping in a test match against a strong girls team, who put their knowledge of the local track & conditions to good use, sending the CWB Allstars to the days lunch break with heads down and tails between legs.
Lunch time saw us reconvene at the local Achumi. A chance to refuel and catch up with the local Mormon group who made a guest appearance in the fruit isle. A few samosa’s and a slice of pizza later we were back on the road for the 2-4 stint, this time in 2 coaching groups.
60 kids at Bright Valley were put through their paces. A gentle catching warm up was followed by 2 practice matches using the rules for tomorrow’s festival. Some talented cricketers on show with one girl in particular standing out, having had a wobbly start to her innings and got a bit of grief from her team mates, turned it around and hit the winning runs. A big group photo was had at the end and a successful ( once Ollie had got to grips with the surface) ABC demo reinforced the messages.
Meanwhile amongst the dust of Gulu Primary 196 kids were involved in organised chaos. The crew there were supported by some enthusiastic teachers with the coaching – exactly what we need as they will be the ones continuing the coaching once we return home. The session here finished with the loudest session version of the “ABC no HIV” song led by head vocalist Lizzie. Singing and dancing are a massive winner with the children so investigations into purchasing a boom box for sessions have begun.
4.30 – back on the bus, back to the hotel for a well earned drink!! Then it was shower, attempting to remove the orange dust from all parts, and dinner. Tilapia fish was popular choice. A debrief over a few more drinks to reflect on a good days work – 549 kids had fun playing cricket and got the HIV/Aids messages. Running total now at 933! A few of us stayed up to enjoy some Bond7 and build international relations whilst the sensible ones returned to their mosquito nets at a reasonable hour, ready for the festival tomorrow.