Hope in Masaka

The day started with the team dividing…. One team leading with Coach Education at Masaka SS -training local teachers to deliver cricket skills alongside the positive -ABCT health messages around AIDS and HIV. The other team headed off to Hope Comprehensive High School, where we coached  about 100 boys and girls. This was a great opportunity for the newbies to deliver sessions individually…. nerves disappeared quickly and the sessions ran really well.

Coach education went smoothly, although one teacher came along with her class of children – Clive then ran an impromptu session with these… Everyone who turns up joins in!

The afternoon session ran at Masaka SS with the newly trained coaches having their first chance to deliver sessions alongside us. They did a grand job..!

Post coaching we visited Masaka Kids Africana, which is an orphanage in Masaka. Their motto is ‘dance, rise and shine’. They have 17 children aged from babies and toddlers right up to Qasim, their eldest boy who is 17 years old. They use music and dance to help to inspire and engage the children. Whilst there they put on a show for us of their dance skills. This included a moon walk, (real) twerking and even a jump in the air into splits! We took glittery pencils and balloons, which were so gratefully received. This was a humbling experience. I think we all walked away with heavy hearts.

Back at the hotel in the team huddle, we rounded up and summarised with input from Manny, Joseph and Yousuf and then came the Quote of the day from SJ….. “This is one of the best days I’ve had so far with CWB”- and this is SJ’s 2nd trip with the charity!!

And keeping on that theme, the Quote of the day from one of the children we coached was., Whilst looking for a tennis ball in the grass, she suggested to me that  ‘You should use a different colour ball other than green so that we can find it easily in the grass.’ Great observation! Lesson learned.

Clare