Pits and peaks

All trip we have been doing our “pit and peak’ of the day – I haven’t fully shared with the team that this is a Kardashian thing 🤫

Day 8 and our first full day of coaching in Gulu. The team coached 4 schools today… Bright Valley Senior, Bright Valley Primary, Gulu Public and Sacred Heart Senior School. And today I shed my first tears.

So my pit and peak of the day… 2 contrasting, interesting and inspirational stories.

My pit:
In the morning’s session I got chatting to Ajak, and he calmly articulated his story to me. Ajak is from South Sudan. His Uncle killed someone so the tribe pointed to Ajak and said they wanted his life in return. He was captured and beaten, he lost some teeth in the attack but somehow managed to escape. He fled and ended up in a refugee camp in Gulu. His mum is dead. He only has contact with 1 sister. She is in the camp also and her husband paid for Ajak to attend school, until recently when he lost his job. Ajak continues to attend school but doesn’t know for how long as his fees are not being paid.

2 weeks ago he returned to the camp and was found by the people from the tribe so he fled there and can’t return. Since then he has been staying in Gulu with some school friends. I asked what he was doing for food and in his own words, he said he walks the streets with his hands outstretched and some people give him food.

What touched me most about Ajak was that he is focussed on his education, he wants to be a lawyer so he can help others in his situation – and he says he uses sports to help him relax and prevent mental outbursts. He told me that playing cricket with his friends will help him stay calm in his life.

It was challenging to hear his story, and then move on feeling powerless to proactively help him. That said, if cricket will help him, that is the seed I will hold on to.

My peak:
In contrast, but equally inspiring, I met Cynthia.

We started an impromptu game of cricket with some local Ugandan children- all boys- while waiting for a school group to arrive. We showed them the basics and let them have a go. Some reasonable attempts at bowling and batting took place. And then up stepped the first girl, Cynthia. Coming off her short run up, she delivered a fast, straight one. The coaches went wild!!
And she continued to bowl with accuracy and control.

I managed to have a chat with her after her breathtaking spell.

Prior to covid she had played cricket regularly. Coached by Sonia who began her coaching journey through the Durham Foundation funding secured for cricket in Gulu, Cynthia had played regularly and had a massive love for the game. Moving to secondary school meant that there were less opportunities for her to play. She is hopeful that after our visit, cricket will be available again for her and others in her community. She spoke, off the cuff about the benefits of cricket. (See attached video)

In our afternoon session at Gulu Public Primary (her old school), she came along and supported our coaching of the children there.

An aspirational, inspirational young woman with bags of talent and sass and a commitment to her community!

The pits and peaks all contribute to the ongoing work that CWB does. We come, we observe, we admire, we learn and we leave behind a legacy for local coaches to build on.

Cricket really is the greatest game on Earth 🌍 🏏

Written by Clare-Matic