{"id":329,"date":"2024-04-03T14:33:11","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T14:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/?p=329"},"modified":"2024-04-03T16:16:02","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T16:16:02","slug":"abroad-thoughts-from-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/2024\/04\/03\/abroad-thoughts-from-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Abroad thoughts from home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Reflections on\nUganda 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s 5 o\u2019clock on a drizzly March afternoon in Essex, &nbsp;cold enough for sweaters and the house heating\nto be on.&nbsp; &nbsp;My computer tells me that earlier today it was\n31<sup>0<\/sup>C and 80% humidity in Jinja, four thousand miles and two weeks\naway in Uganda. I wonder how Brian, Ozie, Samuel and Joseph and the others are\ngetting on \u2013 our new Ugandan friends we spent an intense two weeks with, in\nhotels, on our bus and on numerous school playing fields.&nbsp;&nbsp; How quickly that time went with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly, &nbsp;what\nare the UK team members doing now we\u2019re back at home.&nbsp; Have we simply slipped back into the old\nroutine or has the trip made a difference to us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The photo at the top is of the water current at Lake Victoria as it becomes the source of the Nile.&nbsp; &nbsp;A reflection if you will, so here\u2019s my short reflection and some quotes from other members of the UK team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m now back from what was an exciting, exhausting,\nexhilarating and eye-opening visit.&nbsp; I\u2019ve got many happy memories, many\nnew friends and a wider appreciation for the game we love.&nbsp; Also an appreciation of Uganda, a country\nthat I knew next to nothing about before the trip but learned so much about so\nquickly and whose progress I will follow with interest and affection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First of all, some non-sporting impressions of Uganda\nfrom a first time visitor: &#8211;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>A country on the brink of huge progress and\ndevelopment<\/li><li>Affection for, and connection with,&nbsp; the UK despite the legacy of colonialism. <\/li><li>The Ugandan currency is the shilling with\nroughly 5,000\/- to the \u00a3<\/li><li>Every advert on the street or TV is in English. <\/li><li>Every caf\u00e9 or hotel TV appears tuned to English\nfootball<\/li><li>Rolexes are a common street food.&nbsp; A chapati rolled around egg and vegetables,\nthese were our go to lunchtime snack along with Stonies a local ginger beer. <\/li><li>Cheap fresh fruit is available at roadsides\neverywhere.<\/li><li>Take a good book to a Ugandan restaurant. Meals\nare cooked from scratch and take rather a long time<\/li><li>Motor bikes are everywhere and are the local\ntaxis \u2013 jump on the pillion and off you go.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>What are the more enduring memories for me and others in\nthe team ?&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For me, firstly, of the smiles of genuine welcome from\neveryone we met, the greetings in English and almost overwhelming enthusiasm of\nthe school pupils.&nbsp; Secondly, of the deep\nemerald and rust colours especially after the frequent rains \u2013 a fertile and\nwelcoming landscape.&nbsp; Thirdly, &nbsp;of the power of sport to create links between\npeople from vastly different backgrounds.&nbsp;\n&nbsp;&nbsp;Finally, the friendships and connections which\nI hope will endure for years to&nbsp; come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We were there to help develop cricket in Uganda. There is\nalready a foundation in place which has seen the men\u2019s national team qualify\nfor the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean at the end of May.&nbsp; The women are about to begin their qualifying\ncompetition.&nbsp; Our job with primary\nschools was to widen the base by introducing as many young people as possible\nto the game \u2013 we managed 7,500 in two weeks which isn\u2019t bad. &nbsp;&nbsp;Hopefully,\nthis will encourage long term participation amongst enough people to help deepen\nthe foundation.&nbsp; &nbsp;The majority of our team being female\nemphasised our \u201ccricket is for everyone\u201d message as did our insistence on five\nboys and five girls in every tournament team.&nbsp;\nThe hope is that this seed will grow in male dominated soil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, if cricket was the reason for us being there, the\npersonal connections were far wider than sport.&nbsp;&nbsp; The fascination and giggles from children of\nseeing an aging, white man lathering up with sun-block was matched by my\nappreciation of them being happy, enthusiastic and well-nourished, contrary\nperhaps to my preconceptions.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Being\nthanked at the end of a session by an impromptu choir brought tears to my eyes,\nI hope the equipment and lessons we left behind will bring appreciation if not\ntears.&nbsp; &nbsp;I\u2019ll also never forget the spontaneous laughter\non the first time I took off my wide-brimmed hat to reveal grey hair.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two connections stand out.&nbsp;&nbsp; First of all, following a session at Kivubuka Primary School in Jinja we were introduced via Ozie to the ladies of the Bugabula Royal Foundation Group.&nbsp; These older women were grandmothers of the school pupils who met every Wednesday to chat and make soap.&nbsp; We were welcomed, told about the group, asked to introduce ourselves and had a chat. We then encouraged them to have a go with the bat \u2013 after some initial reluctance their competitiveness came out and we staged a longest hit competition.&nbsp; This introduction to cricket will with any luck rub off on their grandchildren.&nbsp; Again we were given a tearful, choral send-off.&nbsp; &nbsp;We were able to repay their hospitality by clubbing together to buy a sewing machine for the group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"http:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/files\/2024\/04\/Uganda-28th-February-91-low-res-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/files\/2024\/04\/Uganda-28th-February-91-low-res-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/files\/2024\/04\/Uganda-28th-February-91-low-res-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/files\/2024\/04\/Uganda-28th-February-91-low-res-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/files\/2024\/04\/Uganda-28th-February-91-low-res-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/files\/2024\/04\/Uganda-28th-February-91-low-res-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Secondly, on our last morning through team leader Mark we\nwere able to visit the Entebbe Welfare Primary School for children with disabilities\nand special needs.&nbsp; &nbsp;The staff have little time and little\nequipment to do PE so the 90 minutes we spent with them on the public land next\nto the school was appreciated.&nbsp; The\npassers-by were surprised to see then pupils out and enjoying themselves which\nin itself might have changed some perceptions. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other comments from members of the team\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Yolanda <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In my view, if our work has stopped one girl from being\nabused, or allowed one girl to ditch a conventional path through life and try\nsomething (not necessarily cricket) different, or means that one boy treats a\ngirl with more respect then it has been a success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<strong>Rebecca<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve changed my out-look on a few things since I\u2019ve been\nback. Spending habits &amp; how I coach and play cricket have altered a little\nbit. The style of coaching with CWB came in handy when I coached 60 French\nexchange students yesterday. Who needs perfect English?! Great\ndemos, getting them moving quickly &amp; lots of positive hand signals. Hitting\nthe ball off the cones so much this spring is translating into stronger driving\nshots in the nets.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>\n<strong>Tarn<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I knew before we went that the trip would change me but I\ndidn\u2019t know how and to be honest I don\u2019t think I still know properly but know\nit has if that makes sense. I can\u2019t wait for the summer season to start so I\ncan get back to coaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She\u2019s already signed up again for another CWB trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Joanna<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I can\u2019t sum up the experience and the effect it had on me, because it\u2019s just too vast. At times, I felt a million miles away from home, but at the same time I was in exactly the right place. I got back to my desk on the Monday morning all the richer for it. If one just child gets an opportunity they wouldn\u2019t have had without cricket, I truly believe we\u2019ve changed the world.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kariana<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To reach that many children in such a short space of time\nwas something really quite incredible and my fondest memory will always be that\nvery first festival. I was just wowed by the raw talent, but not just that it\nwas the kids\u2019 drive, tenacity, desire to work their absolute hardest for their\nteam and to see how far they progressed from the very first game to the last\nwas magical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Would I go again?&nbsp; Like a shot once my dodgy knee is sorted out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Jim Lynch<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reflections on Uganda 2024 It\u2019s 5 o\u2019clock on a drizzly March afternoon in Essex, &nbsp;cold&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"more-link-wrapper\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/2024\/04\/03\/abroad-thoughts-from-home\/\">Read the post<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Abroad thoughts from home<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":115,"featured_media":330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/115"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":339,"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329\/revisions\/339"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cwbblogs.com\/uganda24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}