On Friday we met early at Maureen's with Eunice, Mercy, Luciana, Lydia, Vienda and Dorothy.  We had quite a few bags to carry on the 20min walk to the Lebour Hall which we had hired for the day. The plan was to watch the movie 'The Blindside', have a tea break, do some groupwork planning for next year, have lunch, vote for the player of the season and have a time of presentations at the end of the day.  The first hiccup was that the dvd player wouldn't read the dvd so coach Joseph and no.1 Samba Girls supporter Kevo had to go on a mission to find another one that could work. 

Lebour Hall the venue for our rmeeting

So in the meantime we got started with the groupwork which was a good chance for some of the younger girls from Ujamaa School to get to know and integrate better with some of the older and more established Samba Girls. They came up with words or phrases which described how they felt about being part of the Samba team and playing football, they then went on to think about beginnings and endings in their lives and then thought about the characteristics of the Magumo tree which is native to Kenya. After sharing their work with each other and on camera they went on to come up with ideas for dramas based on the themes they had come up with in the groupwork and will come up with some final presentations on this by Christmas.

Groupwork



Leah voting for next year's team priorities and last season's player of the year

By this time the boys had got back with another dvd player so we had the tea break while we tested it out.  This one worked fine so after some further work, on the future and voting on our priorities and best player and most promising player, we started watching and had lunch while it was going on.  It was a bit difficult to hear though as we were right next to the main road and we did have campaign wagons driving past playing loud music at various points as the preparations for the general election next March begin to gain pace.  It's quite a crucial time for Kenya due to the post election violence which took place after the last election in 2007 and the hope that things will not come to that again this time whilst at the same time the politicians scrambling to make coalitions to gain the upper hand in the voting. 

We took a break form the film make some presentations of One Game One Community t-shirts to some of the most committed players over the year and also some second hand t-shirts to everyone attending the day.  There were also sanitary towels for everyone which we do give out every month to team members who have been attending training and matches regularly.  These are not something which they would normally afford to buy themselves.  We hope we might find one of the manufacturers willing to sponsor the team with these in future.

Samba Girls team members receive their monthly sanitary towels

Eliza is presented with her One Game One Community T-Shirt by Selpha

There were a number of final speeches of thanks and appreciation for those running and supporting the team before we watched the end of the film and people made their ways home.  Before they left we talked with Beatrice, Mercy and Luciana about the possibility of them doing some paid work to help the team develop in the New Year.  We don't have enough funds to pay them so much at the moment but we will try to buuild this up over the next year as we strive to sustain the work we're doing in the community and give opportunities for soem of the young women to take both themselves and the team forward.  They may help with the junior team coaching, kit washing, setting up an office and researching a social enterprise selling second hand football boots and trainers.

Beatrice, Mercy and Luciana have all just finished school and we hope will be the first Samba Girls to take on our new school leavers programme

Maureen and I then headed off to the Methodist Guest House where we had arranged to meet Joseph the Methodist Church Bishop.  After arriving we had quite a wait as the Bishop was in a meeting which went on and on but her did treat us to dinner when he finally finished.  We shared with him what we are doing and he was very keen for the church in Kenya to work with us and learn from our experience of working with young people through sport and also to link with us in the UK with the support we receive from the Methodist Church in Sunderland.  Hopefully we will be able to arrange some matches with the church youth when the Samba team from Sunderland visits next year and the Samba Girls will get the chance to meet up with some of the youth groups and projects in the New Year.

Internet was down yesterday so didn't manage to post the blog so I'll try to catch up now.  Started the day visiting Lydia Vodoti who plays right back in the team.  She lives pretty much next door to Maureen in Kibera with her family a total of 11.  She will be going into her final year (form 4) at school next year and we have been supporting her with school fees this year and will do again next year.  It was interesting to hear her hopes for the future as she is very keen on advancing in football and being a coach for the junior team.  she also suggested we might try some training in embroidery as she thinks she can be good at that. 

Lydia outside her place in Kibera

 After meeting Vodoti we walked to the Lindi area of Kibera to the Ujamaa School which we have been supporting with a feeding programme this year.it was good to visit for the first time and see the set up and the challenges that they face.  They provide education for orpahaned and needy children from the community and have around 170 pupils up to primary level.  The 8 teachers work on a voluntary basis while a local church sponsors the rent for the buildings.  We hope to support the school more in future with expanding the feeding programme and supporting girls finishing class 8 to attend secondary school.

sign board for the Ujamaa school

teh school uniform is blue with pink collar for girls and blue shorts and pink shirts for boys.  Most of the girsl in this shot have been playing with the Samba Gills team this year. 

Maureen in the school office



School Principal Mr. Akoyo with Maureen with the school building behind.  There are 2 rooms which are each divided into 4 classrooms to make the 8 classes for primary.  Not quite sure where the pre-school (baby class, pre-unit and nusery) meet!



For this visit, the children came to school during their vacation to meet us so we had brough bisuits and juice for everyone.  The children presented a number of poems and songs about child labour, education and HIV/AIDS.

Juice break

Vodoti in her home with her daughter Akinyi

Back in Kibera again this morning but today there was no rain so the ground was a bit firmer than yesterday.  First we went to visit Mercy Juma who has been one of our core team members since the women's team started two years ago.  Mercy has just finished form 4 and is waiting for her results next year which will hopefully be good enough to take her to university as she hopes to become a teacher.  She is now 20 years old and lives with her mother, brother, cousins and 3 year old daughter.  Her mother is a grocer selling fruit and veg and she treated us to some delicious maembe (mangos).  Mercy told us how she first came into contact with Sunderland Samba when she was 13 during our team visit in 2005 when we held a coaching session for a number of invited youth groups in Kibera which included the Hamlet team which she was playing football with at the time.  She moved on to a boarding school for a couple of years and stopped playing football then dropped out of school for a while when she became pregnant.  She managed to get back to school in 2010 and also started playing football again joining our annual coaching camp in Naivasha that year.  We spent time with her again at the Naivasha camp in 2011 and saw her talent in football and drama.  She is good at bringing the team together and keeping the spirits high.  She's also the youth secretary at her church which sometimes has made it hard for her to play league matches when they're on a Sunday.  We hope to be able to support Mercy as she moves forward in her life after school.

Mercy Juma at her house in Kibera

Mercy with her daugher, mum and John at their home

looking out of the house

We also went next door to visit Dorothy who has joined the team in the last year after Mercy encouraged her to get involved.  Dorthy lives with her sister after droppping out of school in Kisumu and other family not having the means to look after her.  She hopes she might start back again at school soon as she still has 2 years to complete.  We discussed how we might be able to support her in future with this but that we do need to see her commitment and right attitude with the team in the first instance.  It was good to spend some time getting to know her and meeting her sister.

Mercy, Maureen, Dorothy and Eunice

 In the afternoon we went back to the fruitful women group where Maureen was again holding a community workshop this time called Family Matters which is for parents of young people in the community and today's session was on the topic of parents talking to their children about sex and related issues.  Joseph is the coach of our Samba Women's team and was attending the workshop with me and around 15 local parents.

Coach Joseph after the Family Matters Workshop

Poster from the Family Matters Workshop

 I spent some time chatting with Joseph afterwards regarding his views on the past season for the team and how we might improve things for the new season next year.  We also got treated to some acrobatics from the young boys group who practice in the hall.

 

Boys gymnastic group at the Fruitful Hall



Public transport strike still going on today which meant a very early start.  I was dropped at Olympic School in Kibera at 7am and met by Kaemas (Maureen's brother).  We walked back to their place along the railway line and there was quite a crowd waiting to get a free lift into town by jumping on the train as it goes past!  After taking tea and bread and singing a few songs with the local children we headed off to Kisumu Ndogo (little Kisumu) an area in Kibera where Eunice (Samba Girls goalkeeper) lives with her aunt, uncle and cousins.  It's been raining on and off over the last few days and getting around in Kibera when raining isn't that easy due to the mud, slopes and uneven ground, not to mention the mix of sewage in with the mud.  I managed to make it without falling over though and bought 4kg of sugar on the way, 2kg for Eunice and 2kg for Vienda who we would be visiting afterwards.  We have been supporting both Eunice and Vienda with their school fees over the last school year which has just finished (the academic year runs from January to November in Kenya) and we wanted to get some feedback from them and their families on both their school and football progress.  They have both just finished Form 3 and so will go to Form 4 in January which is the last year of secondary school.  Eunice is keen to be a football coach and to be a peer mentor in the community when she finishes school and the suggestion is that she should become a boarder at the school in this final year so that she can focus more on her studies and not be too distracted by household chores.

Eunice with Maureen outside her aunt's house where she lives

Eunice inside with some of her school books

Without her parents to support her financially and not being able to depend on her aunt we are the main source of her being able to pay her fees which will be around £200 for the next year including the boarding.  After a good discussion on school issues and discovering that football is an enjoyable outlet for any stress she may be having we headed off to meet up with Vienda at her home in another part of Kibera.

Vienda inside her home where she lives with her mother

Vienda outside the house with her mum and Maureen

Vienda has been at school in Machakos this year which is quite a way from Nairobi on the road to Mombasa.  As a result she has only played one match in the league this season but is keen to be involved in future as a coach of our under-10s girls and her mum has seen a real change in her attitude over the last year.  Vienda said how her dream is to be a psychiatric doctor to help people with mental health issues, so her final year will be important for her to do well so that she can hopefully get a scholorship to university.  We will continue to pay a contribution to her school fees which was much appreciated by both her and her mum.  After some photos we headed back to Maureen's for some lunch before going for a youth session in the afternoon which Maureen was leading on reproductive health called Healthy Choices.  This was being held at the Fruitful Women Group centre and Jane from the project, which caters for young orphaned children and promotes women's development, showed us around and explained how they had been doing beadwork and craftwork with young women to try to sustain the work.

Jane who leads the Frutiful Women Group

Jane showing me some of the craftwork

I also managed to meet up with Nelly and Atieno who we originally met through the Kibera Girls Soccer Association.  I met them first in 2003 when leading a football training session and they were with us at our summer camp in Naivasha in 2008.  They've both now finished school but haven't been able to get work on move on to further education as yet.  They're both still playing football though, Atieno still with KGSA and Nelly with the Bravillian Queens who won the provincial league last season and will move up to the national Premier League.  It was really good to see them again and see how they're trying to move forward and how their involvement in football does continue to support them.

With Atieno and Nelly

After a weekend of visiting relatives here in Nairobi and Gatundu it was back to Samba business today.  I met with Maureen for most of the day to finalise the pictures and text for our 2013 calendar and managed to get them sent off to PrintSwift in Sunderland so that they can put a draft copy together.  Get your orders in now at only £4.99 each with all the profits supporting our project in Kenya - just send me an email at john1boyd@yahoo.co.uk to reserve your copy.  Back to Kibera first thing in the morning for training, meetings with the girls team and visits to youth sessions and family homes.  Hope to meet up with some of the old Girls Soccer players as well. Also waiting on another call from the Methodist Bishop in Kenya who is keen to meet up to explore how we can work more closely with young people from the Methodist Church in Kenya. Until tomorrow here are a few more pictures from last week's training.

Yesterday I was dropped 8am at Olympic High School in Kibera with a suitcase full of football boots and another bag full of t-shirts, bibs, hats and trophies.  Maureen met me there and we left the bags at her cousins place nearby and then walked to her place to have tea and take a few photos for next year's calendar.  WE were back at the school by 10am for a day of training and feedback with the girls team.  Around 30 attended and there are were a lot of new players to get to know.  It was great to see Mercy, Vienda, Beatrice, Lydia and Eunice.  They were all asking after the Sunderland team, particularly Cox and Corby! 

Lydia, Eunice, Vienda, Mercy and Julie with their player IDs

We also had players from the Ujamma school which we have started to support and which we'll visit next week.  We trained hard through the morning working on off the ball movement and decision making.  It was obvious to me that our players have improved and we've also got some really good new players.  Our team is also a young one which bodes well for the coming seasons.  Lunch was mkate na maziwa (bread & milk) in one of the classrooms and after eating we had a feedback session on our first season in the league.  It was the first time they had seen the final league table and they saw how easily they could have finished in the top 3 if a few games hadn't been lost late on.  Some of the feedback: thanks to Sunderland for the support, good that we provide lunch money for games, we don't have to be the best players but we can be the best team, if we've lost we have cried and wept but then still taken photos and had fellwship time with the other team which has been a good attitude, we've proved ourselves as ladies in football and this has really motivated me, need to be more serious in training, there were ups and downs but this shows us the way to pull ourselves up next season.  For next season: aim to finsih in top 2, don't underate the other team,need watercans.  Suggestions: watercans, shinguards, boots, ankle supports, gloves, training bags to carry boots.  We discussed in small groups ideas for new strip colours and the favourite was green shirts, white shorts and green socks.  We also worked on a team rallying call and the faourite was 'with God and teamwork everything is possible'.  I liked 'yes we can' which would be good as a reminder on the pitch.  Other suggestions were 'no losing hope', 'teamwork until the end', 'together we can achieve more', 'never give up, never give in, never give out'.  Then we looked at the suitcase of boots which were donated by Boxford Rovers FC form Ipswich and kindly delivered to us in Sunderland my Melvyn Eke.  Melvyn had suggested we make a photo with the boots writing 'Boxford Rovers'.  The girls were quick to try it out and it worked really well. 

We were then back to the field for some matches and we finished around 6pm with a penalty shoot-out practice.  Maureen arrived back at this time as after lunch she had to go into town to the FKF office to find out about a tournament being organised next weekend.  Unfortunately the matatus had gone on strike so she had to walk all the way there and back.  This also meant it was going to be difficult for me to get back to Joe and Mary's place where I'm staying.  I walked with Maureen and Kevo (our new biggest supporter who I discovered is studying Sports Management at University in Karen) in the dark to the prestige plaza where Joe was able to pick me up around 7.30pm.  Nose got a little sun burnt today as I forgot to put more sun cream on after lunch!  Also returned to an email from the Presiding Bishop Elect of The Methodist Church in Kenya but more about that next time.

Maureen our Kenya Project Co-ordinator was very pleased to see the bag of kit and equipment we've been able to bring, especially the 26 pairs of football boots donated by Boxford Rovers FC (they gave us more than 50 but this is as many as we could get in the bag this time!). 

We visited the FKF (Football Kenya Federation) Nairobi Branch office.  We met the secretary, assistant secretary and the assistant to the assistant.  They were keen that we arrange some friendly matches with some of the Kenyan Premier League teams when we visit with the Samba UK team next year.

We also got a print out of the provincial women league standings for 2012.  Sunderland Samba finished in 9th place (out of 20) in our first season with 12 wins, 1 draw and 6 losses.  We're planning now for the new season which will start in March next year and our hope is of winning the league to gain promotion to the National Premier League.