FROM MITUMBA SLUM

CHAMRECC center would like to thank Sunderland Samba for the support they have given to the school and community. Above all we thank Maureen a lot she help us achieve a golden moment this year, the first girls she introduce to kibera girls soccer secondary school as done form four and this is a big gift she as given us. We did not have money to pay for our school fees, we had loss hope with education.
We have nothing to give her but we are praying that she continue with that heat, we won't let her, john boyd and sunderland samba team down.
thanks again from Maureen, Vella, Eunice and Faith

Eunice Anyango - Sunderland Samba Girls Team

My name is Eunice Anyango I was bone in 1993 December, I am schooling at Langata High.
My big aim to join Sunderland Samba Girls team is because I like football and its my talent and in the group am given opportunity, I want to learn how to socialize with people in order to live as one family also I would like to support my family, community and my country.
Since I join the team have gained a lot even how to express my self even from the trainings I got. I love my coach Maureen she is understanding and she has help me a lot to achieve. On behalf of other girls in the team I would like to thank the sunderland samba team in uk who has support us with sanitary towels which we get every month it has really motivate us and help us because they are expensive we cant afford to buy them and am really impressed with that.
I expect encouragement from the team and also our team to be a role model in the community as you know many negative things do take place in the slum .
NOTE Respect should be the key to success before you do anything, think about it, am sure we will reach far.

Maasai Mara, 01.08.10

We closed the trip to Kenyan with a visit to the Maasai Mara. While the girls went back to Nairobi, we were picked up by our driver, Big Ben Kariuki, our colourful driver, who was to be with us the next two days. We (and I include Maureen in the we) were joined by Flo, from Girls Soccer, who has been involved in the Samba Kenya Project since its first year in 2004. We stayed at the Siana Springs lodge, which was about half an hour from the park gate. The drive from Naivasha to the lodge took about 5 hours, with the roads getting progressively worse. It seemed impossible that Big Ben would be able to find his way, but he knew the short cuts like the back of his hand. It was somewhat surreal when he decided it was easier driving off the road than on it – there are no footpaths in this part of Kenya, and the roads are so potholed and bumpy that in places it’s impossible to drive more than 15 mph. Pothole dancing and road massages is the standard.
We had a full day in the game reserve, seeing 3 of the big 5 (elephant, lion, and buffalo), just missing the leopard and the rhino. Leopards and rhinos are in the park, but were keeping to themselves, leopards being nocturnal, and the black rhinos being very difficult to find. We also saw baboons, crocodiles, hippos, wildebeest, giraffes, zebra, antelopes, vultures, cheetahs, to name but a few of the wide variety of animal and bird life in the park. It was a long, tiring day, but very enjoyable. Big Ben was in his element, and was able to share his wealth of knowledge of the wildlife.
We were back in Nairobi on Sunday afternoon, after presenting some balls to a local Maasai school near the park, and it remains to prepare for our early-morning flight home and say goodbye to some of the people that we have been working with.

Naivasha Camp, 26-30 July 2010

The second week of the camp, we spent in Naivasha. We didn’t have wi-fi so we haven’t been able to update the blog, and we got a bit behind and missed the last few days in Nairobi. It’ll all be uploaded hopefully before we leave though.
Rather than doing it day by day, I’m just going to blog about the camp as a whole. OK, we weren’t actually camping, but we were self catering, at the YMCA site at Lake Naivasha. We had 2 huts with 3 of us in each, whereas the participants were all together in a big dormitory, and the other leaders were in their own rooms too. Initially, the Samba team had been put in one hut, all 6 in one: it was pretty cramped and there wasn’t any room, so we decided it would be better to split into 2 rooms.
Three groups were involved in taking part in the camp. Girls Soccer from Kibera, the girls from Mathare, and the girls from CHAMRECC – 25 young women in all. They each had two leaders, and we, the Samba group, were in charge of the coaching and the football programme. Maureen did an amazing job of organising everyone while we there. We had two football sessions a day, one in the morning from 9 till 12, and one in the afternoon from 3 till 4ish. The whole group also got up at 5.45 for a half hour run. We split into three stations for the coaching and worked on developing various aspects of the game. There was a fairly wide range of ability, but it was evident that the girls were committed, and they worked hard all week. As well as coaching sessions, we also mixed the groups to play 3 games of small-sided games to close the morning sessions. In the afternoons, we held larger games of 11-a-side, culminating in the girls taking on a local school team. They played really well, winning 2-1, but played most of the game in the opposition half.
The Samba team, with some of the older girls, and the other coaches took part in a friendly match against the local Naivasha team, who play in the 3rd tier of the Kenyan league. We gave a creditable display, but ended up on the wrong side of a 4-0 defeat. We followed that game up with another short friendly against another random team that had turned up.
On two of the evenings, we held a camp fire, with some singing, and a birthday celebration for Lawsy. In Kenyan tradition, for a birthday, the person has to be on their toes, as their friends are looking to soak them with dirty water when they least expect it. The camp fire brought the water, and despite knowing about it, he wasn’t expecting it at all! It was a great birthday for him. The only downside was that that evening, Sean took ill, and wasn’t able to take part. He was back on his feet in just a couple of days, not out for a full week like Lawsy had been, so that was the silver lining to that little cloud.
While at Naivasha, we came into contact with Collins. He had been doing some personal training around the pitch on the first day and was moved and inspired to get involved. It turned out he was a player for Karaturi FC, who play in the Kenyan Premier League. He was a humble, wise, and inspiring individual, and we spent a lot of time talking with him about football, about Sunderland, and about life as a footballer in the Kenyan Premier League. He said how he thought we were doing something special, and made a short presentation to the group about his artwork. He also talked about the sense in walking with wise people, but I think he was the wise man, and it made more sense us walking with him. It was really selfless of him to donate a huge mosaic he had made, which took him a month to complete, and which he could have sold for 10000 shillings, to take back to Nairobi to inspire young people in the slums. We have a new friend in Colo.
On the final day of the camp, we were able to present everyone who had attended the camp with a shirt. It was obvious that the girls were really appreciative of the time that they had spent at Naivasha, and that they had gained a lot from participating. They had made new friends, they had participated in everything without complaint, even the early-morning runs, and we were so pleased that they had responded so well. We feel that, especially in Kenya, it is extremely important to encourage and empower the young women, as women often don’t get as many opportunities as men, and it is of so much value to promote opportunities for them. Hopefully, the memories will stay with them for a long time to come.

Kibera Tournament, 25.08.10

We held the girls’ football tournament in Kibera on the middle Sunday of the trip. Teams from Girls’ Soccer in Kibera, Mitumba, Mathare, Masai Villa, Hamlet, and Sadili took part and Samba also had 2 games: one against the coaches, and one against Sadili boys, which was 11 a side and had a kind of Samba invitation 11 playing.
The tournament was held at a school in Kibera. The pitch was plenty big enough for 7 a side, but a bit small for 11! The markings were laid out by hand – Coxie and Sean pitching in. It wasn’t the straight lines you’d see in the Premiership, or even on our Hylton Road pitch! Added colour was provided by a hill to one side down which the ball went on numerous occasions through the day. The games were watched by people from the Kibera community, who stood by the railway line passing close by. We could have been on a good earner charging for tickets.
The tournament was a great success; a hard fought final was eventually won by Girls’ Soccer after a foul which led to a fairly close-range free kick. Pioneering use of video technology proved successful in determining the outcome of a shot which seemed to go in under the bar (well, the string of the jury-rigged goal that had been repaired that morning) in an earlier game. Credit to Coxie who was refereeing and got the decision spot on.
Entertainment was provided by a Kibera performance group made up of children and young people who danced, did acrobatics, and sang for the gathered teams watching. Big thanks to Maureen for doing the local organisation and getting the different teams involved.
The teams were very appreciative of the presentations and we were able to give balls to each team that took part.
It was an added bonus that Lawsy was given a clean bill of health from the doctor – it was confirmed he’d had food poisoning – and was feeling better after being given some tablets to kick it into touch.
That night we had to pack for Naivasha, and trim our luggage down significantly in order to make sure it would all fit on the matatu (the local Kenyan public transport in the form of 8- or 14-seater minibuses).