Sean's Blog - 10th June 2011

Today was our last day at CHAMRECC School in Mitumba, the day started with a tour of the Mitumba community.  We used the maps that the parents had done in their workshop the other day and visited the different places that they had identified as the key parts of the community. The final touches to the water tank that we have been working with all this week were made and the water tank was placed onto the foundation ready for the water company to come and connect it and fill it up with water ready for the school to put the tank into good use. After the tour and putting the final touches to the water tank it was onto the CHAMRECC school presentations the school went first and we were treated to two tribal dances (they were Luo and Masai) and also a few poems and other songs put together by the kids of the school.

After the school kid’s presentations, they went back to class to finish off the arts and crafts stuff that we had set for the participants who attended the arts and crafts workshop to take back to the class. We had lunch and then went straight into doing our presentation to the school. We started off thanking the school for the hospitality they have shown us throughout the week and to the teachers and pupils also.  We then sang a few songs (red and white is the colour, everywhere we go and a new debut song composed by John to the tune of when I was young) and each class in turn brought their paper chain that they had designed and joined up to make a bigger paper chain  as a whole school. The presentations went down a storm and all in all it was another productive and rewarding week at CHAMRECC School.  The week has gone so fast and we’re looking forward to the next week at Naivasha.

(Sean)

 

Coxie's Blog - Thursday 9th June

Today was our fourth day at CHAMRECC School in Mitumba.   We had the tour of the old school and also the classes.  After the tour of the school we had the parent’s workshop which was all about Gender Equality.  The session went down a storm with both the team and the parents, especially when we did the debate, as recently qualified mason’s construction engineer Jordan is thinking about a career in politics, just kidding.  After lunch we went to the Masai field for the coaching session with the children.  The coaching partners were as followed:

·         Sean and Dan

·         John and Jordan

·         Lawsy and me (Coxie)

The children enjoyed the session.  After the coaching we had our first 11 a side match of the trip.  After the first half we were 1-0 down.  John’s inspired half time team talk made a difference as we turned the game around.  I (Coxie) started the comeback after a great passing move and I slotted it home past the keeper who was diving to his bottom right hand corner, 1-1.  Then a few minutes later Lawsy on his third attempt hit the ball off the post and it rebounded off the keeper and went in, 2-1. We were hanging on to the win but a few minutes later Jordan with the outside of his right foot rounded of a great performance by the team to score, 3-1.  The children were fantastic cheering us on all game.  After that we headed to the Langata field near Kibera for our training session with Samba girls.  We saw better improvement from the girls with their passing and movement off the ball during the session.  After the training session we headed back to the apartment to eat and have a few drinks.  Overall it was an excellent day.

Peace out!

Coxie

John's Blog - Arts Workshop (Wednesday 8th June)

Today the stand for the water tank has made good progress with the top being cemented.  We were leading an Arts workshop in the school today on the theme of ‘building up’ each other in positive ways.  We made paper chains with our names on, learnt a catchy song called ‘build up’ with a few actions to keep everyone on their toes.  It was encouraging to hear the class next door singing along as well!  We did mime including reeling in a very big fish (Lawsy)!  We built up a tower with Jenga blocks and made our own bricks out of cardboard decorating them with ways of encouraging people before building a wall with them.  We had taken quite a bit of materials and resources (pens, pencils, crayons, etc) for the school to keep as well which we will donate at the end of the week and it was good to start off using them.

We also had a tour of the school from teacher Dan which was great as we saw the different class rooms and were able to get some feedback from each of the teachers.  It was good to see the room had improved where a few children who stay at the school sleep.

After lunch we continued with more coaching at the Masai field including one of our favourite games – football rounders.  We were meant to play a friendly match with the Masai community but unfortunately they didn’t arrive in time before we had to leave to get to the training pitch at Langata for training with the Samba Girls.  It feels like we’re starting to get to know them better now and we can see their improvement already in the sessions focusing on making and exploiting space.  It will be good to hear more of their personal stories over the next week and see how best to develop the team.

Jordan's Blog - Tuesday 7th June

7/6/2011- day 5 by Jordan Haynes

Today we set off from the apartments and went to Chamrecc School. We started off by helping with the concreting around the stone foundations where the water tank will be placed.  Everyone took a part in it and done well. We also mixed some of the concrete mixture ourselves. We had some free time with the kids where we played games.  I got the kids into a circle and did some basic football skills like heading and passing the ball. I really enjoyed playing games with the kids and getting to know them better and they also enjoyed it.

We all sat in one of the lessons about the male and female reproductive system. It was really good and the kids were very interested to learn and were really enthusiastic. At lunch we were talking to Major Brian, who is a main benefactor for Chamrecc School.  He has lived in Kenya for 11 years and has been involved with the school for 6 years.  He teaches at the school for one and a half days a week.  He told us that the altitude we were at was twice the height of Mount Ben Nevis in England which was interesting to know. We then walked to the pitch with the kids and where we done some football coaching. We had 3 different coaching stations. Station 1 was Chris and Dan, they did a game called alien attack. Station 2 was myself and Sean, we did a game called ‘see it do it’. Station 3 was David and John, they done a game called traffic lights. I really enjoyed coaching, getting involved and also playing the games with the kids.  The kids really enjoyed it and seemed really enthusiastic. Then we went to the pitch where the Sunderland Samba girl’s train, to do some coaching.  We did a game called target, the girls worked really hard in it and they enjoyed it and they seem to love just playing football. Then they girls had a match against each other 6 a side and it was more about passing rather then scoring. They played really well and passed the ball really good. Today was a productive and fun day and I have learned a lot. Today has been the best day so far and will keep getting better.

Lawsy's Blog - Monday 6th July

Jambo, Habari yako. Mzuri Sana. Lawsy here today hope all is well. I will try and keep it simple and to the point but it was our first busy full swing day today with our schedule being packed full of teaching, coaching and digging, yes digging. We arose early doors and headed across Nairobi to Alive and Kicking Ball Factory which we have visited previously. We again ordered numerous footballs with the embedded samba logo and HIV aids awareness panels hand stitched in by workers. The company is a not for profit organisation which provides jobs to over 200 locals and produces high quality hand stitched footballs. We were warmly received and treated to a tour of the factory.

After leaving we headed straight to Chamrecc School. Chamrecc is located in a small slum called Mitumba which is one of the poorest slums in Kenya. The schools aim is to provide all the children in the community with primary and secondary basic needs, i.e. food, clothes, housing and education. They take care of every child including those who are HIV positive and orphans. We have previously visited the school and have over the years built up strong working links. Upon arrival we were greeted by old friends Dan and head teacher Cha Cha. Over the past year we have been fundraising to raise sufficient funds in order to provide a water tank for the school. Thankfully we have reached our target and we can do what we can to help our friends and the school. Some people think we have come away for a holiday but the truth is really the opposite. Completely the opposite. We all stepped up to the plate and put the graft in. Managing to dig a 6 foot trench which will hold the 7ft by 7ft water tank. This was no easy feat in the clay baked hot African conditions. We have laid the stone foundations and tomorrow we will mix the cement.

After lunch, myself and Sean led a coaching session which two classes from the school. Whilst John prepared for his evening session with the Samba Girls football team. I started with a simple warm up and played numerous games resulting in a game of football rounder’s which was warmly received. Today was the first day of coaching at Chamrecc so we wanted to keep it fun and simple. We will work more with the ball in the days to come. At this point of the day it was fair to say I was ready to call it a day but no rest for the wicked. We said Kwa heri to the students and left to return tomorrow. We headed straight across Langata to meet with the Sunderland Samba Girls team along with Sadili Boys. This was the first coaching session we have run with our newly formed squad. It went very well, the banter was flying and bonds are starting to be made with the team who will travel north with us to Naivasha next week. The continued highlight is the local kids shouting Kitambi (big belly) at Coxie along with my 2 magic tricks which have the kids baffled. Neither ever get old. There is so much more I could write but it is now late and have little energy left and have to do it all again tomorrow. The ball is just staring to roll again and the banter is building. Long may it continue. Asante sana rafiki. Kwa Heri.

Dan’s blog – Sunday 5th June

Today we started off by setting my alarm at 7am.  Shortly after 7, we received a call from Lord Sugar (the security guard), who informed us that the man to cook us breakfast was here.  I told the team to be ready for breakfast in the boardroom (dining table).

After breakfast we made our way to Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church for morning mass.  After the service we went to Langata to play a couple of matches against Sadili boy’s teams.  The teams were split, me, Coxie and Lawsy and 4 girls from our Samba Girl’s Team, who played the first game.  The match finished 3-1 to the boys, with me getting on the score sheet.  The next game was John, Jordan and Sean, made up with the other half of the girl’s team.  Unfortunately they were beaten 4-0.  The results don’t matter too much, it was just great meeting our girl’s team and seeing how well the coaches over Kenya are doing.

Coxie gave a great speech to everyone who came down for the matches, we then said our goodbyes, and began a 30 minute walk to Maureen’s house.  During the walk to Kibera, a few of the girls came with us.  This was a great opportunity to actually get to know our girls team.

The walk was long and very hot as we sauntered our way to Kibera.  When we actually got to ‘the entrance’ of Kibera, it was a steep descent, and when we crossed the bridge over the flowing stream, it was a huge ascent!  It was really interesting coming this way through Kibera compared to our normal way.  We seen many different families, and although it is classed as a slum, there is a massive gap between some of the families, from complete poverty to poor.  It was a tough site to take, especially after seeing one little boy’s top was hanging together by a few threads.

 

We arrived at Maureen’s home and were warmly welcomed by all her family.  When we arrived there were other 3 visitors in the house.  It was Maureen’s sister’s (Emily) boss, Frank, and his friends who he was showing around Nairobi and Kenya.  Frank is from Australia, but has lived and worked in Tanzania for 13 before moving to Kenya in January this year to continue working.  It was very interesting to hear about his work, and he seemed keen to learn about our work.

They left shortly after our arrival, and then we spoke to the whole family and shared stories from the past year.  We had a huge feast and then sat relaxing for a few hours until we left to go back to our apartment.  We came back to the apartment and showered, ate a bit more, and reflected on the day.  Today was a good day, let’s hope every day gets better and better.

Regards, Dan x

4th June 2011

We spent most of the morning sleeping and resting after our long flights from yesterday, and after the odd occasional game of cards, we met with Maureen Auma (Kenya Project Co-ordinator).  This was a good chance to find out how things have been going in the local communities and with the different projects we are involved in, it was also good for Maureen to catch up on what we have been up to while we have been away. After some lunch, we were taken for a tour around Nairobi city centre by Joe, our driver who is experienced with the views and sights, and then we had a look around the local shops. The First game of Kenya trip 2011 takes place tomorrow against the Sadili Boys at Langata, let’s hope we can get of to a winning start.

Over and out

(Sean Pickering)

3rd June 2011

Today was our long travelling day to Kenya.  John started to pick up the other team members, me (Coxie) got picked up at Fulwell, Sean at Millfield, Dan on Chester Road, Lawsy was waiting in James’ car outside Lawsy’s house as James was taking his car to drive some of us to Durham Tees Valley Airport and last person to pick up was Jordan at Seaham.

We arrived at the airport at about 5am and waited to board our 1^st flight to Amsterdam Airport.  The flight was slightly delayed which wasn’t much of a problem.  We arrived at Amsterdam about 9:30am and went straight to our gate waiting to board our flight to Kenya.  Our flight got called an hour before boarding.  During the long 8 hour after a few snoozes from each individual we found out who was sharing with whom in each room for the 1^st week in Nairobi.  Much to my anguish I was sharing with John again, the dream team reunited again, who knows! The other pairings were Sean and Jordan, Dan and Lawsy.  We arrived in Kenya at about 8:30pm and after we got through with visa checks and collecting luggage we met up with our driver Joe as he took us to our apartment in Nairobi.  We love our new accommodation.  After a bite to eat and settling in everyone went to bed after a long day of travelling. Roll on the rest of the trip.

Lights out all out!

David Cox (Coxie)