Provincial and National Games

March seemed like an extremely long month. The last three weeks of the month went really slow. The week of the 14th was review for the exams that followed the next week. The week of the 28th was provincial games in Webuye. What was really good was the meeting with the parents of Deaf parents on the 20th. For one, there were more parents that came and we were able to cover more material. My colleague has been a great help. I am very appreciative of him letting me lead the lessons. I will miss the meeting in April because I will be at the national games in Thika, but will continue in May. The objective in the future is to teach them stories and grammar. Thus in the process they will learn vocabulary.

Provincial Games in Webuye was an exciting time. It was really good to see other hard of hearing/deaf schools come together and compete in games. The games were: athletics, handball, netball, volleyball, and soccer. The games started on the 31st with a parade. There was a 10 person horn and drum band that lead the students from the school to the field where the activities would be held. We walked through the middle of Webuye town for 20 minutes. Webuye is 3 hours north of Mumias. Mumias did outstanding. It feels good to win.

Walking through town reminded me of running the Cooper River Bridge Run. After exiting the bridge the residents of Charleston are standing on their porch or their front lawn cheering on the runners as they pass. Though the people of Webuye did not cheer as we processed through the streets; they did line the streets gazing at the masses of primary school kids walking.

Marching band that lead procession to signify start of the games (far left) Obstacle Course for the young kids (middle) 800 meters race for girls (far right)

National Games was a whole nother animal. The games were originally set for Nyeri, but a few days before the games started it was moved to Thika. My impression was that the fields would be “top notch.” After attending the provincial games where the athletes competed on grass and dirt fields I was hoping things would be different. I was mistaken. Though there was no paved area for handball or netball, I suppose the dirt was sufficient for the kids. I am obviously an outsider, because the kids are so used to playing on dirt and some grass that it was no big deal. I have mentioned before that shoes is a luxury and not a requirement. I am still baffled by how well the kids move on the dirt and rough ground. And did I mention kicking a soccer ball with their bare feet. Ouch!! I can barely walk barefoot on the same terrain, much less kick a hard round ball.

Their are 8 teams for each discipline. The 8 teams comprise the 8 provinces in Kenya. The best players from the provincial teams are assembled to form one team. For example, Mumias primary did very well at the provincials therefore most of the players on the Western team were from Mumias.

I attended the opening ceremony with the masses of others from the provinces. We flooded the city of Thika with buses and hoards of people. All of the buses arrived at the Ministries of Thika government offices. Just as was the case at the provincials we walked around the town centre holding banners displaying our provincial pride. The walk was long and walk in a circle with in the town. We finished at the City stadium. I was so impressed. The field had thick and healthy grass with a nice track. I was really disappointed to later learn that none of our activities would be held there. We all arrived and we walked around the field displaying our pride. It felt like the opening olympic ceremony. I got a few goose bumps.

I stayed and supported Western until Thursday afternoon. Another volunteer came to Thika to visit her students briefly before heading back to Nairobi. I joined her on her trip back to Nairobi. I was joining her and 2 others for our journey through Uganda and Rwanda. I watched as Western was winning event after event. It is good to see your school and province perform well.

Opening Ceremony (far left) Western boy playing soccer-in blue (middle) Western girls playing netball in yellow (far right)