Sadili 8-Series Challenge No. 8 Succesfully Held Despite Chilly Weather

On Saturday 26^th November 2016, 50 young boys and girls braved the chilly Nairobi weather to participate in the Sadili 8-series challenge no. 8. The kids, mainly drawn from Sadili’s Court of Dreams programme, had a chance to test their tennis skills in a competitive environment after a month long tennis training by volunteer coach Vimal Kirthi and Sadili’s coaches. The tournament was held both at Sadili’s Kibera Tennis Court where the younger ones (Under 6s and Under 8s) played and at Sadili Oval where the older ones (Under10s and under 12s) played.

Run under a Sadili/International Inspiration partnership, this tournament was sponsored by Wilson Sporting Goods, Sadili Oval and Comic Relief among others.

RESULTS OF THE TOURNAMENT-08/10/2016

U-6 Boys

Red Team

Padre Ouma Vs Marco Onyango 7/6

Winner: Padre Ouma

Blue Team

Eugene Michael vs Lawrence Opiyo 6/7
Eugene Michael vs Brighton Otieno7/2
Lawrence Opiyo vs Brighton Otieno7/5
Brighton Otieno vs Sammy Bahati7/4

Sammy Bahati vs Eugene Michael 7/3
Lawrence Opiyo vs Sammy Bahati 7/6

Winner: Lawrence Opiyo
Runner up: Sammy Bahati

U-6 Girls

Green Team

Khadija Mbone Vs Linet Akoth 7/5
Khadija Mbone vs Sheila Awuor 3/7
Khadija Mbone vs Yvonne Anyango 7/3
Linet Akoth vs Yvonne Anyango7/5

Linet Akoth vs Sheila Awuor 6/7
Sheila Awuor vs Yvonne Anyango 7/3

Winner: Sheila Awuor
Runner up: Linet  Akoth

Yellow Team

Brenda Atieno vs Michelle Adongo 7/5

Winner: Brenda Atieno

U-8 Boys

Red Team

Barack Ochieng vs Sammy Otieno 5/11
Barack Ochieng vs Fidel Ochieng 11/5
Barack Ochieng vs Steve Otieno 4/11
Sammy Otieno vs Fidel Ochieng 11/10
Sammy Otieno vs Steve Otieno 10/11

Fidel Ochieng vs Steve Otieno 4/11

Winner: Steve Otieno
Runner up: Sammy Otieno

Blue Team

Samuel Ofuyo vs Emmanuel Otieno 7/11
Rooney Otieno vs Samuel Ofuyo 11/5
Brian Odhiambo vs Samuel Ofuyo 8/11
Emmanuel Otieno vs Brian Odhiambo 11/10

Emmanuel Otieno vs Rooney Otieno 11/4
Rooney Otieno vs Brian Odhiambo 8/11

Winner: Emmanuel Otieno
Runner up: Brian Odhiambo

U-8 Girls

Red Team

Zeituni Leeney vs Condoleezza Atieno 11/8

Winner: Zeituni Leeney

Yellow Team

Stella Achieng vs Cynthia Atieno 8/11
Catherine Ambutu vs Stella Achieng 5/11

Stella Achieng vs Fatuma Katunge 11/9
Catherine Ambutu vs Cynthia Atieno 8/11

Catherine Ambutu vs Fatuma Katunge 3/11

Fatuma Katunge vs Cynthia Atieno 9/11

Winner: Cynthia Atieno
Runner up: Stella Achieng

Green Team

Miriam Mutheu vs Elizabeth Mwende 6/11
Miriam Mutheu vs Happy Atieno 11/5
Miriam Mutheu vs Pamphy Achieng 6/11
Elizabeth Mwende vs Pamphy Achieng 10/11
Elizabeth Mwende vs Happy Atieno 8/11

Happy Atieno vs Pamphy Achieng 8/11

Winner: Pamphy Achieng
Runner up: Elizabeth Mwende

U-10 Boys

Red Team

Michael Oduor vs Ismail Abdul 11/10
Michael Oduor vs Wycliffe Otieno 5/11
Michael Oduor vs Byron Otieno 11/10
Wycliffe Otieno vs Byron Otieno 11/6
Wycliffe Otieno vs Ismail Abdul11/10

Ismail Abdul vs Byron Otieno 11/10

Winner: Wycliffe Otieno
Runner up: Byron Otieno

Green Team

Givonce Tenny vs Clinton Oduor 6/11

Winner: Clinton Oduor
Runner up: Givonce Tenny

U-10 Girls

Red Team

Phelina Vaga vs Margaret Atieno 10/11

Margaret Atieno vs Angela Alwanga 2/11
Angela Alwanga vs Phelina Vaga 11/2

Winner: Angela Alwanga
Runner up: Margaret Atieno

U-12 Boys

Red Team

Patel Ambecha vs Austine Katiech 6/11
Austine Katiech vs Samuel Olando 11/4
Samuel Olando vs Patel Ambecha 8/11
Patel Ambecha vs Van Vicker Otieno 10/11

Samuel Olando vs Van Vicker Otieno 8/11

Austine Katiech vs Van Vicker Otieno 11/9

Winner: Austine Katiech
Runner up: Van Vicker Otieno

Green Team

Maxwell Ikolomani vs Henry Otieno 11/9

Maxwell Ikolomani vs Wycliffe Odhiambo 11/5
Maxwell Ikolomani vs Eddy Ochieng 4/11

Wycliffe Odhiambo vs Eddy Ochieng 2/11
Eddy Ochieng vs Henry Otieno 11/3

Wycliffe Odhiambo vs Henry Otieno 9/11

Winner: Eddy Ochieng
Runner up: Maxwell Ikolomani

U-12 Girls

Red Team

Scovia Nafula vs Fanice Asengo 7/11
Scovia Nafula vs Diana Atieno 11/7

Scovia Nafula vs Anne Katile 11/1

Diana Atieno vs Anne Katile 11/4

Anne Katile vs Fanice Asengo 4/11

Diana Atieno vs Fanice Asengo 6/11

Winner: Fanice Asengo
Runner up: Scovia Nafula

Green Team

Maryanne Anyango Vs Rosemeline Akinyi 10/11

Winner: Rosemeline Akinyi

Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to all of our sponsors!

The Sadili 8- Series is a tournament for U6, U8, U10 & U12 kids (all levels), with Tennis Africa Cup ranking. It is free and open to all children, and encourages beginner-intermediate juniors to play competitions It was initiated by Tennis professional, Dr. Liz Odera.

The Cup Effect Holds Two-Day Workshop on Menstrual Cups at Sadili Oval

Mandu Reid, founder of The Cup Effect

The Cup Effect workshop was held at Sadili Oval on Friday 11^th and Saturday 12^th November 2016, an event that saw 21 ladies from various parts of the country gather at the sports academy.The ladies included twelve Girl Power Clubs Africa staff members from Nairobi, Busia and Siaya counties as well as nine staff from Nairobi’s Vijana Amani Pamoja (VAP). Both Sadili through its Girl Power Clubs Africa Programme and VAP are in partnership with The Cup Effect in a project aimed at raising awareness about menstrual cups and making them available to women and girls in low-income areas.

Rachael Ouko, Programme Coordinator for Femme International Kenya

This highly experiential and educative workshop was facilitated by Mandu Reid, the founder of Cup Effect, and partly by Rachael Ouko, the programme coordinator for Femme International, Kenya. Mandu also brought with her cups that were distributed to all participants.

Topics such as the female anatomy and the menstrual cycle were discussed. Mandu clearly explained the history of the menstrual cup, its advantages and how it is used. She noted that cups have been in existence since 1935. They are safe, comfortable, reusable and each of them lasts for up to 10 years!  She added that they are made of safe medical-grade silicone (NOT rubber as is normally misconceived) and allergies are therefore rare. A cup can be used for up to 12 hours before it is emptied and reinserted during menstruation.

A few of the ladies who have been using the cup, including Mandu and Rachael who have been using the cup for eight and six years respectively had a lot of positive things to say about it.  “When my sister first introduced me to the cup, I thought she was crazy as it appeared too big,” said Mandu. “It took me two months to get used to it, and now I find it very comfortable and convenient”.

Rachael on the hand took four months to get used to it. “It wasn’t easy at first, but these days I insert it and forget that I have it inside my body. It is that comfortable,” she said. 

Mandu and Rachael both emphasized on the need for practicing patience by those who intend to use the cup. “Some people take just one month to get used to the cup, others take two, three or even eight months to get used to it. You therefore need to be very patient with yourself,” said Mandu.

Menstrual cups for everyone

It was remarkable to note the fact that the average woman will menstruate for 3000 days in her life, which equates to an incredible 8 years. She will use up to 12,000 pads, tampons or other disposable items resulting in significant amounts of waste.

Group photo after the workshop

The workshop was meant to prepare Sadili and Vijana Amani Pamoja (VAP) staff to go out and raise awareness about menstrual cups and distribute them to at least 500 girls and women in low-income areas.

The Court of Dreams Uses Sports to Make a Positive Impact on the Lives of Children: St. Peter’s Story

Situated on the edge of Kibera slums in Nairobi, St. Peter’s Primary and Nursery School is one of the schools participating in Sadili Oval Sports Academy’s Court of Dreams programme. The school was founded in 2011 by Mr. Titus Ndonga who is now the director and Ms. Clare Amachari, who is the head teacher.

Like most schools in Kibera, pupils at St. Peter’s learn under very poor conditions. With a population of 60 pupils from nursery to Std. 4, the school has only 3 teachers (including the head teacher). All the 60 pupils learn in the same room, barely partitioned using old rags. Outside the building they call school is a foul smelling stream of stagnant water that is full of litter.

Despite these circumstances, the school’s head teacher has chosen to focus on the positive side: the fact that things have been getting better ever since she had the school enrolled on the Court of Dreams programme.

 “I can’t help but notice how much change there has been in these pupils since our school joined the programme. I’m very glad that staff from Sadili often teach them what we don’t have time to teach. We focus so much on teaching them Math and English and Swahili while we forget basics like hand washing, nail-cutting and showering,” says Ms. Amachari. “It is not uncommon for me to meet a parent outside there who is curious to know who has been teaching their child how to wash their hands, because they too have noticed a change. Not too long ago I met one whose son always insists on using soap, something she found very unusual of him!”

Ms. Clare Amachari, Head teacher

A part from these important life skills, Ms. Amachari is happy that the children can now go out to play, at least once a week, thanks to Sadili’s playground (Kibera Tennis Court) set aside for kids in the programme. “We are also very grateful that these kids now have a field to play. Our school is in an extremely squeezed environment and we feel very privileged to have a place for them to play. They always get very excited when it’s time to come to the tennis court,” says the head teacher, “We hope the programme is here to stay.”

A group of pupils in class

Mr. Ndonga and Ms. Amachari founded the school with the aim of helping parents to bear the burden of school fees. St. Peter’s Primary School pupils come from underprivileged family backgrounds, mainly with single parents. The pay very little school fees, just enough to keep the school running. The younger ones in nursery school pay KES 300 (USD 3) per month while those in primary school pay KES 400 (USD 4) per month. Total orphans learn for free.

Learning to play tennis at the Kibera Tennis Court

St. Peter’s is just one of the many schools in Kibera with problems ranging from inadequate teachers to poor learning environments. The Court of Dreams may not solve all these problems, but we are glad that the programme is slowly making a difference in the lives of the children involved, and that the teachers and their parents have noticed this difference. Knowing that these children’s lives are getting better every day gives us a sense of purpose, and is motivation enough to keep us going.

Smashers Challenge Cup Attracts Talented Players for a Great Weekend of Tennis

Edgar Arusei

Saturday 22^nd saw 29 talented tennis players from across Nairobi gather at Sadili Oval for the 6^th edition of Smashers Challenge Cup. The sunny day got off to a fantastic start with all the 7 courts at Sadili packed with action.

Edgar Arusei was the top-scorer of the day, putting up a superb fight to win all his 5 matches against different opponents. He garnered a total of 20 points. He was closely followed by Solomon Karani who scored 19 points, and third was Charles Ochieng’ with 16 points.

In the Juniors Category (U12s), the kids were divided into two groups: Blues and Reds. Austine Katiech was the winner in the Blues category after beating Clinton in the finals. In the Reds category Eddy Ochieng, thrashed Aphline Britney in the finals to clinch victory.

Sarah Yoon

“It’s been an incredible experience. It’s my first time to participate in a Smashers tournament and I have been incredibly challenged,” remarked Sarah Yoon, a student from Rift Valley Academy. “I hope to be here for several more in future.”

The Smashers Challenge is a level B tournament for top juniors in the Tennis Africa Cup ranking

Here are the results:

	Name	1	2	3	4	5	Total
1	Edgar Arusei	4	4	4	4	4	20
2	Solomon Karani	4	4	3	4	4	19
3	Charles Ochieng	4	2	4	2	4	16
4	Caleb King	0	4	4	4	3	15
5	Thomas Kedera	1	3	4	3	4	15
6	Emma Hailus	0	4	4	3	3	14
7	Maureece Huge	1	2	4	4	3	14
8	Billy Jagero	4	2	4	2	1	13
9	Jose Tony	4	5	4			13
10	Kun Kang	4	4	4			12
11	Joey Milligan	1	2	4	3		10
12	Ibrahim Oburu	2	4	4			10
13	Henry Ochieng	1	1	4	3		9
14	David Rutha	4	5				9
15	Sarah Yoon	1	4	4			9
16	Luke Roberts	4	4				8
17	Edward Odogo	1	1	4			6
18	Evans Otieno	0	2	3			5
19	Moses	0	2	3			5
20	Andrew Mutuma	4	0				4
21	David Machacha	2	0				2

Juniors (U12)

Blues

	Name	1	2	3	Total
1	Austine Katiech	4	4	4	12
2	Clinton	4	4	2	10
3	Beryl Adongo	4	0	0	4
4	Rajab	0	2	1	0

Reds

	Name	1	2	3	Total
1	Eddy Ochieng	4	4	4	12
2	Aphline Britney	0	4	4	8
3	Bernard Mwanzia	0	4	0	4
4	Rosemeline Atieno	0	0	0	0