Successful Completion of the Court Of Dreams project

Since the inception of the Court Of Dreams project in the year 2016 a lot has been covered especially in the areas of WASH, Health and Education in the different schools that Court Of Dreams was introduced to, with sports juicing up all the life skills sessions that were carried out.

The project targeted young children between the age of 4 and 10 years that is children from Nursery to class 3 who are mostly neglected when it comes to going to school, issues related to WASH and are prone to diseases which are caused due to the nature of games and environment that they play in. It has been an amazing time working with the little ones getting to learn from them as they also learn from us during the life skills and sports sessions which they actively engaged in.

The support has been great from the different schools that we have worked with, which most of them are from Kibera and a few from Lang'ata. The directors, teachers, parents and pupils played an active role in the successful carrying out of the Court Of Dreams project to its completion. From the different sessions carried out at schools to training's that parents and teachers were coming in to participate at Sadili Oval Sports Academy ,to ensure that the lessons taught do not become extinct.

As they say everything that has a beginning has an end, it has been awesome working with everyone who supported the Court Of Dreams. Our greatest appreciation goes to the Comic relief and United Purpose for funding our project from the start to the end ,Dr Elizabeth Odera who ensured that the project ran smoothly, all our partners for the continuous support ,all well wishers and friends of Sadili for their generous donations and support, the schools that we have worked with that is all the teachers and pupils without them the implementation of the project wouldn’t have been successful and the Sadili Oval Staff members for working relentlessly to ensure that the Court Of Dreams project objectives are achieved

Teachers Training

Despite the gloomy weather caused by the rains the previous night, the teachers still showed up on the 19th of October for their planned 3 hour training session at Sadili Oval Sports Academy. Teachers from some of the schools that we have worked with in the Court of Dreams project from year 1 to year 3 came for the training .The schools that were present include:Nazarene,Becky school,St Catherine,St Stephen,Jitahidi,Nazarene and Kimmta.

The event started with warm up activities, which were participated in by both the teachers and the facilitators. The warm up involved a singing game that also played the role of introduction of the participants. This was, “Fire in the Jungle, run! Run! Run!” whereby the participants would run round in a circle, and would stop momentarily while a participant said his/her name, and sang the words repeatedly, and after stopping the next person would do the same. This was repeated until all the participants had introduced themselves. 

The main session later started which was facilitated by Joy Akim who is the project manager and Brighton Amuni the Monitoring and Evaluation officer.The teachers were taken through Play based learning which was the main topic of the day which comprised of Importance of play based learning,participants and their responsibilities,where play based learning can take place,structure of a gaming session and development of a game.

Participant centered method was mostly used during the training where by the teachers got to effectively participate.They were divided into groups and given a chance to come up with different games around numeracy and literacy which they later presented and demonstrated how best they would deliver the lessons to children.Later lunch was served, all the teachers enjoyed and later

left with knowledge on how best to implement play based learning in school even with the new curriculum.

8 series challenge 6

The tournament started at 3.00 pm and ended at 4:30 pm with most of the children coming from Kibera. The tournament was held at our court in Kibera for the young ones mostly under the age of 6  and 8
The children were organized in different a category that is under 6 years, 8 years, 10 years and 12 years. The under 6 and under 8 tournament was held at the Kibera tennis court and the under 10 and under 12 was held at Sadili Oval sports Academy  

                                  

The children were registered, given uniforms and later went to their different pools and the competitions started this being the 6^th 8 series challenge the children showed remarkable results as most of them had improved from the previous results. The game was intense as each player didn't want to lose the ball you could actually follow with yours eyes to see where the ball falls next and the tension in the children as they didn’t want to loose.

 

''There is a lot of improvement from the children who constantly come for practice during Saturday squad sessions, the evening sessions and the holiday camp. This being a continuing group that was started in January ,am glad as most of the children understand the basics of tennis and are consistent in their training session observing discipline so that they can excel. I would also like to thank Dr Elizabeth Odera our director for providing sports uniforms for our children the uniformity was amazing. My objective is to get my team to play tournaments outside Sadili and also participate in major championships "said coach Asha Adongo during a short interview.

Running Court of Dreams.

Children being taught about WASH.

When carrying out sessions you might think that the children are just doing it for fun or not getting it until they shock you by telling  you what you taught them a few weeks ago .Its then that it will hit you that you positively impacted the children which is the goal from the word go.

All trough from year one since the initiating of the Court of dreams program we have been able to interact with different children from different schools

comprising those leaving with disabilities, most of them coming from the large slum of Kibera. Teaching them WASH and Comprising it with sports has been the most amazing thing we ever did as the children did not only learn but they learnt and had fun at the same time making the lessons memorable.

The first group that we started with are all grown now in class 5 and by the time we were starting with them they were in class 3.Some of them during the tennis sessions at the Kibera tennis court they would come and help coach Asha Adongo run the sessions. The teachers have also been very supportive during our sessions helping us manage the children and also keeping us up to date with the new curriculum when we are running our sessions.

Parents during the meeting.

The community at large inclusive of the parents has also been very helpful in taking part in our activities that is the cleanups, home visits, training’s, taking care of our community court and policy making. Running our project has been smooth .Despite the small hitches here and there, the good work of promoting WASH, numeracy and literacy will continue.

The August Holiday Camp

A session on how to hold the racket

The holiday camp was carried out from the 20th  of August to the 31st at the Kibera tennis court.Most of our participants being children under the age of 10 years.Being the holiday season the turn up was great as most of the children were not going to school thus attending the August holiday camp.
Life skills sessions and sports sessions were the main activities being carried out during the holiday camp.Under life skills,the emphasis was on WASH activities and some of the sessions carried out in the two weeks camp included ;Hand washing(Steps of hand washing,When to wash hands and the importance of washing hands),Keeping the environment clean,Brushing teeth and Cholera.
In sports tennis was the main game being played and most of the players being new faces the coach had to start with the basics of tennis that is;How to hold the racket,How to swing backhand and forehand,How to hit and roll the ball.She was however impressed as most of the children were fast learners and were picking up the skills really fast,with the help of the older squad kids she was able to run her sessions with the large number of young ones who showed up.

Learning how to roll

Immediately the children saw coach Adongo carrying porridge and heading down to Kibera tennis court they  would immediately swarm up the place ready for the sessions with their cups and plates for porridge and sweet potatoes or 'KDF' which was being served after every session. ''I am really grateful for the holiday camp as it has really helped my children as she refers to them,some have even come and confessed how they used to use the same basin to wash their utensils and again shower with it but now they have a separate basin for doing dishes and showering which is a good thing .For my old players,their tennis skills have greatly improved and for the new players they have gained some skills and with consistency in training they will be as good as the others.Am also happy about the food that was being offered at the end of the session as it tremendously contributed to the huge turnout of children thus being able to teach life skills and tennis to many children",said Coach Adongo during a short interview with her.

Brushing teeth being demonstrated by one of the children

Time for Porridge

REPORT  FOR THE VALIDATION MEETING HELD AT SADILI OVAL SPORTS ACADEMY ON THE 15^TH OF AUGUST.

Vitalis Akora leading the meeting

Introduction

Stakeholders that we have worked with from year 1 to year 3 were sent for invitations to attend the validation meeting which was held at Sadili Oval Sports Academy from 10:00am to 1:00pm on the 15^th of August 2019.The meeting was led by Vitalis Akora who did most of the talking as Beryl Akinyi assisted in taking notes. The meeting had 23 participants inclusive of Sadili oval staff members and the two evaluators.

Executive Summary

The main agenda for holding the meeting was to get feedback from the stakeholders on how the project has been so far. Some of the issues discussed include:

·         Involvement of the girl child in tennis

·         How to improve the girl child’s participation in tennis

·         Challenges faced during hand washing in schools

·         Likelihood of  continuity of the program after Sadili’s withdrawal

·         Possibility of the teachers training in September

·         Attendance and dropout of children

·         How Sadili can help reduce drop out

·         Support received from the Children’s department

·         How the project has impacted on child safeguarding

·         Areas that Sadili need to improve on

Body

The activity started with all members introducing themselves, where they come from and how they are related to Sadili Oval sports Academy. Later the evaluator started the discussion by asking the member’s questions and they would respond with different opinions. Some of the issues discussed include:

Ø  Involvement of girls in tennis

      A question on why the is a low turnout of girls during the tennis sessions was posed and the parents and teachers were able to contribute on the issue the main reason coming up being;

a)      Girls are usually left with responsibilities of taking care of their young ones and doing house chores thus them coming for the training becomes impossible

b)      Tennis is usually considered a boys game there by parents do not allow their girls to get involved in it

c)      Sadili is usually far there by parents wouldn’t allow their children to walk all the way alone stating that there might be risk involved on the way i.e.  boys chasing them, crossing the road

The members suggested that to ensure maximum participation of the girls, the parents and teachers need to be sensitized on the importance of tennis to both boys and girls.

Parents and teachers during the meeting

Ø  Challenges faced during Hand Washing

      The teachers took an active part in this question citing several issues that have occurred in their respective schools which include;

a)      Lack of time to practice Hand Washing as the WASH committee members might be willing to teach others during their break time but you find that the teachers usually take up that free time to cover up their lessons thus no time for them to practice

b)      Younger ones get influenced when they do not see the older ones practicing hand washing as they always learn from their older ones thereby they also stop practicing hand washing

c)      The management that is the directors of the schools are not involved thus making running the activity a challenge as they do not provide the hand washing materials which the teachers don’t have.

The teachers suggested that repetition should be encouraged and also monitoring as the children tend to forget. Also school directors should be involved to enable them support the activity to the latter.

Parents and teachers during the meeting

Ø  Likelihood of continuity of the project after Sadili’s withdrawal

Some of the teachers said that the probability of the continuity of the project in their schools would be half .Giving the reason that if the staff we trained on hand washing and safeguarding issues leave they will leave with the knowledge thus the new ones will not continue with what they have no idea on thus extinction of the project.

Most of the teachers promised to continue with the project even after Sadili leaves.

Ø  Possibility of teachers training in September

Most of the teachers disagreed to this suggestion reasons being;

a)      Third term is a short term as  most of the teachers will be busy trying to cover the syllabus thus the training cannot be fixed in the busy schedule

b)      There will be grade 3 preparations that most of the teachers are going to be involved in.

However a few of the teachers suggested that it might be possible with proper planning, communication and co-ordination with the required parties.

Ø  Attendance and Drop out of children

Both parents and teachers agreed that attendance is an issue amongst the schools and a question was posed on how Sadili can help reduce dropout and increase attendance and the suggestions included;

a)      By encouraging the children who have been constantly attending classes by awarding them

b)      Sensitizing parents on the importance school to a child’s future

c)      By creating an interactive activity that the child can do and not forget easily

Ø  Support received from the department of child service

Some of the schools reported that they have been working with several child welfare services closely in issues regarding their children some of those organizations mentioned include; Carolina for Kibera(CFK) and Edmond Rice Camp

Other schools stated that the children department has been distant with them citing that being overwhelmed with many issues might be one of the reasons why

Ø  How the project has impacted on child safeguarding

Most of the parents and teachers who came in for the safeguarding training and meetings attested that the training has had a great impact in them and their respective schools listing the following;

a)      Corporal punishment that they were giving to the children stopped and they are using positive reinforcement

b)      Teachers accepted that not all learners are good in class there by focusing on what they are good in

c)      Teachers are going deep to check on the root causes of a certain behavior in a child

d)     Teachers and parents are having a good relationship with the pupils there by enabling them to open up to them in case they have a problem.

Lunch!

Ø  Areas that Sadili need to improve on

The parents and teachers were asked to state some of the areas that they would like to see changes in regards to Sadili and how the project was run and the following were some of the suggestions;

a)      Sadili should increase contact time with the children as the sessions were so short and when they were just enjoying the session had to be cut short due to time

b)      Introducing other co-curricular activities as not all the children love tennis

c)      Introduce competitions where by schools meet up and compete and the winners are awarded

d)     Safety of the kids should be looked at when they are coming to Sadili for tennis a van should be bought to pick them up and drop them in Sadili hence ensuring no risks in terms of accidents while crossing the road and also personal safety

e)      Several patrons should be trained at schools as there are many transfers thus no continuity of the program.

f)       Sadili should work more closely with the owners of the schools are they are the yes Sayers in all the activities that should be carried out in schools

g)      School meetings should be attended by Sadili Staff members where they can share more about the activities carried out and their importance

h)      Participants in the training's that happen at Sadili should be given certificates to show that they have participated as a motivation

i)        Children coming to Sadili for training be provided for branded Sadili uniforms

j)        The program should also involve the upper primary kids and all staff members including the subordinate staff ,as they are the ones most of the young kids look up to

k)      Sadili should at least supply tanks which will be permanent to schools that they have worked with to promote WASH

l)        Sadili should create awareness of the activities that they are going to carry out before starting them.

Later the meeting ended with a vote of thanks from Joy Akim who later gave all participants a bucket and a bar of soap as a token of appreciation for taking their time to come and also to continue promoting WASH

Participants with their buckets

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to Sadili Oval sports Academy for the approval and support given in this activity, Vitalis Akora and Beryl Akinyi for taking their time to listen to our stakeholders views, all the stakeholders for taking their time to attend and lastly all the Sadili Oval Sports academy staff members for their support from planning to the conclusion of the activity.

Conclusion

The day ran smoothly with all the activities carried out as planned. The participants were active in their participation leaving no stone upturned. The participants had lunch and left at their own pleasure.

Report compiled by: Flora Khisa

                                                                                                 

MARKING THE UNDOKAI FESTIVAL

Bean bag toss

The Joy of the children could be seen as they came in one by one reminiscing about how the previous Undokai festivals have been and how this one is even going to be better most of the children who had not come in during the previous Undokai activities were being fed with sneak peeks of some of the activities that are usually carried out during this

specific day.

The children surpassed our target number as 139 showed up exceeding the 100 that we had anticipated which was amazing as it goes the more the merrier. Children were divided into two teams team red and team white and they had to compete against each other in whatever competition that would come up, each team was given a headband of their color to show which team they represented.

Centipede race

The day kicked off by a tree planting activity where by children were given different trees which they planted to promote environmental conservation as Undokai is all about sports and environmental conservation, 62 trees were planted each child planting the trees with love tender and care. Later the sports activity started, there were a series of activities which the children were to participate in including :Bean bag toss, Run away bean bag toss, Sack race, Rope skipping, Three legged race, Centipede race,Relay,Big ball relay, Tug of war,100 meters race and finally clean up race. The competition was tough as no team wanted to be on the losing end, each team picking some of the best people to represent them and those remaining cheering their representatives and encouraging them when they seemed to lose hope before finishing, however at the end there was a tie as both teams gave their best in all the activities they were chosen to engage in making it a win win for both.

Coach Katsuya Otsu with the squad

Later the children had lunch and left happy carrying stories to tell those who missed. The squad group who usually come in for tennis training sessions remained behind and had a nice time playing tennis with our guest Katsuya Otsu from Tokai University who has always been coming to Sadili Oval sports Academy and spending time with our children playing and promoting WASH and Environmental conservation.

Three legged race

Big ball relay

Tug of war

Runway bean bag toss

I planted this

Tug of war

Finishing the relay with style

The food was yummy

It was a tie!

Tennis was awesome

The community clean up activity

The second clean up activity was held on the 5^th of July 2019 led by Sadili oval staff members with Kevin Ayuko as the organizer. The event started at 10:00 am at Stara Rescue Center and School where all the three schools that were participating had assembled that is St Catherine, Nazarene and Stara Rescue center. Close to 100 members participated in the activity that is inclusive of teachers and students from the three schools plus Sadili Oval Staff members. The area to be covered was between Darajani where Stara Rescue Center is located via Gatwekera to Nazarene in Soweto area. The purpose for the cleanup was to create awareness to the community on the importance of environmental conservation.

Members participating in the clean up activity were given a short brief by Kevin Ayuko on the program that is areas to be covered and what is needed. All members were given Sadili branded T-shirts, caps, dust masks, gloves and equipment's to be used during the clean up that is rakes, spades and sacks for collecting garbage. The Participants actively participated in collecting rubbish and cleaning all the areas that we passed in the community to the last area which was Nazarene located in Soweto.

The clean up activity ended at 12:00 pm and all members assembled at the hall in Nazarene where introduction of the schools present, teachers present and Sadili Oval staff members was done with the teachers and pupils emphasizing that clean ups should always be done and that it should not be the last one they thanked Sadili Oval sports Academy for the great job being done in the community and encouraged us to keep up. Vote of thanks was also done to thank all members who participated in the activity and later all members enjoyed a snack and left for their respective schools promising to always keep the environment clean.

Using play based approach to address WASH

Pupils of Stara during a life skills session on Hand Washing

Tuesdays and Thursdays are always packed days for WASH implementers to execute life skills and sports sessions at Stara Rescue Center and School. The new term and new games for tennis came with a clearer implication of the strength of using play to reach out to children with lessons around WASH, Literacy and numeracy.

One Tuesday, when coach Asha was held up and wouldn't make it for a session at Stara school became my center of interest to unearth how much the children from Stara School loved sport in comparison to WASH sessions. Together with my colleague, we studied the behavior of children in the absence of coach Asha and decided to further  the research

Normally, Sadili’s staff arrival at the school will attract the attention of all the children either in their class rooms or outside playing. The children would shout, and scream in joy as they chant songs because they know its play time with "coach tennis" as they had named Asha.

We decide that one day  coach Asha would be left behind so as to see the difference in our arrival at the school.As we entered the compound of Stara School, there were some normal excitements from the children, shouting the name Sadili and P.E congruently. We thereafter alerted the coach who was standing just outside the gate to join us. This made us dissolve into laughter as the children already organized in groups screamed in  excitement calling out the name coach, tennis and others shouting ‘game yetu’-our game.

Children during play session with coach Adongo

In conclusion, play based approach to address the situation of WASH and reaching out to out of school children is the best choice made by the court of dreams project that suits well the different categories in ages of the targeted groups. Children of Stara as a sample here give a clearer message that when play is involved the interest of children to learn is attained hence driving home the message of WASH, Literacy and Education.

My Love for Tennis

Nicholas with Coach Adongo

“My journey in tennis started when I first saw Coach Asha Adongo at our school picking new members to join her squad group. She used come in the evening pick us at school and head to the Kibera Tennis Court where we would do our tennis practice sessions. At first I was afraid as I didn’t know how to play tennis leave alone holding a racket but after realizing that most members didn’t know either gave me some sort of comfort though I vowed to learn as much as I can and become one of the best players. I always look forward to evenings, Saturdays and Holiday camps so that I could play tennis”, said Nicholas.

Nicholas with other squad members during training.

Nicholas Omondi is a 12 year old class 5 boy at Nazarene Primary school in Kibera he started playing tennis when he was in class 3 after the introduction of the Court of dreams program in their school and since then he has become a constant never missing tennis practice. “Nicholas is one of the most determined players I have, great at smashing and back hand. He is also disciplined and makes the team lively and active with his comical aspect. He also has a determined spirit losing a game to him is not an option and when he does he seriously cries and will make sure the next time he wins. Through Nicholas there are several other good players who have joined the team”, said coach Adongo

In a short interview with Nicholas he was able to inform us that tennis has so far become his favorite sport, his parent’s support him as his class work has improved so has his manners. Even though he wants to become a pilot when he grows up, he will still play tennis his favorite sport.

  

Impact Realization

Did you know the most expensive gift one can offer to anyone is time? The wise people said “time is money”. I am not well versed with how one can convert time to money if you are not employed or trading, but if someone lends you their time, serving you and expecting nothing in return, respect the person since they have offered you a gift that can’t be quantified. Sadili Oval Sports Academy was incorporated with one vision, “To empower children and youth to improve their wealth, reduce poverty and improve learning for a better future.” Working round the clock to see improvement in the less privileged society. With this in mind, a number of programs and projects have been launched to see to it that this has been achieved and slowly but surely its happening. The Sadili staffs who are working under Court of Dreams Project have really created a lot of impact among the children in the program as well as the community at large. The self motivation towards keeping the environment clean, the toilets and also their self hygiene is something so remarkable and can confirm that there is  impact of the lessons taught under Court of Dreams."I participated during the Community Clean up which took place on the 11^th March 2019, I was tasked with assisting the participants in hand washing and after closely observing how the children were doing it, and I realized most of them were able to follow all the steps in hand washing which was so impressive. The kind of satisfaction on realizing the impact the lessons by the social educator was enough to mean the time they always give in teaching life skills does not go to waste.

I am optimistic that this impact will be sustained for a long time and with support from every stakeholder i.e Sadili Oval Sports Academy Board members, Staff Members, donors and the target community at large, a complete transformation will be realized"