WONDER GAMES.

fun !

All activities conducted are coupled with games just so to break the monotony of listening all through,this helps increase the concentration span of the children and also help in better understanding a mastery of lessons learnt. This is actually the most fun moment for all the kids. You can vividly tell this since as soon as a game is introduced, they all jump in ecstasy and sing joyfully. It has been so fascinating playing with the kids, and may sound interesting that I get excited about the games too. Anyway, who would not like to engage in a fun activity?

Talking of games does not absolutely mean the very widely known ones like volleyball, hockey or even football. The games played are unique and can be adjusted to suit all, including the physically challenged. And not just that, they are brief and are easily understood by the children. They include the Newcombe game, rally around, beat the bucket, find the goal line, keep the ball, boccia and activity card, to mention just a few.

What happens behind the scenes

Pupils lead in a song that they like.

The practice of safe WASH practices is a major skill on the delivery list of services for the court of dreams program The skills requires patience, persistent and a listening ear just like that of an innocent child from Kibera slum, however the environment becomes a great hindrance  to make the skills effective for posterity.

The life skills sessions which are sports oriented finds Salem (not his real name), a boy who loves sports studying at Undugu Basic Education Unit as an avenue to explore his dramatic behaviors in the field for activity assessments.

According to Salem ,who is in phase two as they categories their transition from one phase to the other, Tuesdays are the best day to be in school because of what he called P.E-Physical Exercise days in the school. He is now a regular school attendant and never misses the days when we have sessions at their school. Sometimes Salem may appear absent in class but on our arrival he is found to be present as he comes from the neighborhood and keen to see whether we are in the school playground doing setups for sessions.

One of the pupils showcasing his dancing skills.

Salem though not so much into sport but enjoys the drama he presents before the other pupils and being an attention seeker which I guess might have been achieved by us in the life skill and sport sessions, he now finds interaction into our session as the best place to showcase his humor.

The session on behavior dos and don’ts left most of us laughing and it’s was the first instance to note the humor that was bestowed in Salem. Some of the pictures presented to him on safe and unsafe WASH practices unleashed the funniest moments of Salem and the inquisitive behavior of the boy.

Salem  apart from noting the behavior to be either good or bad and for some undecided to say whether good or bad, person defecating into the stream to him was a big crime and he went further to ask whether the person had sound mind or not. Using some of the slang terms used within the community, Salem described the incidence as, “Aaaaah! Hii nayo ni noma bro, huyu jamaa ni mkali hii form’’

A pupil leading in a game.

He went ahead to ask who was taking the pictures and if possible will have notify the police to arrest the person and send him  to jail for messing up with food,(fish) in the stream. Apart from the life skills sessions and sports we also promote talent among the children that when positively tapped can take this children places.

8 SERIES TOURNAMENT GETS BETTER

The day started on a good note with children coming in on time anxious to tackle each other and showcase some of the techniques taught to them by Coach Asha Adongo in their regular Saturday Tennis sessions. After the first tournament held at Sadili Oval sports Academy, the children were able to identify their areas of weakness and ought to become better in the next tournament.
The tournament started at 9.00 am and ended at 12:00 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 as they couldn't come to Lang'ata considering their age and the distance to Sadili and the other was held at Sadili for the older ones mostly and children from Lang'ata.
The children were organized in different a category that is under 6 years, 8 years, 10 years and 12 years. They were then registered and later went to their different pools and the competitions started this being the second competition 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

''Their is a lot of improvement from the children who constantly come for practice during Saturday squad sessions this being a new 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 Oder 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.

In every game there has to be a winner and in this competition the winners were as follows under 6 boys and girls Moses Ekisa and Shantel Jasmine, Under 8-Shelton Omondi and Joy Atieno, Under 10-James Collo and Irene Natalia Under 12-Patel Ambache and Angela Alwanga. After the children had lunch and later left to their respective homes full of smiles, hope and determination about the next tournament

MY EXPERIENCE AS AN INTERN AT SADILI OVAL SPORTS ACADEMY

Lorein Odhiambo taking children through Hand washing.

Being in one of the best organizations and having an awesome experience in one’s area of study is usually a dream of every student. To begin with, personally I had always wished that a time would come when I would actually put that which was taught in class into action. I bet the most interesting experience any student would come by is that which is out of class, anyway.

Honestly, it was not a walk in the park to join Sadili Oval Sports Academy.  I had to follow the right procedure and also present the relevant documents. It took a lot, but I must admit it was worth it. Actually, I am sure I’m one of the luckiest interns ever, since that very week when I was to begin my attachment, there was an ongoing capacity building training session and I was so privileged to have got a chance to attend it. It was a great time that brought with it several challenges on my side till I felt like I had a lot to learn during my attachment and set me to thorough work. I learnt so many things that I was very zealous to begin working instantly. Well, you won’t just understand what I mean if you haven’t experienced an individually-challenging training session that can actually propel you to work.

So the long awaited moment to begin working finally materialized. I was taken through the orientation process in the following week, just after the capacity building training had ended. The orientation processes was an intense one, but trust me, I got more eager to begin the work. So Tuesday came, 5th February 2019, and we were to have a field work activity that was to take place in Kibera at Undugu Basic Education Unit. Well, I must admit that it was not easy on my side being the first time in Kibera. But then, the morale and teamwork seen in the other staff members re energized me. If anything, this is just one team anyone who comes by would like to work with entirely. They are not just colleagues, but are friendlier till you can see the brotherhood in all that they do and hence a better flow of work.

To all students out there, this is actually the best place for you to come and have greater experiences, both in the office and in the field area. Personally, I feel like I gain so much and I’m so ready just to get out and exploit the experiences gained, and I’m looking forward to even greater experiences during my three-month stay here.

 

Lorein participating in giving rewards.

Safe spaces!

Safes paces are free of prejudice; they promote inclusion, communication, participation for all. They are intentionally created to give room to all especially those that would be left out. They are avenues where all disenfranchised beings will feel welcomed.

Safe spaces are assumed to be very easy to create. That with guidance from our culture, constitution, policies, rules and religion to mention a few, we are able to create safe spaces for all to live and let others live. These are among the many encounters that we have at our community court, and the community

Mary arrives in the morning at the court with a swollen eye. It is so red and she seems to be in pain. The coach enquirers about the eye and she says `` Mum beat me because I went to the shop and bought something different.” ``Is that the only reason the coach insists?’’  ``Yes she says ‘’ the coach trying to comfort Mary says `` Mum need to be reported.” ``Mary agrees nodding her head and says `` I don’t know why she beats me so bad?’’

On different occasion walking through the community we find a parent seriously canning some children. The coach confronts the parent to stop the act. She tells them that what they are doing is not helpful to the child. Others join in the discussion wondering who we are. One says `` our children are very naughty, my own is worse. How will we mould them if we do not Cain / beat? Yes, another added, tell us? They do not listen or follow our instructions.” We look at each other, and coach said ``okay enough of the beating the children have heard you.’’ After a short discussion one parent agrees to think about it.  Another says `` in my house I beat the properly. They know. ’’

I once participated in a training that involved head teachers and coaches. As they were being trained for a holiday camp that was to take place soon for the children, it was clear that some the head teachers wanted to make their schools safer for their pupils. The teachers said `` they know we cannot touch them and if we did we will be punished.’’ That they had put in place strict rules to ensure this. Having interacted with the children in this school, they were outspoken and confident but lacked respect even for their teachers.

Creation of safe spaces is intended for all. The responsibility of the individual in creation of safe spaces as consumer and initiator should be clearly understood for us to achieve the intended end goal `safe spaces’. Safe spaces should be everywhere, in the school wash rooms, at the dining table, in a community play ground , our roads,  in the market place at the, at the bus stop. The individual should be responsible for it knowing that we all are challenged in different ways.

Does it not surprise you how children who do not know each other meet and play together? That is how beautiful a safe space is. It is filled with peace, contentment, understanding, smiles and many other good things.

Everyone is vulnerable in a setting strange to them. Therefore strive to create safe spaces for they will help include you and all children.

SQUATTING AND JUMPING FINDS A NEW MEANING AT THE WASH COMMITTEE TRAINING.

Last weekend was a beautiful and successful one as  pupils from Ngei primary, St Stephen, Nazarene and St Catherine had so much fun participating at the WASH committee training for the ambassadors and the influential pupils from their respective schools.

Pupils during the training session.

Many of the children arrived in good time and before they knew it the activities began in the interest of time. Children were taken through warm up and orientation into the compound as preliminary activities before they all settled in the hall for the overview of the WASH themes namely Hand Washing, Using the toilet, Food hygiene, Water safety, Environmental hygiene and menstrual hygiene.  With each participating child having been given a note book and a pen, their enthusiasm was lightened up as they took notes during the facilitation.

Another session followed immediately after facilitation, it was the opportunity to learn how to be peer educators in training other children WASH messages using sports, play and fun activities. It was at this time that in deed children were able to make lots of fun and enjoy the game. One of the games demonstrating the use of toilet was fun and fun according the feedback from them. The game had several cones labeled with both the correct and wrong use of toilets. Children were then instructed to queue up in groups and to run to the stations of the cones, read the label and then jump over if the label indicated a wrong type of toilet or squat if the label had the correct type.

Squatting indicated using that toilet since it was the correct type. The fun of it emanated from the squatting as this is what actually happens while using the toilets but the children felt some embarrassment doing so and furthermore some children ended up squatting at the wrong type of toilet use as others jumped over the correct types of toilet use.Children then gathered into groups to develop WASH resources which they carried to school and it was amazing to see huge creativity from the children with some others making a drawing to demonstrate ovulation and the menstrual cycle in reference to menstrual hygiene that they had just learnt. Presentation of badges to WASH ambassadors, giving out of WASH materials and serving of lunch followed before the children departed to their homes. Many children were for this day well spent in learning and fun.

Warm up session .

Presentation by Felix Kipkoech who was one of the facilitators.

The pupils working in groups.

St Catherine pupils showcasing their presentation.

Ngei WASH ambassadors after receiving badges

Pupils receiving materials to help promote WASH in schools.  

STARA RESCUE CENTER AND SCHOOL

Stara Rescue Center and school

And finally we settled on our last school which is Stara Rescue Center the school is located in Darajani area Makini ward. In a short Interview with Mr. Fred Onserio who is the school Head teacher we got to learn more about the school, the head teacher informed us that the school was started in 2000 as a Pre-school and later expanded into a Primary school with the first class doing their K.C.P.E exams in 2008.The school has 14 teachers and 2 social workers who ensure that all the children’s needs education wise and psychological wise are met.

The school gives 1^st priority to Total orphans, children from single parents, HIV positive children and abandoned and neglected children to be part of the school. Providing to them quality education from qualified teachers and also meals which some of them are unable to get from their homes. The school also empowers young girls on different areas and the girls are really doing well. The school offers scholarship to children who perform well as they provide their School fees and basic needs when they join high school thus this gives the children the motivation to work hard in school.

Learning block in the school

Education is not the only focus of this school but also Sports, Drama and Music are usually incorporated which the children also enjoy and have excelled in it hence tapping and promoting talent amongst the children and helping them to sustain themselves and survive in Kibera. However the school also faces a few challenges which include water shortage, enough text books and desks for all the children as the numbers keep increasing, children missing school and not getting enough meals for children as they are provided for tea break and lunch.

Despite all this the school still aims at improving Kibera with their mission being to effectively respond to communities needs through caring for the disadvantaged.

Pupils of Stara participating in a session