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

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.

  

The weird fun game.

This is a weird game, is how one beginner described the Tennis game.Tennis is not a very common game in our communities. It is perceived to be a rich man’s game. Our community project in Kibera is meant to nature young tennis players from the slum into exceptional players. They are introduced into the game at a young age in our community court and graduate to the Sadili Oval Sports club where they get seasoned further. We have worked hard over the years to produce players who have joined the tennis national team.

Many children of different age groups who encounter the game, the first time do not understand it. They ask questions about the rackets and ball that always fascinate them. Since they can hold the racket and hit the ball, most of the balls fly out of the court and into the nearby Nairobi River. The child is then left wondering, what did I just do? You should see their face then.

Training session after school hours is fun and requires a lot of attention. They are taught on how to hold the racket properly `say hello racket?’.They are also taught how to swing the racket properly `draw a letter C’ the coach instructs. These take some time to perfect. They keep forgetting and are reminded by the coach. This is followed by foot work, the different tennis hits, serving and counting. Counting is the weirdest. We don’t say 0 point but we say love. We do not count the normal way as from 1,2,3,4 consecutively but  we start from love,15,30,40 and game.  All this is very unusual as you continue to learn the game.

Soon they learn to play the game. It is so much fun. They can now count and know when there is an advantage. They know when the serve is a fault and give room for a second serve. They know how to control the balls that once flew out of the court. The game now is so much fun that every Saturday they play each other find the king and or queen of the court. They now understand that even with good skills you need to be smart to win.

It is indeed a weird and fun game.

Significance of a name.

Names are powerful. Children learn to identify with their names at a very early age. They love to be called names that they perceive to be trendy, good, and stylish. We have had to refer to the same child with at least three different names as they grow in the program.  To all children it is important that you address them in the correct way in front of their peers. We have used names in our interaction with children to achieve different goals. Names have been a means and an end.

One of the drives to using names is to ensure we have a fun filled session as we learn tennis. So in our introduction session with one of the schools, our life skill topic was about healthy eating. Every child mentioned the food they like and we adopted these as their names. This made marking the register so much fun. We had ‘Omena’, ‘Madondo’, ‘Chapo’, ‘Chips’, ‘mafuta ya chips’ (to differentiate from chips), ‘githeri’, ‘mchele’, ‘maharage’e.t.c .They loved it and it made it  easy for us to know who is absent, and make corrections as we learn the basic steps. All the coach had to say is ``saidia githeri hapo, vile ameshika racquet atamwaga githeri yote’’ the kids would laugh and help. We never had a dull session and we still use our names.

Children learn from doing, they at times assume roles and sometime are given roles to play. This is how we came to give some names to our children. When we end our sessions at the community court we often have some children who just do not want to leave the court and go home. Otieno would go round telling them that the coach has said it is time to go home and make sure they are on their way. He is not old as you may assume he is in nursery school about 6 years. Every time we went to the court he is among the first children to come in and reports of what happened at the court in our absence. This is how he got his name ‘Soja wa coach’.

Head boy on the other hand loved collecting all the rackets and balls when session is over and ensuring they are well placed in the store. He will ensure everyone has returned their racket and all balls are in the basket. Our head boy assumes this role even without being told.

‘Ochi makamasi’ got his name because he always has a dirty nose. He is a big boy old enough to clean his nose but he does not. We have done live skills sessions on washing my face and cleaning my nose but this did not bring about change with Ochi. So we adopted this name for him so that he realizes and makes an effort to do something. He did not like the name and this made him check his nose every time he is coming to the court. This has improved and we do not use the name as often anymore. His nose is clean nowadays.

‘Baba yao’ got this name because he marks the register for the Squad and has to know all who are absent. ‘Mama yao’ serves porridge to the team so she ensures all have eaten. ‘Firstborn’ does cleaning of the cups. The names help the children remember their roles and responsibilities. As coaches we also get names in line with our inter action with the children, the oldest being ‘Princi’. Sometimes we are referred to by the name of their favorites coach.

It is important to ensure names are used positively, since there is significance to a name. 

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