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.

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.

The Clean Up Activity.

The 11^th of March started on a beautiful note with the Sadili Oval Sports Academy staff making their way to St Catherine which is located in Sarang’ombe ward in Kibera where the clean up was to start. The pupils were excited as they were handed gloves and dust masks and branded Sadili caps as part of their protection during the activity.

The clean up activity was done in partnership with Woodley Nazarene, St Catherine, Ministry of health Kibera and Sadili Oval Sports Academy who were the organizers of the event. All individuals who were to take part in the activity assembled in one place and were briefed on how the activity was  to take place, that is where we start and stop, safety measures and  what everyone was to ensure he or she had for the activity.

Introduction of the different partners present was done and Mr. Stephen Oketch from the Ministry of Health officiated the cleaning up activity by cutting the ribbon and the clean up started. Everyone tried as much as they could not to leave any form of dirt behind as our main aim was keeping the environment clean and leaving it far much better than it was before. Members participating in the activity had the zeal of carrying out the activity, no stone was left unturned, no trench was left with garbage armed with rakes, spades and trash sacks they got the work done. A few community members were impressed with the work that was being done in their area that they even chose to join and help in the clean up.

The activity ended at Woodley Nazarene where all members practiced Hand washing after the activity which is one of the Life skills we teach our children and everyone assembled at the hall for the closure of the activity. Mr. Stephen Oketch from the Ministry of Health Kibera was able to introduce his team and later took all the members through the disease Cholera which had suddenly increased in Kibera. All pupils were then given Aqua tabs to help them treat their drinking water and they were taught how to use it. A snack was served to all and people left at their own pleasure. What a successful clean up day!!

WASH competitions

The day started on a beautiful note with children coming in from Kibera and Kijiji ready to compete for the price to be won. Three schools were represented during the WASH competition held at Sadili Oval Sports Academy on the 9^th of April. The schools were Ngei primary school, St Catherine, Nazarene and St Stephen.

The members of staff from Sadili and the WASH Committee club patrons present introduced themselves led by Kevin Ayuko who also introduced the schools present. Staff from Sadili started by cheering up the children and preparing them for the competitions Lorein Odhiambo teaching them a song on Hand washing and Felix Kipkoech presenting a short poem on the same which they actively engaged in doing the actions and singing along.

The children were then given time to prepare their different presentations which the judges were to choose from and the creativity from the children was mind blowing as they had amazing things to showcase. They came up with interesting dramas, poems, songs (raps) and Drawings all with the message on promoting WASH activities which they presented to the judges.

The children then presented four members from their respective schools that were taken through the hot sit where by questions around WASH were asked and they were given time to answer as the judges awarded them marks according to the way they answered the questions giving detailed information and tackling the questions exhaustively. The children confidently answered the questions with the winning spirit not letting anything put them down.

The schools were then awarded after compilation of all results and St Catherine emerged the winner followed by St Stephen, then Ngei Primary and Lastly Nazarene. There were also individual awards for the best pupils who showed exemplary results during their presentations and lastly schools were awarded for their participation. The pupils left happy promising to go practice WASH and come beat the winner next time.

What an awesome day of promoting talent and WASH.