Sadili Rugby Academy Kenya: Sadili Rugby In First Safari Sevens Appearance

Sadili Rugby Academy Kenya: Sadili Rugby In First Safari Sevens Appearance: On Thursday 19th September 2013, Sadili Oval Rugby Under 14 Team took part at the Safaricom Rugby Sevens at Moi Sports Center ,Kasara...

Sadili Rugby Lifts Obelix Bowl

Sadili Rugby Academy shocked and left many struggling to collect their jaws last Saturday during the

Obelix sevens staged at the Braeburn Garden estate school, Nairobi. The team comprised of junior players from Kibera of average age of 14, managed to post scores which many former Kenya Sevens players and rugby fanatics present at the venue lauded. Pool stages In the pool stage, the team took off to a flying start with a 3-0 thrashing of Red Land Roses 1. The second match however took a different turn for the team when they lost a narrow 3-2 to Naivasha nuts, a match which was filled with emotional jibe from the Nuts players who were trailing 2-0 by half time. It is considerate to state that the players were a little immature in containing the Nuts’ mental play; something that will surely propagate in them as they grow in the sport. In the last match of the pool stages, the boys managed to put up a spirited fight against Les Gaulois 1, a team comprised of current Kenya Cup players and seasoned French Rugby Expatriates, never looking down even when they encountered a humbling 5-0 loss. It is important however to note the ingenuity of the youngest players in the team; Brian Angote and Michael Ochieng who stepped up on defense and worked to orchestrate a series of fluid attack moves only to be caught at the edge of the area. Cup stages Meeting the Kenyan based British Army Rugby Team in a bowl semi final pairing was obviously a mean feat. But the boys didn’t even have a clue of who the british army were and I believe this mentality carried the team forward to winning 2-0. A Bowl Finals pairing against Red Land Roses 2 would be an easier task to accomplish, the final score 2-0 with George Ondondo (15) and Michael Ochieng (13) touching down for the winning tries. Players showing promise The event not only exposed the current top cream Sadili Rugby Players to top flight rugby competition but also created a possible opportunity for boot sponsorship from Red Land Roses.
Special thanks Special thanks go to Sadili Rugby Academy, the French embassy and Les Gaulois for facilitating the team’s participation in the event. -- FRANCIS ISIAHO MUHANJI

Sadili Rugby Academy Kenya: Sadili Bids Fond Goodbye To Rugby Coach Jérôme Alf...

Sadili Rugby Academy Kenya: Sadili Bids Fond Goodbye To Rugby Coach Jérôme Alf...: Today, we say a fond farewell to Jérôme Alfonsi, with a small rugby training session.  We have known Jérôme for the...

THE GOOD, THE HOPEFUL AND THE WISH LIST

The Good?

5 players from Sadili qualified to represent East Africa in the Africa Junior Tennis Championships this month! Olivier Kigotho (Kenya), Josephat Garo (Kenya), Chizi Mutsumi (Kenya), Shabani Kabura (Burundi) and Sada Nahimana (Burundi). That puts us in equal footing with the ITF team and ahead of the country teams! We were staidfied that, between studies and tennis, our young players performed very well, and will continue to grow their game.

The results of the Kenya National Examinations in both primary in secondary school was fair, and all the students have been absorbed back into our academy school, Malezi or in other good high schools. 78% of those who completed the high school made the pass mark to seek local training and or get into a college (if they are successful in getting a sponsor for the nest level).

We have found our first Learning Partner – Legacy Youth Tennis and Education Foundation of Philadelphia, and we have launched an exchange tennis, cultural exchange and lifeskills project for 30 junior tennis players from each organization.








So much to be thankful for:
Malezi School, our academy school, made District Basketball Champs after beating giant Sunshine Secondary 51 -26. We then moved on to the County, losing in the finals to Upperhill Secondary, but still qualified for the Regionals, which we play from the 28th April. A great achievement with only 7 boys on the team! Thanks to Amoko and volunteer coach Nicaro Goldman.












After tearing down the rat-infested, dilapidated Banda kitchen and eating area, we have built in its place, the Banda Gardens, complete with kitchens, shops and office space for hire, all this done with materials scavenged from the rubble, and from other building sites around the city.  The design, building and painting was carried out by our own staff, athletes, friends and parents from the Kibera community. Talk about successful re-cycling! We are grateful to Karen Country Club members who donated towards the leveling of our space for tennis in Kibera slums.  The Tennis Committee ran a successful tennis event at their prestigious club, and inviting our own Kibera juniors to play. Next step? Improving the stony surface.  Members also donated old racquets and some used balls.

We also give back! One of our students, Olivier Kigotho built a cardboard boat, his team mates Amadi and Henry competed on it to raise funds for America Women’s Association to deliver food for the needy. Of course we won the race! Thanks too to all the girls and boys to helped coach and run demonstrations in tennis, soccer and basketball that day.

Kenya is now ranked number 5 in the world in 7s Rugby, and will most likely, qualify to play in the next Olympics. We have not been left behind, and, with the French Embassy’s support, we now have new changing rooms, a rugby pitch and a watering system for the inauguration of a Junior Rugby Academy, the first dedicated program in the city.

With support from Evolve9 directors, Ronald Pothuizen and Mike Barrell, and their friends, we have excavated, built a drainage system, and prepared the foundation for four mini-tennis courts for a Tennis 10s program. We are now fundraising jointly for the final artificial surface, fencing and equipment. When complete, it will be the East African region’s first dedicated courts in what will be a Kids Heaven, a little safe corner of Sadili, to include seating and a life skills play and learning shelter.

Hopeful?
Sadly our two Ugandans, Henry Ayesiga and John Lutaya, though amongst the top in Africa, were not allowed to play the Africa Junior Championships, as their country has been suspended from the ITF.  We are convinced that, given the chance, Henry would have won the tournament. We still hope that they get a chance to play other major tournaments, should a sponsor be available.

Its been a tough beginning of year. With 56 boys needing to board in order to perform better in school, we are trying to improve the shacks in the bush behind Sadili and organize a basic (very basic) boarding facility. So, boys are working hard under coaches Rehema, Florence, Benard and Nic, to clear bush, protect the old tin buildings every day from wild dogs (of both the animal and human kind). The circumstances are not flattering, trying to survive next to an open sewer (a result of poor management by the Nairobi City Council). However, the boys have hope for a great future: they get to live in a safer environment, eat two square meals a day, and have two hours of extra study at night (there is no opportunity to read in the slums and rural areas, where electricity is rare and people use small home-made lamps fuelled by kerosene), and a chance to take a (cold) shower every day. Already, in one month since we opened, we can see the improvement in personal hygiene, attitude, health and attention span.
 

Our newly selected soccer and rugby teams are very youthful and extremely hopeful for the best. Working with part-time college students who are former beneficiaries of our programs, these boys and girls are already showing great promise, winning a number of matches, and with more technical support, they will reach great heights.

Thanks to Women Win and their partners, we will be able to continue to mentor 600 high school girls in Nairobi this year, in sport and lifeskills through the Goal Project!

The girls are back! Yes, we are re-building the girls team, for Malezi. Only problem? They will be teaching each other, with help from the boys team, as we look for volunteer coaches. Girls are very excited and keen to prove themselves next year.

OUR WISH LIST?
1. Zack Okong’o (Basketball Captain), Amadi Kagoma (Tennis Captain) and Jamin Luvembe are graduating from high school soon and intend to play college sports. They need help in getting into college
2. In tennis, we have run out of basic supplies of shoes, balls, strings, grips, and general kitting. As a team that tops in the region, we hope that we can gain some interest from an international brand.
3. We need serious sponsorship for basketball: the court is dilapidated, the rims are barely holding on. We wish to have one and court and four practice courts. This would cater for a development program of 300 boys and girls a week, including wheelchair basketball.
4.  Basketball continues to suffer from lack of kitting, balls, and nets, inspite of being on of the two best teams in Nairobi County.
5. Food is not enough: it’s a struggle. We believe in working to achieve a sustainable system by growing much of what we eat: building a Green House will help achieve this.
6. Our three tennis courts need to be re-surfaced, and we need a partner to build three more to cater for the almost 600 children that we train every week.
7. We need volunteers who can lend their expertise to Sadili Oval, through staff training, marketing, online advertising, sports coaching (tennis, basketball, soccer, swimming and rugby), teaching (English, Math, Sciences, music, computer, Art and reading), preparing our talented for SAT and college, fundraising, telling our stories through video and blogs, and organizing successful events.
8. We continue to dream of a computer lab, complete with internet facilities, to improve learning for the children, and also give them a chance to feel that they are part of a bigger world. Any exchange program will not happen successfully without this.
9. We are seeking a partner to help us build a greenhouse to cater for our needs, but also sell some vegetables to pay for fuel and staff who will maintain our kitchen.
10. Education is a very important part of our lives, and sponsoring some of our talented but poor kids continues to be a challenge, we need to make their dreams come true by sponsoring every child on our program to school, by expanding on the Africa Sport and Education Fund (for which we welcome a Board).

Thank You!

www.sadili.com ; +254-722-729038; eodera@sadili.com

First Rugby School To Open In Nairobi Soon

Grenoble University Rugby Team were the first to visit and run training for aspiring young players, when the Kenya’s first Rugby School was opened today, Friday 4^th November 2011, at Sadili Oval Sports Academy in Langata. With initial support from the Embassy of France and French nationals in Kenya, the partnership is expected to develop a strong grassroots rugby that will feed into the Kenya Rugby Football Union’s national programmes.  In addition, training will be carried out under experienced coach, Jérôme Afonsi, who is based at the French School, and 6 locals will receive training to become youth coaches. All training will be offered free to those who are successful applicants. This becomes the first full-time rugby academy in Kenya. France is a strong rugby nation, and recently reached the finals of the World Cup, losing narrowly to New Zealand.