Rosslyn Tournament 15th/ Sep/12

 On the 15th of september we had a mini tournament at Rosslyn at 8:30 and we played teams such as West Nairobi, Rosslyn, RVA, Hillcrest, and Brookside. It was a very tiring, hot yet fun because we got some more experience of what other teams were like. The most frustrating part was the fact that all the games were 15 minutes each and if you didn't play well from the beginning and made your shots you would potentially lose because the time is so limited. With almost every game the score reached about 25 to maybe 10. I think we did a good job. In the semi finals we played against Hillcrest and it was a pretty tough game because we weren't scoring any points and i think since we just had lunch before and we were tiered and for the majority of our games we played outside and it affected the way we were playing. But on the other hand we ended up doing well even though i think we could have down better. In the finals we played against RVA inside and in the end we ended up winning and we showed all the other teams that we could still do really well even though we had several obstacles in our way. In the end we got medals and i won the best player of the day, i was very shocked, excited and honored that i was presented this award. We spent 8 hours at rossyln and it was worth it because we gave all the teams a run for their money.

RVA - 13/ Sep/ 12

     On the 13th of September we had our second game of the season which was a friendly against RVA. However  it was still very nerve racking because RVA has always been our number 1 rival and last year we had a terrible game against them and we wanted to show them that we could bring it. As soon as we went inside the gym i got really nervous all of a sudden and the memory of our terrible game came flooding back and i kind of felt sick to my stomach but as we started to put on our shoes and warmed up i started to get excited again .  Then Mr. Quinet gave us a pep talk which really helped and i was definitely ready to give it a hundred percent. As soon as the game started it was zero, zero for a while and i think they scored the first point but then we got it back and we caught up. we were leading by 8 point by the first quarter. Then by the second quarter it was a tie and they caught up quite fast and we just weren't scoring any points. It was so frustrating. But by the third quarter we had to step it up because the score was really close and fortunately we did step it up and we scored a lot of points. I felt so  proud of our team because we stepped it up when it really counted and we showed them that we were there to play and we wouldn't give up that easily just because we lost last year.

1st Basketbal game of the season vs Rosslyn 11/Sep

     On the 11th of September we had our first basketball game of the season. It was very nerve racking yet very exciting. Rosslyn has always been one of our rivals as well as RVA and since we had some new team members and it was our first  game i really wanted us to do well. As the game started we were all pumped and ready to go. In the beginning we scored the first shot but after that it was a slow start because for the first quarter the score was only 08-02 and we just weren't scoring. Then by the 2nd quarter we started to step it up and we started scoring. It was a pretty tough game because we weren't in the best shape  we usually are in by the middle of the season, so half way though most of us were exhausted, however this game helped us gain some experience and understand what we needed to work on  and it also reminded me of how much i missed and loved basketball. By the end of the game the score was 36 to 12 and we showed them what we had and what we would hopefully accomplish through out the season.

Shangilia Trip

        This was our first trip to Shangilia and it was very exciting because we hadn't seen them in a long time. As soon as we walked into the gate all the kids were very excited.  We started by introducing ourselves all over again and some of them remembered our names while others were still trying to learn them. It was very funny because when they tried to pronounced our  names it was very cute.  We decided to only play games because it was our first meeting. It was really fun to reconnect with the kids. We played with jump ropes and the girls were really excited and i recognized that the kids had new toys probably from other people. I played frisbee with Newton and Peter and it was really fun because we were all trying to show off our skills and they were pretty good. I think that this was a very fun Shangilia trip because it was fun to reunite and i was excited to go to the next trip and teach them new things.

Runda Feeding 22nd/ April/12

   This Runda feeding started later than usual because the people who work at Runda have chnaged their usual startying time so we waited at Java until about 11:15. When we go there we did the usual; sorting out food and then giving out the trays to the elderly. But for the first time it was really disorganized and chaotic at the end.  Usually after the people got the food they woudl exit through the other end of the cabana and sometimes they would try to get in again so that they could try and get some more food. But  it never really got out of control because there was always one guard at the end of the cabana preventing teh kids from reentering. But for teh first time it was really out of control.
    It started of normally with us giving out the food to all the people who came by. for the first time there seemed to be more older people such as teenagers and people in their 20’s which is very unusual because usually I give the food to little children.

            Then all of a sudden when there was a little more food left to hand out one of the managers came and took the food away, which was very  unusual and then they told us to move away from the edges because there were A LOT of people reaching over, asking for some extra food and more items. The guards would constantly go up to the edge of the cabana and literally whip them and hit against the wall really hard to prevent them from entering. This was such a vulgar and chaotic scene which shocked me. It was very unusual and I was really disappointed with the way the day ended but I guess it was inevitable and it was bound to happen eventually but it was such a big shock and I hope it doesn’t happen again and that next time it will be more organized and controlled.

Shangalia 21st/ March/12

     On this trip to Shangalia we got the same kids who played Pictionary with us last time and we went back into the class room. At first we played Pictionary for about an hour and the kids were still pretty excited and happy about playing against each other. Then after a while they were getting a bit out of control so we decided to change the game. We decided to play hang man and each team had a hangman and whichever team guessed the wrong word their man would slowly be hung. Then the kids decided to do their own hang man and we all had to try and guess and we no longer had teams.

            Then we decided to think of some more games that were a bit more educational so we asked all the kids to go to the back of the class room. Then we asked each kid to spell  a word and each time they got it right they would  take one step forward and whoever  got to the front of the class room first because they had the least words spelt wrong would win. This was a really fun and educational game for the kids and I could tell that the kids were eager to play. Even the kids who had a hard time spelling they still looked eager to play and learn how to spell new words. I realized this was a good game to play for our  next trip to Shangalia it was something the kids were interested in and the kids having difficulty spelling could learn while having fun.

Runda Feeding 25th/ March /12

       We all met at Java as usual and we went to do the Runda Feeding program around 10:40.  We began separating the items and cutting bread and putting them into separate crates. This time there wasn’t that many sweets and cookies but there was a lot of bread, bananas, milk etc. Then we went to go give the trays of food to the old men and women and before we knew the kids were already pouring into the cabana where we were going to give out the food. The hardest part of this Runda feeding program is being unable to give more food to all these people who look so desperate for food and it is even worse when they ask for more food and you can’t give them more because if you  give more food to one person then there will be less for someone else.

            The majority of the time the kids and the people who come by the cabana to get food do not smile or look happy which makes me sad and I feel like I’m really not helping change or help this kids lives. But once in a while there is a child who looks in distress and I expect them to go by with no  smile or a  thank you  but they sunrise me with the most excitement in their eyes and a very sweet thank you which makes me smile and happy about the little I can do for them . During this time in Runda for the first time they brought out some cloths and all the kids that went by got a pair of cloths. This made me really happy because unlike food, cloths can last a really long time and you could see that this new item added to their bag which usually contains food made them really excited and the kids who went by with almost no emotion went out with a glint of happiness because of the new clothing they received.