A Day Out of Kibera

At the weekend, I was invited to be part of a day out for 100 children who attend the resource centre run by our football project, Kibera Mpira Mtaani. The day had been organised by two teachers who work for British schools in Nairobi and volunteer some weekends at the resource centre. One of the British schools had kindly offered use of their playing field for the day to give the children a chance to play freely and safely outside Kibera.

The children who were invited were chosen based on attendance at the afterschool and weekend classes from the 300 or so registered children. They were told to be at the centre by 8am on Saturday morning so that the bus could leave at 9am. When I arrived at 8.30am I was met with a crowd of very excited children from 3years old to 16years old. All were dressed in their best clothes, some of the young girls had their handbags with lollipops and popcorn packed for the day out. Typically, the transport was late and as the first excited group crammed on the bus and it moved onto the main road in Kibera it ran out of fuel after ten minutes. After those initial hitches, we were on our way with the children singing in full voice a song that meant “driver get us there safely”!

On arrival at the school, we were shown play equipment including balls, frisbees, hula hoops and puzzles and jigsaws for those less energetic children...of which there were few! There were also swings and a slide that the children were free to use – I also caught my colleague Vincent trying out the slide much to the amusement of the children. The bus left to pick up the second group and the fun began. Children scattered all over the field with the various games. Older boys who had just finished their final primary school exams set off for a serious game of football – the novelty being that it was on a grass pitch. The young girls went straight for the hula hoops and showed great skill while some of the older ones headed for the swings.

There was no escape for us adults as we were quickly involved in playing games and joining in the fun. It’s a long time since I’ve run around playing football, done acrobatic moves or chased hula hoops as they were rolled around the field but energy levels were high and the smiles on the children’s faces were all the encouragement we needed. I have to be honest though....I was aching from head to toe when I woke up the next day! Either I have to accept that I’m grown up or I have to play more often so my body gets used to it!

Soon it was time for lunch which had been prepared by the host teachers. Children tucked in to bread and minced beef although the biscuits and juice seemed to be more popular. Just as lunch was over, the second group arrived and a second seating of lunch began. After that, the children were all assembled and the hosts were thanked for the day. There was a game of chase which ended in cake for all those who caught a teacher in the field. Then it was time for more games and a football match of boys versus girls followed by the older boys versus staff and coaches.

Towards the end of the day, I was talking to a lady who had come along to help out her colleagues who were hosting the event. We discussed the benefits of such a day and how the children were having so much innocent fun and how the majority of children in the UK would be bored after about thirty minutes whereas these children kept going all day without causing any trouble. The lady then confided that she had seen one of the children put some bread in their bag...we presume for siblings that had been left at home...and more poignantly they had put a few blades of grass in the bag as well so that they had proof of where they had spent the day.  Once again I realised how much many of us take for granted every day.

Days like this are very humbling and make me appreciate my childhood even more. They also make me realise that what we’re doing is good work and that we have to keep doing it!

To learn more about Kibera Mpira Mtaani and life in Kibera please check out our videos which can be found at http://www.youtube.com/visionafricagcf