Hello from Daraja…again! The past few days have been great! I finished the soccer (football) classes which were extremely successful. The girls were into every game and put in more effort than I see in the states. I have still not gotten used to the time difference and waking up at 2:30am or 4:30am is not the best for energy, but the sounds outside are unlike anywhere else. We have had some rain, but far form the amount we need. The river rose only a little after about 1 hour of heavy rain over three days. The food has only gotten better and Ruth, the cook, continues to shock me with the numerous ways she cooks maze, rice, beans, and vegetables. The children of the staff are so, so cute. They loved it when I kicked the soccer ball straight up into the air.

I could not have imagined the soccer classes going any better. The first day, the girls worked on passing, which after practice over the four days, the girls only used the inside of their foot, not their toe. The second day went just as well, except the second class was cut short by the rain (not a bad thing, great in fact!). Each day before I was on the field, the girls would already be juggling and trying to beat their record from the previous day – passion you cannot teach.

We have really practiced dribbling, only a few of the girls really knew how to dribble, a vital technique in soccer. However, once I showed them some moves and how to use all parts of their foot, they became naturals. I also taught them soccer tennis (tennis on a volleyball court, but with your feet). They absolutely loved it. When it was time to switch classes, they did not want to leave. The first times they tried were hard because you really have to communicate with your team about who is going to the ball and you also have to watch how hard you hit the ball, the two areas I though the girls needed the most help. But after some practice, they began calling for the ball and watching their weight of the pass and I noticed in the game that instead of playing kickball, which happened the first day, they settled the ball and passed on the ground.

The third day, we began with juggling, passing, and dribbling again, but I could already tell the girls had improved and really wanted to get better. We then worked on shooting. At first, the balls were too high or off to the side, but after practicing, the majority of the balls went into the net. The girls loved to play goalies against one another. On the last day, we just practiced all the previous drills, but we had a contest of which girl has the least number of goals scored against them and they absolutely loved it!

The culmination of the four days ended in a full-length, 90 min, 11 vs. 11 game. Prior to the classes, many of the teachers were commenting that one group had all the good soccer players and they would win. Although they did win 1-0 off a free kick in the last ten minutes, the game was much closer than I, or any of the staff thought. It was back and forth. The girls put in so much effort. They go to every ball. Fight until someone falls over or is completely exhausted.

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the classes or the game turning out as well as they did!

As the girls were on mid-term break while I taught the soccer, they also had a lot of free time for other activities. One night we watched a taped game from the WUSA in 2001. It was the final between the Bay Area CyberRays and the Atlanta Beat. The girls never heard of either team or the league, but as soon as the game began, they chose a team to cheer for and were more excited than I was when I watched the game live in 2001. When the game went into penalty kicks, every time a goal was scored or saved, the girls jumped up and began screaming and cheering like I have never seen. Another night, we played improv games, which the girls loved, but had a very hard time with. It was a different manner of thinking for them. They were mostly concentration games. One in particular, you had to hold hands and pass a hand squeeze around the entire circle. Sounds easy to us, however, after numerous tries the girls struggled to pass it around the entire circle. This new manner of thinking, although difficult for the girls, will immensely help them in their way of thinking.

I have really gotten to know the girls and on Tuesday, they had their WISH class (Women of Integrity, Strength, and Hope). It was a truly amazing experience. I learned more about the personal lives of the girls and where they came from, who they are, and who they want to become. Most of the girls want to be doctors, however; only a handful will actually become one. Others wanted to be singers, lawyers, teachers, or accountants. The majority only want to have a few children because they want to work for most of their life, which is only practical with just a few children, unlike the families they are in, with as many as 9 other siblings. The girls also spoke about their primary schools. Most found it fun and enjoyable as there was less pressure than there currently is in secondary school. Many of the girls had to leave their home as early as 6am in order to walk miles to their school. The girls also shared when they began cooking for their families, many were around 5th or 6th grade, but a few began at 2nd grade, which is about 7 years old.

The girls also had to come up with 3 pieces of advice to give to a primary school student. Here are a few: “Never give up. Be disciplined. Work hard. Be self-confident. Believe you can do anything. Avoid bad company. Be attentive. Improve talents. Respect Elders. Be wise in your choices.” Many of these were repeated multiple times. Through WISH, I also learned that a few of the girls did not have either parent any more, whether though AIDS, a hit-and-run, or Meningitis. Until the WISH experience, I didn’t understand where the girls had come from and how different Daraja is for them.

The Daraja experience has been unbelievable. I wish I could stay all summer and I will definitely be back! The girls are amazing as are the staff and teachers. Although I don’t see the poverty and dire situations the girls have come from, I see the difficulty they have here and I can’t compare it to anything. The girls have lived off the land all their life, none of them have been out of Kenya or even their home village (except for Daraja).

This trip has been more than I wished for and I can’t believe it is almost over. I would recommend coming and getting to know the girls any day!