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Group A: Blog Six

All things said, the first day back from safari was one of the hardest things we’ve had to do this whole trip. Tired, ill, and drained from waking up at 5:30am the previous morning, we trudged into C.H.A.D.A with as much motivation as we could muster. However, once settled, the team spirit started to lift (might have been something to do with the music) and everyone pulled together to get the work done.

For a lot of us it was very physical and particularly draining but definitely a good experience all round. Unfortunately, the biggest challenge awaited us at the new schools we were coaching in during the afternoon. The kids we had to work with were high maintenance to say the least, and many of us came away having only successfully completed a few drills (if that). However understandably, it was very different to our time in Zambia as we had to teach kids one or two years younger who had never played tag rugby before in their life, as oppose to many in Kitwe who were already well versed in the game before we got there. I liked to think that this time we were laying the foundations of tag rugby in these Zimbabwean kids so that when next years pupils arrive to coach them, it wouldn’t be as challenging, just as we had in Zambia.

It’s safe to say we came back to rest camp tired and sore (and in shock from the sudden change in activity) and maybe a little disheartened from such a tough day. Yet it could only go up from there, and at the very least the experience of going through a days physical labour followed by ultra patience testing will definitely stay with us and hopefully teach us a thing or two about digging deep when the going gets tough.

– Sylvia R (Priestley)