Focus Media (Kigali)
Timothy Kisambira
1 November 2007
Next month, Rwanda will receive the visit of Cricket Without Boundaries (CWB), a UK based charity organization, dedicated to helping, educating and developing local communities around the world through the spread and growth of cricket.
Charles Haba, the cricket federation president, announced that the CWB team will be in the country from November 10 to 19. The organization is trying to visit every African country in the course of a year.
Haba pointed out that the tour comes at a good time. "This is excellent news for us, because the national women team is currently preparing for the ICC East African regional women tournament, to be held in Nairobi in December," the president said.
The team has moreover just returned from a trip to Uganda, where they played their first ever international friendly and received training from Ugandan coaches, also in preparation for the tournament.
The president added that a lot is to be gained from CWB, and this can greatly improve the women's performance.
"The course to be given in Rwanda will cover a basic introduction to cricket and some umpiring/scoring, but mainly it will focus on coaching techniques," says Haba. "They are expected to hold a two-day basic coaching education, then three days working with those coaches that are available in the schools/orphanages, to end with a one-day tournament. At the end of the six days, the coaches will receive the basic ICC coaching certificate," says the president.
He also points out that on the last day, each school, club or orphanage visited will bring teams to the final-day cricket festival. The visiting team (CWB) will also leave behind some basic cricket equipment, balls and cones to be used, as well as T-shirts with the AIDS awareness message.
CWB uses cricket to help develop personal skills ranging from basic teamwork to self-discipline and leadership.
Through visits to schools and orphanages, it organizes tournaments, provides equipments and coaching clinics for adults. CWB is committed to taking the game of cricket to a new generation of coaches and children.
Through cricket's unifying qualities and the enthusiasm of others, CWB aims to bring diverse and often polarized communities together.
However, CWB is not just about sustainable cricket development, it is also about using the sport as a tool in the fight against AIDS. CWB's training sessions have at their heart discussion about the disease both in terms of prevention and treatment. The charity also stands for equality of treatment for those with the disease; children and adults regardless of their status are included in coaching, games and competitions.
The people expected to be on the trip are coach Andy Hobbs, trustee of CWB and head of cricket development at Sussex country Cricket club, Chris Kangis a coach and trustee of CWB, Paul Daniels a volunteer coach, and Nick Lowles also a volunteer.
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