Having been nothing but impressed with the way the
Mikindani Sports Club or ‘Klabu ya Uboreshaji’
(the club’s Swahili name which means improving
oneself through sports) was been run, I wanted to reward
the club’s members along with others in the village with a
day of competitions. Thanks to the efforts of those
volunteers with me and several willing helpers on the day,
the 26th December brought memories to a vast
number of people, both spectators and competitors alike. We
held a sports day which included a Bao competition and a
football six-a-side taking place on the football ground on
Mikindani’s biggest football team.
Bao is a traditional Swahili board game played on a
board on which seeds are moved around a series of carved
out dishes, the object of the game being to take your
opponents seeds achieved by finishing moves adjacent to an
opponents seed. Without explaining the ins and outs of the
game a skilful play is made through experience, strategic
play and being able to think moves ahead of the game which
may be compared to chess or draughts. In Mikindani the
older generation of males are the most respected group of
players so we invited three players from each of the
village wards to join up for a knock-out style competition.
Proceedings took place under a mango tree and organisation
took care of itself as there was a competitive but friendly
atmosphere and players were self-affiliating and all joined
together, rather enjoying playing along side the best
players in the village. As the rounds went by, large crowds
were drawn in and the final was quite a spectacle with two
players surrounded by a sea of onlookers, both competing
for the prize money placed underneath the playing board.
The champion was delighted with his title but all players
were very humble and delighted with how the competition
took place.
While the Bao players ate complementary lunch, final
preparations were being made to the football pitches which
were small with full sized goals promising lots of scoring
and the eight teams (made up from two sides from each of
Mikindani’s four football teams) were warming up and
stretching off. Matches commenced and those who were not
players gathered on the sidelines with large numbers of
spectators to watch who was on form and for any nominations
for the man of the tournament who would receive some golden
football boots! Games were fast and furious as any decent
six-a-side should be but again collectiveness and good
spirit between teams was evident throughout.
The crowds cheered as we were treated to some dazzling
touches and outstanding play from all teams but the final
was eventually contended (after both semi-finals going to
penalties, the hero goalkeepers held above heads by the
rest of the team and a few passionate supporters!) between
Cigara F.C and Beach Boys who we were told were the
equivalent to ‘Arsenal and Manchester United’;
long standing rivals keen to get one up on the other. In a
closely fought final Beach Boys won by a single goal and
their followers ran on the pitch to congratulate their team
just as though they were professional sports men. A
presentation ended the day’s proceedings and a team
photo of the 2003 winners.
Later that day and the next, several comments from teams
and supporters gave their thanks for the day. I was told by
some it was ‘the best public holiday ever’,
‘never to be beaten’ and ‘the village was
awoken with delight and happiness’. These are exactly
the feelings I hoped to bring about and numerous groups in
Mikindani were fulfilled, old men, young footballers and
families of supporters all had a brilliant day.
For more information about Trade Aid, volunteers and
their work, please visit their website: www.mikindani.com
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