It’s Battle of Wits as Jesus Cup Kicks Off
On Saturday January 29, Koinonia Community, had the privilege of taking part in a colorful ceremony that marked the opening of the “Jesus Cup”, a special youth tournament that takes place annually at the Don Bosco Boys Kuwinda in Karen, about 25 km south west of the Nairobi Central Business District.
The tournament, whose theme is Experiencing God Through Sports sees the participation of youths from Karen and its environs. It is organized by the Catholic Church and encompasses various sports disciplines ranging from volley ball, football and netball, and has attracted more than 14 teams.
Present at the ceremony during the launch was retired archbishop of Mombasa John Njenga, who led the mass. The tournament will run for the next 12 weeks. He further said that this is aimed at nurturing talent and giving the youth a positive alternative to vices such as drugs and alcohol abuse which are hurting our society.
The chief guest, Mrs. Kahuho from Airtel Kenya emphasized on the importance of sports in fostering social integration. She encouraged the youth to take part in such tournaments so as to shape their futures from an early age.
This tournament was initiated 10 years ago during the Don Bosco Boys Kuwinda School’s inception. At that time, the students used to study half day. They then decided to work on a modality to keep them busy the entire afternoon, thus the tournament was born.
The tourney also seeks to remember Don Bosco, the patron saint of the youth which has grown significantly over the 10 years, gaining popularity and transforming lives of the youth in the region.
Some of the teams participating in this year’s tournament include our very own, Tone la Maji, Kivuli, Ndugu Mdogo and Anita home.
Koinonia uses this tournament as a platform to help the children develop a life skill which ends up in molding their life ethics, preventing them from the vices which have previously put them in peril.
Through this initiative, it gives these teams a platform to showcase their skills and talents in different sport disciplines.
Other registered teams are,Br.Bisany, Utume oratory, Upperhill, Light Centre, Dagorreti girls, Don Bosco Boys, Kuwinda, St, Vincent, AIC Milimani and Ngamwanza Centre.
The chief guest during the ceremony, Mrs. peris Kahuho, emphasized on the contribution of sports in fostering national unity, citing example from the South Africa world cup,
“Today there is a lot of joy in the players and spectators. Sports events are a time to show one another love and courage especially those that we support. Sports bring social/national integration. During last year’s world cup we put our differences aside and came together as one nation” she said.
The one and a half month tournament kicked off with a football match between the defending champions Kuwinda and Kivuli Boys Centre. A goal by Musa gave Kuwinda an early lead. Towards the end of the match, Kuwinda scored an own goal, bringing the score to 1-1.
The women were also not left behind as two teams, Church on the Rock and Don Bosco battled in netball. Don Bosco girls outplayed their opponents, who were the defending champions.
“ We believe that it is going to be smooth sailing all the way to our victory, since the biggest obstacle is out of the way”, said Mary, Don Bosco’s captain.
“This is not to mean that we are relaxing, we will practice as usual. We don’t want room for any surprises,” she adds.
As cheers from the winning teams marked the end of the colorful ceremony, the event reminds us of the Chinese adage that states, “Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.”