Kenya: It’s Battle of Wits as Jesus Cup Kicks Off
By Lillian Tabu
NAIROBI---Kenyans are known for their prowess in long distance races but the country’s first gold medal at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games held in October last year came from a sport, not traditionally Kenyan. This happened when Jason Dunford, wrote a new glittering chapter in the nation’s sporting history by taking the men’s 50m butterfly Commonwealth crown to the delight of cheering supporters who had packed the Dr SPM Aquatic Complex. This was indeed Kenya’s first ever medal in aquatics at the Commonwealth games.
As the nation celebrated this victory, what many failed to realize was that these were results of years of hard work, constant training and far more, financial and moral support by Dunford’s parents who were even present at the Dr SPM Aquatic Complex to give him moral support.
This made it evident that Kenya has a lot of untapped talent which if well nurtured and supported, we can reach greater heights.
It’s against this background that last Saturday, NewsfromAfrica team covered the opening of the “Jesus Cup”, a special youth tournament that took place at the Don Bosco Boys Kuwinda in Karen, about 25 km south west of the Nairobi Central Business District.
The tournament, whose theme was Experiencing God Through Sports saw participation of youths from Karen and its neighboring residential areas. The Jesus Cup tournament was organized by the Catholic Church. It 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. During that time, the students used to study half day. They then decided to work on a modality to occupy the students for the entire afternoon as well, thus the tournament coming in handy.
The tournament which also seeks to remember Don Bosco, the patron saint of the youth has grown significantly over the 10 years, gaining popularity and transforming lives of the youth in the region.
The one and a half month tournament kicked off with a football match between the defending champions Kuwinda and Kivuli Boys Centre, a centre run by Koinonia Community, a lay Christian organization based in Nairobi. 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 cheering from the winning teams marked the end of the colorful ceremony, the event reminded 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.”
It’s evident that for Kenya to develop in various sports disciplines, such initiatives should be encouraged in the different regions of the country.