Surrendering the Trophy

This past weekend the Suba Lakers travelled to Homabay to defend their title at the BUOP Tournament.  Last year the girls captured the trophy and carried it home to Mbita, so this year they had to return the trophy and try to win it back.  The team consisted of 11 primary school players (mostly 7^th and 8^th graders) along with 3 who finished high school recently.  The BUOP is a tournament with mostly secondary school teams and a few colleges who are preparing for their upcoming seasons.   Over 20 girls team participated in the event this year.

One of the best aspects of the tournament was that not only did was Suba Lakers represented as a team, but there were also many Suba Lakers competing on their schools teams.  6 of the 20 girls football teams had Suba Lakers on them.  Five of those teams reached the Quarterfinals, 3 reached the Semifinals and 2 of those teams played in the Finals.  There were Suba Lakers represented everywhere!   Mawego had 5 Suba Lakers, Sindo 3, Magare 2, St. Mary’s Magina 1 and  Kobala 1.

      

In the preliminaries, the Lakers were in Pool D and faced off with St. Theresa’s Secondary School in their 1^st match.  June Brenda opened the scoring with a goal in the first five minutes and Mercy Adhiambo added another one in the 18^th minute of the first half.  In the second half Phylice Akoth closed out the scoring in the 10^th minute to give the Lakers a 3-0 win.  In the 2^nd match, the young Lakers played Asumbi Teacher’s Training College.  Against the much bigger and stronger college team, the young Lakers used their speed and ball skills to control the possession.  In the final ten minutes, their hard work paid off by forcing a handball in the box which led to the winning score from the penalty spot. 

After emerging on the top of Group D, the Lakers qualified for the Quarterfinals on Sunday where they faced Bakita Secondary School.  June Brenda again opened the scoring in the 4^th minute with a long shot from outside the box.  In the 2^nd half Irine Achieng added to the total with an even longer shot from the left wing.  The final score came from Winny Akinyi on a high bouncing ball that eluded the goalkeeper. 

That win earned them a spot in the Semifinal against their rival Moi Girls Secondary School Sindo.  Moi Girls barely survived their Quarterfinal match-up with Ugari when it took them 13 penalty kicks after their scoreless draw.  For the Semis, the teams were sent to the main pitch at Homabay High School where thousands thronged the field to watch.  It was a tough physical match-up that was interrupted every few minutes with players suffering injuries.  The Suba Laker coach was called onto the field 4 different times to help treat injured players.  The match was very balanced until the final minutes when the referee awarded Sindo a penalty kick with a very dubious whistle.  They converted the penalty kick which turned out to be the match winner. 

In the other bracket, the pre-tournament favorite Kobala had been eliminated in the Quarterfinals, so the Championship Game was not as much of a challenge as what Sindo faced against the Lakers in the Semis.  Sindo went away with a 2-0 victory in the finals against Magare, and took the trophy home. 

Though it was disappointing for the Suba Laker team, at least they knew the champions were helped by 3 Suba Lakers.  It was another great experience for the young girls to play against older more experienced players and have a chance to play 4 different matches.  They have showed the ability to compete with anyone.   

Ready for the Next Chapter

Last year’s CGA 8^th Grade class officially graduated on January 31st.  The celebration began with various presentations by CGA students including a group traditional dance and recited poems by individuals and groups.   After the opening entertainment, 28 smiling faces danced [literally] onto the stage where they were greeted by their parents/guardians and other friends and family.  They received a Graduation Certificate and a gift of a new Bible.  As each one danced in their own unique style, CGA Head Teacher Mr. Gwalla shared about their personality, academic performance and their extra-curricular successes.  The CGA dining hall was adorned with balloons, ribbons and other colorful decorations.  

In some parts of the world, finishing 8^th grade may not seem like much of a milestone, but in an area of Kenya which has been struck by significant death, disease and poverty, it is a huge achievement to finish primary school, pass the National Exam and make the transition to secondary school.  Many of these 28 students have overcome great challenges and various obstacles along the way.  They each have reason to celebrate what God had done in their lives.  

After all of the students walked across the stage, Deputy Head Teacher Meshark Oluoch shared about the class’ performance as a whole.  Awards were given for those who performed well in the 5 different subjects, as well as the most improved, overall top performer and Christian Character.  Duke Omboga was the leader on the National exam with 386 marks, followed by Stephen, Mashel and Teddy. The top girl was Natalie June Olum with 340 marks.  The most coveted award at CGA is the Christian Character award.  The staff and students themselves voted for 1 boy and 1 girl who they feel have shown the best Christian Character throughout their time at CGA.  The winners this year were Teddy Kigunga and Lucy Adhiambo Ogutu.  We are proud of what God is doing in their lives and hope it will continue as they head off to high school.  

After the awards, two of the graduates gave speeches.  Perpetua Odoyo gave a stirring speech which encouraged her classmates to take what they learned in primary school with them when they join their new schools next week.  Teddy gave thanks to the students, teachers, staff, and parents/guardians who have helped the class through the years.  Along with the parents and guardians of our students, there were also many special guests in attendance including several pastors, secondary school principals, and Dr. Sawa, the local doctor who cares for all CGA students when they are sick.  After the many speeches, it was time to eat!!  Since it was already 3:30 pm, people didn’t hesitate to begin lunch, enjoying meat, fish, rice, chapatis and sodas. 

It was a special day for these 28 students and their families.  They will definitely never forget it. They are now very busy entering high school this week and opening the next chapter in their lives!  

Please join with us in praying for these students as they begin secondary school...which is a whole different environment; for most of them this includes leaving home and going off to boarding school.

Great thanks goes out to a dear friend of ours at LifeBridge Christian Church who noticed these red choir robes in the back of a closet and asked if we could use them for anything in Kenya.  We immediately thought of CGA 8th grade graduation.  The students (and teachers) were excited about their new graduation gowns!!  
THANK YOU LifeBridge!