CAS Final Reflection, 28 March 2012

Doing well in the academic aspect of IB has proven to be a challenge on its own. Throughout my school career, including all my recent years and my younger years, I have always strived to do the best I can at everything. This does not only involve putting all of my effort into academics, but it also involves putting all of my effort into other areas such as CAS activities and sports. Therefore it has been a challenge in itself to continuously perform well in all these school aspects. This challenge was one that I was happy to take on as it would mean that I would develop and improve my skills as a student, athlete, and ultimately as a better person.

I have especially taken on a lot of challenges in the past two IB years. After the challenge of excelling at school academics, I challenged myself to be the best athlete I could be and to use my experience to be a leader for other athletes. As a CAS student, I challenged myself to develop my overall skills significantly across all three aspects of CAS. I was specifically determined to help develop and grow the Friends of Marich group that a few friends and I started just over two years ago. I believe that, now reflecting on the whole experience, I have been very successful at accomplishing these goals of mine and I therefore am satisfied that I have fully fulfilled my role as a CAS IB student.

Looking specifically at the eight different learning outcomes, I am comfortable that I have completed all of them effectively. Throughout both years I have continuously been aware of my own strengths and I have done my best to use these strengths to help others. An area where this is evident is my role in both the Varsity Boys Football teams and the Rugby team. My leadership skills and my developed experience earned me the role of captain in both these sports. This allowed me to use my strength as a leader to help and lead the other athletes. I have also used my strengths as a keeper to coach other keepers that are less experienced than me such as the girl’s football keepers and several younger keepers from Sags’ Academy. I have also been very aware of my areas for growth and this has allowed me to develop as a leader, as an athlete and as an instrument player. I have been able to develop because I always do my best to improve on everything I do so that I can be the best person I can be. Among others, I have worked on areas of weakness in certain football skills by playing several different positions on the field during competitive matches and I have worked on improving my improvisation skills as a saxophonist by attempting various solos. This has helped me grow in all aspects of my capabilities and my challenges.

As previously mentioned, I have taken up many new challenges over my IB years. One of my main ones was taking up the role of captain in the Varsity Boys Football teams and the Rugby team. This challenged my skills as a leader and as a role model to other players. It also helped me realize the significance of respect in a team, both to the captain and from the captain to the rest of the players and the coach. This challenge has significantly boosted my skills as a leader and as an athlete.

Probably the most successful and most influential CAS project that I was involved in was the Friends of Marich group. I am one of the founding members and over the last two years I have been one of the leading members, my specific role being Co-Head Fundraiser of the group. This project has impacted my views of life significantly over the past years that I have been privileged to be a part of this group. I have had the privilege to go to the Marich area three times and each time I have come away with new realizations of the diversity around the world. I personally believe that being part of a project for so long is the most effective way of truly getting something meaningful out of the CAS program. I have therefore remained committed to the Friends of Marich group and I sincerely hope that this group will continue to grow and prosper in the years after us founding members have left.

Marich has given me the opportunity to be engaged with issues of global importance through its development projects such as supporting the local schools in Marich and helping to build bridges for the local people. This experience has helped me consider the ethical implications of my actions on other people around the world. The opening ceremony to the Memorial Bridge in Marich opened my eyes to the great respect that elders receive in communities such as those of the Pokot people and the great reliance that these people feel they have on foreign aid such as the one that we have provided and continue to provide.

Overall, the CAS program has greatly encouraged me to develop new skills in creativity, action and service. A few examples show that I have learnt how to be an effective all-round football player, I have learnt how to improvise solos on the saxophone, and I have learnt how to make the most of service activities that involve other communities. As is probably evident from this final reflection and all of my previous ones, the skill that I am most satisfied at having learnt and significantly developed is my skill as a leader. I have continuously worked on this aspect of myself by taking on challenges of being in charge of large groups, such as leading the student group when helping to run the Mini World Cup, and by taking on challenges of being a significant and influential athlete in sports teams, such as being the captain.

In conclusion, the entire CAS experience has been a very significant one and it has definitely helped to develop me as a global person. Since I have continuously attempted to challenge myself in all aspects of CAS and since I have been successful at achieving my goals, I feel that I have accomplished the overall goal of the CAS program. The experiences and skills that I have developed through the program will remain with me for my entire life. That, I believe, is in the end the entire reason why the CAS program was started in the first place.

Rugby, 2012

            This year we started Rugby a season earlier because the coaches and I agreed that it would be good to have time before the season officially started to get fit and stronger and to teach the basic rules and techniques to the new younger player. After discussing with the coaches and Derrick Quinet, we were able to get two practice sessions on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I spread the word about Rugby and got other players to recruit more. We managed to get a decent amount of people to join the team at that time and we were successful at getting around 12 people each session. This is a big improvement from the turnout of last season’s Rugby.

            I was and am determined to create a strong and large enough team this year so that we could finally compete properly against the other Rugby teams. I wanted to possibly win some matches as well this season. This might then eventually lead to the inclusion of the ISK Rugby team in the Rugby league. At the moment we are still only able to play friendly matches as well as a friendly tournament that we are trying to add more teams to each year. Therefore I spent and spend a lot of time discussing with the coaches on the plan for training sessions and tactics.

            My determination and leadership initiative awarded me the captaincy of the team this year. This is a role that I greatly appreciate and enjoy because of the challenge of it. I am determined to make Rugby a bigger sport at ISK and therefore I am motivated to lead the team. I hope that our success as a team will build attention for Rugby at ISK. We have already discussed to introduce Rugby to middle school but it has been harder to do than expected because of the disorganization and misunderstanding between the interested players in middle school and the athletic organizers.

            Therefore there are still many aspects we have to work on to develop the Rugby program. However, now that the Rugby season is about to officially start we hope that many more players will join and that we can now start training seriously so that we are fully prepared for our first match in a few weeks.

            I will update on the progress of the Rugby season later on.

Mini World Cup, 4 February 2012

            Helping to organize the Mini World Cup at ISK was one of the most special things that I have done. It was just amazing to see so many young kids enjoying football and doing what I never got to do at that age. There were over 700 kids playing football and the tournament was held for two days. As captain of the Varsity football team I was asked to get a group of dedicated football players together that would volunteer to help organize and run the event. Together with the head organizer, Wolfgang Fengler, we split up the group to do different jobs during the Mini World Cup. Throughout the weeks before the event I remained in touch with Mr. Fengler. I was put in charge of the whole student team during the event and I was particularly in charge of the under-7 tournament on the upper field on the first day. All under-7 matches, including the finals, were played on Saturday. On Sunday I was in charge of making sure everything flowed for the under-11 tournament finals on the upper field.

            Saturday was the toughest day since the entire under-7 tournament was going to be played that day and all the group games were going to be played for the under-9 and under-11 teams. We had to come to school at 8:30 in the morning so that we could have a meeting with the referees, organizers, and coaches, and by 9:30 the matches had started. It was a very hectic day since I was completely alone at the upper field under-7 field. Therefore I was responsible for eight teams. It was very stressful because I had to make sure the referees were ready on time, the coaches were ready on time, and the players were on the field on time. I had to record the scores and run them down to the main tent. I had to deal with complaints by coaches about the ages of players from other teams and I had to make sure that people knew where they were going and what was going on in general. I also had to make sure that we were following the schedule as closely as possible and that the final would be played on time. I was running around the entire day and I only managed to get a 10-minute break to eat lunch. This action went on until around 5:30 in the afternoon when the day’s matches had finished and I was allowed to go.

            One of the biggest challenges on the first day was dealing with complaints that some of the players of the Kibera under-7 team had used older players in their last group match. I had to discuss with other organizers, with the coaches, and with the players themselves. Eventually we decided to disqualify the team because there were many complaints that suddenly new older players had joined and controlled the game and originally not all of their players had been available when some of the organizers went around to check ages of the players. Another factor that determined our decision was that we attempted to contact their team and team coaches for more than an hour without finding them and since we had to move on we could no longer wait. It was a tough decision to make because we did not want to be biased against any team and we wanted all players to have a fair chance. When the coaches were finally available, it took a long time to fully explain why they were disqualified and it took long for them to accept it. However, in the end we managed the situation well and the tournament flowed on smoothly.

            Sunday was less busy since there were fewer matches to be played. We had to come to school by 9 this time and I was in charge of the upper field. We had to direct teams to the fields and we had to write down the scores. Since there were more people helping me this day the work went much more quickly and easily. Everything went smoothly and this led to a great under-11 final. After this final the awards were given out and the thanking speeches were made. Three of us got the honor of presenting the medals to the under-11 first place team, Sags Soccer A. By 2:30 we were allowed to leave.

            The entire Mini World Cup was an incredible experience. It was greatly encouraging to see the passion and determination of the young football players. It was wonderful to see so many other people enjoy the sport as much as I do. The experience was also a good challenge for my leadership and organizing skills. Volunteering for this event really built my overall skills as a football player, as an athlete, and as a leader.

Marich: Playground Building and Playing with the Kids, 2 February 2012

             After seeing the smiles on the faces and the gratefulness in the eyes of the children that we gave the swing and climbing bar set to last year, we decided to build another playground for another group of children in a primary school right next to the Marich Field Study Centre. This time we built a slide set with a platform to stand on. With money we raised, metal workers at ISK built the slide set for us and we brought it with us on the bus. We also brought food on the bus that we picked up in Kitale for children in schools near the centre. On Thursday during the week at Marich, we dug holes for the playground foundation and placed the slide set into the holes. We then placed rocks and cement into the holes to fasten the slide to the ground. I helped carry cement to the holes with a wheelbarrow.

            Seeing the amusement and awe on the faces of the children was again great to see. After seeing their eyes one just wants to do more to help the kids. After we finished building the playground most people left back to the camp to clean up and rest. Most of the girls however stayed behind to play with the kids and they had just given out the books we had brought along. After reading to the kids the girls played some singing and clapping games and continuously tried to come up with new ideas to entertain the kids, though it was not that hard to do since they were amused by everything we did.

I decided to take the wheelbarrow and I gave the kids rides. This proved to be more challenging than I had thought because the kids all wanted to get in at the same time and we were not able to communicate very well. After the teacher talked to the children and after I found ways to communicate with them, through some Swahili words and hand gestures, the kids found ways to share the wheelbarrow and take turns getting rides. It was interesting to see how some kids took charge and ordered other kids around and I was amazed by their respect towards me and their awe of me. When I sat down for a while to watch the girls and kids dance, some boys came and sat around me and touched my skin and hair. They often asked me my name and I tried to ask them questions. I even learnt one of their class songs. This short moment of play with me meant so much to them. It was overwhelming. It made me realize how truly special these kids were and how it is a shame that so few people get to experience what I experienced with them.

Marich: Building Memorial Bridge, 1 February 2012

            Because of the success of last year’s bridge, we decided to build another one this year. To make the bridge even more special and to raise more funds, we dedicated this bridge to Sharon and Margaux Brown. Mr. Brown donated a large sum of money from his memorial fund so we needed to raise the remaining funds. We did this by organizing the golf tournament, selling raffle tickets, holding a quiz night, receiving various donations from people and organizations and organizing other fundraising projects. We are still raising funds for the bridge as well as other future and past projects through fundraising events such as the upcoming Friends of Marich Concert.

            This year’s bridge was much bigger than the bridge from last year so it required more work. However, the people from the nearby villages assisted greatly so the bridge was built faster than we had expected. All the people who had been on the trip before and Nick, who is part of Friends of Marich, went out to the bridge site for at least a day and helped build the bridge. I went on the second day and helped with setting up the safety wires. It was great to see how much some of the men from the community helped us with building the bridge. While we were taking a break for lunch they continued to work and they finished the bridge before we could go and help again.

            To fully enjoy the beautiful area of the bridge site we went up and down the river to find some deep swimming pools. In one of these pools we discovered some thick clay so we decided to cover ourselves with it. I covered myself fully with it and left it on me to dry as I continued to walk through the river. It was very amusing to see the local people laugh at me as I walked past and it was only till later that we found out what was so hilarious about me being covered in mud. Later someone told us that they had laughed so much because being covered in mud usually means that the covered person would later be circumcised. It was easy to understand then why I had been such a laughing stock for them. But this whole experience helped me realize how good-hearted these people are and that they welcome us without fuss to their land.

            This welcome was also evident at the opening ceremony of the bridge. There were many speeches by the elders of the community and by the DC and other important people. Harmon and Mr. Brown also gave a few speeches. It was clear that they were thankful and it was very impressive to see the respect that the community has for their elders. However, I also noticed some unpleasant things through the speeches. As the elders were talking it became clear that instead of focusing on the bridge and the use of it, they started asking for other things and explaining their need, such as hospitals and water pumps. It was only when the DC started talking that he explained the use of the bridge and how grateful the community was to have it.

I was shocked to realize the reliance of these people on foreigners. I fully understand that they need hospitals and other materials but they seemed to believe that we could and would bring everything ourselves to the community. It was a shock to realize that these people did not believe that they themselves could make something happen. They seemed to believe that we were the only ones that could do anything for them. I realize that they do not have the same opportunities as we do to make things happen and raise funds, but it seemed like they have become too dependent on foreign aid. This reliance on foreign aid showed me the immense impact of the Marich Field Study Centre on the community. This centre is the only place that foreigners can sleep in the region. Without this centre, foreigners would not have been able to see the needs of the community and we would not have known that we as a school can do a lot to help such communities.

The speeches by the elders and the DC also lay bare the impact of tradition on such communities. Part of the DC’s speech was about the need to stop female circumcision and during his speech it was clear through the expressions and reactions of the community and especially the elders that this was a touchy topic and that some would not tolerate these changes. It was clear however that it was mainly only the oldest elders that did not agree. The younger community seemed to be willing to follow these changes and this expressed the impact of modern cultures on older traditions and the loss of old ways.

Therefore, this ceremony truly revealed a great deal about the community and how the present world is changing. It also revealed truths about disparities in the world today and it is these kinds of moments that make one truly realize their position on Earth and the unfairness of the distribution of privilege and opportunity.

Marich: Hike up Mount Koh: second time, 1 February 2012

            Since this was my third year going on the Marich trip, I climbed Mount Koh for the second time. Even though the climb is tough and long to get to the very top, seeing the magnificent view that first time encouraged me to go again. James and I had been the only ones to make it to the top the previous time so I wanted to share the experience with more people this time around. We split up into three groups to climb the mountain and the first group would be the only one that would make it to the very top. This system turned out to be very successful because we were able to go at a quicker pace and so it took less time to reach the school at the base of the summit. After taking a quick lunch break at the school, we started the tough climb to the very top. Since we were a much larger group that when James and I went alone with the guide, this climb took much longer than the first time. However, the mountain had some challenges this time around for us to overcome.

When we were hiking through the many patches of farmland and small forests, a swarm of bees suddenly attacked our group. The moment we realized that the bees were everywhere, we all rushed up the mountain in different directions. Every 20 meters or so we would stop and turn around and just when we would each think we lost them, a bee would fly against our heads. This shouting and running went on for almost half an hour and by the time we had finally gotten rid of the bees, we were hundreds of meters further up the mountain. When we gathered again to see the damages, we discovered that some of us had more than 9 bee stings. Matthew and I were the only ones that escaped the onslaught without a bee sting and I only escaped because of my long hair at the time. Then, after a long trek through bushes and trees, because the path had been destroyed by falling stones, we finally reached the top. I was leading the front group of students because I had been to the top before and I wanted to take up the challenge. The guide, David, stayed behind with Matthew and Mr. Currey because Mr. Currey was struggling with his knees.

It was difficult to find the exact path to get to the top but I managed to find a way by following the direction that I remembered we had taken the previous time. Some of the boys in the group went on ahead and some struggled behind so it was tough for me to make sure everyone went the right direction but in the end everyone made it to the top safely. When I reached the top with the first group I was pleased to see them react exactly the same way I did when I first saw the view, with absolute awe. The view was still magnificent. I was happy that I had climbed it again; the view was definitely worth it. As we waited for the guide to come with his little group, I lay down at the edge of the tip of the rock and gazed down at the beautiful landscape of the West Pokot region. When the last group got to the top we ate our food and rested for a while. In total, 9 ISK people made it to the top.

When we were ready we started the long descent back down. To avoid the bees we took a detour around the place where they had attacked us and then our group slowly started to expand as we passed the school as I went ahead with a small group at a high pace and Mr. Currey, Matthew and the guide slowed down at the back because of Mr. Currey’s knees. I relied on my memory and common sense to take us down without the guide but I managed to lead the group the right way. There were some places that I hesitated a short while but I quickly picked the side that I thought was the right one after trying to recognize the surroundings. We only took a few short breaks before continuing down the long path back to the road. When our small group made it down we went under a tree next to the road and lay down. An hour and a half later, when everyone else had finally made it down, we got on the bus and drove back to the camp. It had been a long and tiring day.

It had been nice to see David, the guide, again since he had also been our guide the first time I had gone to the top of Mount Koh. We talked about what had changed since the last time and it was interesting to see that life was still very much the same as the year before. All the daily troubles were the same. Later during the week I fully realized how much the people in the Marich region rely on foreigners when I saw our guide again at the camp, but this time instead of a water bottle and a phone in his hands, he had a bunch of souvenirs laid out in front of him. These people were desperate to make some money off us. This realization, along with hearing the speeches at the bridge ceremony, showed how much the people from this barren region rely on foreign aid and how little they believe in the ability of their own people to build and create the same things as we can with our fundraising. It lay bare the unpleasant fact that we truly live in a privileged community and that these people from Northern Kenya simply do not have the same opportunities as we do. This only added more determination to my desire to make the Friends of Marich group really big and successful so that we could help these people develop on their own with the privileges that we have.

Jazz Band: Village Market Holiday Performance, 3 December 2011

            For this performance I was hoping to, much like all my other concerts and performances, build my experience and skills as a saxophone player. I particularly wanted to improve my skills as a solo player and as an improviser. Therefore I played one planned solo and played louder on parts that were saxophone soli for the entire saxophone group. I also played an unprepared solo for one of our other songs. Mr. Ligon, our director, pointed at me during one of the songs near the end of our performance and asked me if I was willing to play a solo during the song. I accepted the challenge and improvised a solo. I think I was quite successful with the solo and this further established my comfort and confidence at improvising. This will ultimately help accomplish my goal of being a skilled saxophone improviser and soloist.

            In this performance we played for two hours with a few short breaks in which other performers played some solo songs. We played a variety of fun Jazz and Christmas songs. This performance was a great opportunity to extend our experience as a band and to become more recognized in our community. Many people came and watched even though most of them were ISK parents and teachers. I think that this experience was good for the development of our band and it would be good to organize more events similar to this one.