JOCV 50th year anniversary

Name: Kenta Sato
Batch: FY2005-2 (Nov 2005 - Nov 2007)
Technical Field: Youth Activities
Host Organization: Ntcheu Youth Centre
Hometown in Japan: Izunokuni City, Shizuoka

A Piece of Memory: "A Handmade Sports Day Using Items Found in Malawi"

"Matupi olimba…Moyo wautali" "If you exercise, you will live longer."

We made T-shirts with such print and held sports events at schools all over Malawi, organized by our Health Education Subcommittee. I remember the days when we would sleep together in the homes of the JOCV members at the host site, with the support of members working in other professions.

Several years prior to "Sports for Tomorrow," an international contribution project promoted by the Japanese government through sports, a handmade "Sports Day" was held in Malawi by the JOCV members at the time.

During that time, before cell phones were lent out, prior meetings were held using radios installed in the homes of each JOCV member. The meeting time and place were announced after the roll call at 8:00 p.m. from the office.

"We want the event to be continued even after we have left."

With this in mind, we tried to conduct fun events without spending a lot of money and using what was available in Malawi.

For example, during warm-up exercises, the students performed aerobics using Malawi songs, and female JOCV members went up on a platform and performed rhythmical exercises, which got students excited from the very beginning.

In the three-legged relay, participants used the chitenje that are no longer needed as hachimaki (headband) and cloth to tie their legs, and although they were bewildered by the unfamiliar cooperative sports event, they had a lot of fun with falling and laughing, while shouting "m'modzi, awiri, m'modzi, awiri." This also became exciting.

Speaking of cooperative sports, we also had a long jump rope competition. We used the usual clothesline that Malawians have in their homes to hang their laundries, and we all said, "m'modzi, awiri, atatu, anayi, asanu…" However, I thought it was typical of Malawi that they blame the person who got tangled in the rope.

Pole tug of war reaching the peak of excitement

In a relay where all the members from every team participated, SOBO plastic bottles were used as batons, and like in Japan, it was one of the most heated events.

The most exciting event of the Malawi Sports Day was the "pole tug of war" instead of the "rope tug of war," which was always the last event of the day. Since we could not prepare ropes used in Japan, the teams used sticks found in the schoolyard or cut down branches from trees. The first person grips the stick, and the rest of the team put their hands around each other's waists, and the teams pull each other along. The game was played in a tournament style, with a winner-take-all format. Each time the final game was played with the entire school watching, and the excitement was at its peak.

At the closing ceremony, each member of the winning team was given an award certificate, and it was impressive to see how happy the students were.

The "Sports Day" became one of the most memorable events of my time in Malawi, as everyone had a great time, including the JOCV members who managed the event, the teachers and students who participated, and the neighborhood children who came from nowhere.

Next will be a piece of memory of Hitomi Furukawa (maiden name Ozaki) of Batch FY2005-1 in the fight against HIV/AIDS. She is also the wife of Norihide Furukawa, a Health Education Subcommittee fellow member of Batch FY2005-2 Youth Activities, and a reliable woman who hosted more than a dozen JOCV members at the Sports Day.