For the past ten months, we have spent our evenings in front of the computer working on our articles for the organization’s websites. When the summer holidays started we spent a couple of days in the school to support the teachers with getting the school ready to close. Then, starting on the 22nd of June we came back to the 3rd primary school of Vrontados from 6 pm until 8 pm, which later changed to 6.30 pm until 8.30 pm. It was our task to play with the kids that spend their afternoons there and keep an eye on them so that nobody got hurt. In addition, we were asked to water the plants in the schoolyard which the kids loved to help with. The school functions as a meeting point for kids of all ages and from all the different schools. Ages vary from kindergarten kids until kids from high school who meet their friends there.
In order to play with the kids we received equipment from the P.E. teacher of our school and some balls from the organization. We have volleyballs, a volleyball net, basketballs, smaller softballs, jumping ropes etc. The director of our school handed us the key to a small indoor gym where we keep all of our things and to the gate so that we can let the kids into the playing ground.
Most of the boys that come to the school in the evening are mostly interested in playing football. Sadly, we are not allowed to play with them since they get very competitive and can lead to injuries. Instead, we play a lot of basketball and dodgeball, but the latter is only possible with many kids. When the weather is too hot, only a handful of kids join us at the school because they would rather spend their time at the beach. In the beginning and on cooler days, we also had evenings with 20 or more kids which was ideal for dodgeball
Besides just playing with them, we also try to convey important values such as sportsmanship. We pay attention to not exclude anyone and to actively include them if we see them coming to school. The kids also learn how to be careful with our materials and we try to teach them small things in English.
I very much enjoy coming back to the school and seeing the kids again that I worked with over the last year. Playing with them is a lot of fun and I am glad that we get to do this.
