As the Winter Olympics get well under-way in Russia, the TBI students have also embraced the sporting spirit and have organized their very own Olympic games here in Turkana. As with many great ideas, the students had this inspirational moment sitting around the dinner table one warm Turkana evening… And then the great idea turned into planning, and the planning turned into action, and so the TURKANA-LYMPICS began.
The students divided into four countries, each with three people, and during the opening ceremony they all presented the history of their country, their flag and their national anthem. Here are the teams:
*Akreísma* meaning the King and Queens : Abdi, Carolina and Kailie.
The Great Empire of Bui Bui, a land of humans and spider-folk : Lauren, Janina and Angela.
Kasaröfell, a volcanic island nation of the pacific which is very fond of wombats : Kate, Sarah and Rob.
And, hailing all the way from outer space, The Royal Empire of Tom (RET) : Robyn, Erica and Tiffany.
The games kicked-off with the Jacob staff throwing match.
Some shots from the Jacob Staff throwing competition (click to enlarge).
The winning team *Akreísma* perform their battle cry in celebration.
Then we had the raft race, where each team designed their own boat and released it into the river, letting the current determine its fate.
On your marks… Get set… GO!
It was a nail-biting race – the rafts were neck-a-neck almost to the finish line; but there could only be one winner and it was Kasaröfell who took the lead right at the end!
Kasaröfell in the lead!
The winning team, and their raft decorated with gherkin-patterned duct tape.
After this fantastic event, Dr. Martins introduced the athletes to the boat-obstruction race in which each team had to try and hinder the progress of the other teams’ vessels as they “sailed” to the finishing line. The Turkana children also joined in, and everyone had a lot of fun.
The race begins…
Everyone runs down river to catch up with the fast moving rafts.
Kate, Rob, Sarah and Abdi racing to a target vessel.
The latest competition was the 4-legged race, which sadly we have no pictures for, but critics say it was “one of the most spectacularly exhilarating races to watch since the emergence of bipedal locomotion”. In first place came RET, closely followed by Kasaröfell and *Akreísma*.
Our athletes are now preparing for the upcoming competitions which are promised to be the most exciting yet. We will be reporting on them very soon; but, for now, here are the scores so far.
The scores so far and the projected matches.
Check back soon for further news from the Turkana-lympic Village!
The Olympic athletes pose for a picture with the Olympic committee before the raft race.
