Its a Wrap, Asante Kisumu: This morning, Chess Kenya officials are set to return to base at Nairobi after a successful four day promotional visit of Kisumu and its Environs. We have made valuable contacts and established new Chess Clubs. We have also learnt a lot from this tour, and will use this experience to successfully roll out our Chess in Schools initiative later this year. We wish to thank the schools who warmly welcomed us, both administration and the students as well. Schools include: Kisumu Day High School Kisumu Girls Kisumu Boys Jalaram Academy Bunyore Girls St. Francis Rangala Girls St. Marys School Yala We were privileged to address the school students who were inspired to start playing out beautiful game of Chess. Big thanks also go out to Kisumu County Chess Club, who hosted us at their exquisite Club House at The Scottish Tartan Hotel. This is one of the fastest growing clubs in Kenya and we had the pleasure of being accompanied by their officials Andrew Owili and Razick Olweny in our Kisumu tour. The club will provide mentors and technical assistance to the schools in their county. Kisumu County Chess Club in conjunction with the Scottish Tartan are finalizing plans to undertake the Kisumu Open Chess Championships and other tournaments in the coming months. We look forward and Asante sana. A special thank to the proprietors of the Scottish Tartan Hotel, Mr. McTough and his colleagues for their hospitality and pledge to support Chess in the County. A big thanks to Teacher George Madindou for inviting, conceptualizing, coordinating and accompanying Chess Kenya in all the schools visits. A great guy and much appreciated. Big thanks to Mr. Chris Nyanjom, a true friend of Chess who selflessly did everything without hesitation to make our trip a success. He drove us hundreds of miles crisscrossing Kisumu, Vihiga and Siaya Counties, provided accommodation, time and great company throughout the tour. All this was volunteered freely. We are humbled by your generosity and encouraged by the goodwill. Big thanks to our 2014 National Chess Champion, Ben MaganaMagana who was a fitting Chess ambassador, he inspired the thousands of children we met. A true Kenyan Chess legend. Asante. Wish to thank the entire Chess Kenya team, all would have liked to come barring resource, time and logistics constraints. We are overwhelmed by the great response from our Chess friends and also the ever growing invites to schools across the country. We promise to create a sustainable framework and model to make Chess in Schools a resounding success. Chess in Kenya is set to flourish in 2014!
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 06:49:45 +0000