Handball Champs

The girl’s handball team of the local elementary school has been making headlines in Cameroon (metaphorically speaking)! The girls, ages 10 to 12 years, have been on a winning streak, and even became the champions of the South West region! The way in which they reached the title is almost unbelievable. If you love a good Cinderella story, this one’s for you!

The first match the girls played was located at the county’s capital, nearly 20 miles away. To get there, the girls had to walk. They trekked together, up a mountainous dirt road, passing farms along the way. I normally travel this road on a motorcycle. It is not an easy walk. It also normally takes me about two hours. The girls left at 8:00am and arrived sometime around 2:00pm. That’s right, 10-year-old girls walked over 6 hours, as fast as their little legs could carry them, 20 miles, so that they could play in their match. As tired as they were, they still had not even done what they had come to do. When they arrived, they were expected to stay with relatives or friends who had homes there. The next morning, they played.

Handball is a sport played on a field similar to a soccer field. There is a goal on either end, protected by a goalie. There are forwards, mid-field, and defense players. Participants dribble the ball as they run up or down the field, passing as they go. Only the use of one hand is allowed, except for when catching the ball.

The girls won.

They now were to go on to the next round. This location was much further away. Again, the girls had to trek to the capital. From there, they caught a truck. They crowded into the bed of the truck and stood the entire journey, holding onto modified rails that surrounded the truck bed.  When they reached the town, they slept on the floor of the local elementary school.

They won again. This put them into the Championships for the South West Region.

Again, they stood in the back of a truck while they travelled to the city. This time, from there, they were able to all cram into a small bus to go to the capital of the South West, Buea. There, they were able to sleep in a school dormitory.

They became the champions and took the first place title for handball. They will now go on to compete at the national level, and will play against the winners of the other regions. I congratulate them on their success so far and wish them the best of luck!