GAM3_ Back on the ASPHALT

All good on the asphalt, 30 kids for the training. Coaches ready for action.
After a freeze, GAM3 practice is back on track, everyone is ready to play Ball.
Although the numbers are low because of the exams, which will finish at the end of the month, no one can stop the fun.
GAM3's contribution to the Nasr City Youth Centre continues, as we provide two essential items (table tennis tables)!!
As doing good for the community has no boundaries, and the needs are not limited to basketball.

Interview w/ Shereen and Somaya, Mohammed on the up and up!

The violent events of Tripoli on Sunday were a world away as practice got going. Most of the usual drills were being run and though many GAM3 youth are progressing at their own pace, someone in particular stuck out . . . and he’s not a player, but a coach. We’ve been taking note of Coach Mohammed’s (the shorter of the two) ever increasing proficiency when it comes to his dealing with the kids. Whereas he may have seemed slightly distant in the past, he now appears energized and more involved. Where he once might have seemed nervous while dealing with the kids, he now appears to be confident while giving them instruction, but perhaps more than anything, he looks like he’s having fun.

Speaking of “having fun,” I spoke with two of our most regular female participants: Shereen, age 16 from Tarek Al-Jadedeh, and Somaya age 17 from Arad Jalool, and asked them some questions, with my Egyptian friend John acting as translator, about their experiences with GAM3. I wanted to get to know them a little better so before I got to the subject of basketball I asked them who their favorite singers were. They asked if I meant “American or Arab?” I told them it didn’t matter and in a very Lebanese fashion Somaya gave me an Arab name, Saber el-Rabeh, while Shereen told me that it was Masari who she favors listening to, a Canadian R&B singer of half-Armenian descent.

Miguella Guerilla: What has been the reaction of your family and friends since you’ve been coming to practices on Sunday?

Shereen: They’ve been very supportive, no problems from anyone. If I could play basketball whenever, I would.

MG: Do you have a favorite team?

Shereen and Somaya in unison: Riyadi.

MG: . . . and do you have a favorite player on Riyadi?

S & S: Ali Mahmoud.

MG: Why is that?

S & S after a shared giggle that may have disclosed their true feelings on the matter: Because he’s very enthusiastic about the game.

MG: Have you seen any problems between the kids here? if so, what has it been over?

Shereen: No there have been no problems.

MG: Not even in the beginning or first few days of practices amongst the boys?

Somaya: No, there has been nothing. In the beginning we (the girls) didn’t know each other and it was uncomfortable, but now we are all good friends.
MG: In the future, if there were a Professional Lebanese Women’s Basketball team would you want to play?

Somaya: definitely.

Shereen: ofcourse, no problem.

Shereen is in the back row, third from the right.

Somaya is in the front row on the far right with the hijab.

...and Mohammed is in black.

GAM3's DAY OUT

Due to some difficulties with having the space ready for the practices at the Youth Centre as well as exams starting this week...on Friday the 11th, we had a couple of participants on the ground, looking to go home and study for their exams on Saturday!! So we made a quick decision not to wast the day for everyone and took the Orphans for a recreational day at Al Azhar Park. High above Cairo, one of only a couple of green areas in the city with an exceptional view, the kids’ first time to see the city that contains them.

With the help of Bibo and his volunteers we were able to organize a day of joy for the unfortunate. “Food on the hill” as they experience the panoramic view of Cairo for their first time and of course have fun.

GAM3 Featured on NPR news website

NPR recently did a story on GAM3 in Beirut. Shereen Meraji, the producer/reporter for the show Day to Day, was sent to Beirut to focus on stories having do with youth movements in the area. The story was published on the third of May. Here is the link . . . and don't forget to listen to the audio as well, it's quite intriguing.


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9925310

Summer is Here, The "Street Baller's" 1st Scrimmage

Summer has arrived! Sure, the calendar doesn’t exactly say so, but tell that to the kids sweating it out on the courts today in Qas Qas. It’s a good thing we’ve been starting the practices at nine, an hour earlier for the last few weeks, because by the time we called it a day the heat was weighing pretty heavily on us all. Besides one particular group of children that were missing it seemed that we had more than the usual number of participants this week, 21 girls was my count mid-practice.

The drills went seemingly well for all age groups, but the highlight was the scrimmage between GAM3’s very own “Street Baller’s” team, comprised of our oldest boys (some of whom are already much taller than my 5’6” frame), and a team of the same age range hailing from Qas Qas. Our boys started out a bit slowly and committed some shooting fouls, but by the end were hitting their stride, hitting fast break shots and coming up with timely steals. Rabih, one of our coaches, refereed the game . . . and though he called a fair one he was still able to hand out defensive tips to our boys in the middle of the commotion. The game itself was a real scrum, tons of blocked shots and stolen balls, with one of our boys even catching a minor scrape to his left elbow. After the scrimmage the two teams shook hands and posed for a group photo. The “Street Baller’s” certainly seemed to benefit from this kind of competition; hopefully we’ll be able to see more of this Qas Qas basketball team in the future.