Art for Gorillas

Category: Art of Conservation (AoC) | Date: Mar 29 2008 | By: Julie

When I first arrived in Ruhengeri (recently renamed Musanze) I struggled to find an outlet for physical exercise to help release the intensity I feel here and cope with the amount of work which needs to be done. As I’ve described, we start art classes with breathing exercises and yoga. Physical activity helps me stay balanced.

The only way to hike in the forest here - where the mountain gorillas live - is with a Rwandan military escort, so I would have been in trouble had I decided to try it. Otherwise, the landscape here is farmed and busy with people.

When my mom, sister, and brother-in-law arrived from the United States for a visit, they brought along a few tennis rackets and tennis balls. I’ve played tennis on and off for years and it’s a sport I love. I knew there were two clay courts within a five-minute walk from my house. So off we went.

I noticed two of my young neighbors, Valence and Jean Bosco, timidly following us. Once at the courts, my mom and sister encouraged them to join us and handed them each a racket. They started hitting away with considerable ability considering this was the very first time they held a tennis racket. My mom later noticed a home-made racket in my neighborhood. One of the kids had made it using a stick as the handle and a plastic lid from a discarded tin can as the rim and what looked like wire for strings.

Tennis has become part of life for me here since my family’s visit, and part of life for 13 kids. I decided to arrange tennis lessons for Valence and Jean Bosco and eventually, 11 other neighborhood kids. They are coached by Rachid and Elysee every Saturday and Sunday. I also play several times a week, when not in class or trying to do my own art or in my office.

As you may have read on Dr. Lucy’s blog, I managed to hook her into tennis, too. She hadn’t played in years and has told me that she looks forward to each chance to play in Ruhengeri. Now the newest vet to join the team,
Dr. Magdalena, is taking lessons with her 4-year old daughter every weekend. The only thing that stops Lucy or Magdalena is a sick gorilla or the rain. For the kids, they are ready to play rain or shine.

Some of the team.

On a trip to the US, I took a lesson from Coach Bunny Bruning and together met with John Terpkosh. They were thrilled to hear I’d gotten the kids started and excited about tennis. They submitted a proposal to the USTA (United States Tennis Association) on our behalf for a grant to pay for tennis equipment and as a result, all the children have new tennis shoes, rackets, t-shirts, and more.

Jean Baptiste is the ballboy and Rachid is the head coach at Ruhengeri Tennis Club. As you can see, we are all very excited with the ball-hopper we received from USTA.

The ball-hopper is easy for the kids to carry to and from the courts, but this new and super cool ball-cart is another story. Dr. Lucy (Gorilla Doctors) a tennis player and regular player with the kids, gave the children her padlock and chain to store the ball-cart in the tennis ’shack’, but Jean Baptiste said it would surely be stolen over night. We hope the shack will be rebuilt with a door and this way the ball-cart can stay in there overnight safely.

Art of Conservation’s art instructor, Eric MUTABAZI, asked me if his two children, Hassan and Zawadi, could join the team. Zawadi was the first girl to join the team! And just last week, we added another two, Clementine and Gentille. Go girls!

Zawadi, in the middle, shows her two new teammates some tennis drills.

Coach Elysee introduces Gentille to the basics.

So what does tennis have to do with art and gorillas and conservation? I have watched each of these kids develop a sense of responsibility and respect for each other that they didn’t have when we started. They have also gained a new skill, and a sense of community. Each started as a clumsy kid fumbling around with a ball and racket. Now they’re a group of 13 kids who are having fun together; each feels they are a member of a team. Additionally, it doesn’t take long to find astounding role models in the world of tennis like Martina Navratilova - these kids haven’t had a chance to watch tennis on T.V - but they know many of the names of players. Martina Navratilova was the supreme player on the court, but look what she is doing off the court…helping rhino’s in Africa, involvement in the arts, and champion for equal human rights. Kind of takes my breath away! So YEAH to tennis and bravo to my mom and my sister for getting the kids - and me - on the court and thanks to Bunny, John, Andy Susanin, and USTA for the awesome support.

These young tennis players painted their own designs on T-Shirts.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have Coach Bunny along with Martina, John McEnroe, Roger Fedderer, Serena and Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Rafael Nadal and all the other incredible players here? We’d certainly have the whole town playing.

Julie

Tags: Art of Conservation (AoC), Gorilla Doctors @ WildlifeDirect, Mountain Gorilla Vet Project, Inc. (MGVP), Sports for Gorillas, Team AoC (Team Art of Conservation)