Lessons Kenya can take from Cuba on sports and recreation

The most significant development in sports this year is the signing of a sports exchange Memorandum of Understanding with Cuba.

The MoU, signed between Sports and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa and Antonio Eduardo Becali Garrido, the President of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation of Cuba, INDER, in Havana on March 15. Mr Echesa described the partnership as ‘a breakthrough in the development of Kenyan sport.’

The arrangement will also cover academic exchange, anti-doping, sports medicine, community sports, equipment and training and development of coaches.

While Kenya boasts prowess in middle and long distance running, Cuba has been outstanding in several disciplines such as chess, weightlifting, athletics, tennis, football, table tennis, basketball, gymnastics, swimming, diving, volleyball just to name a few. It goes without saying that the infrastructure for those sports is much more developed than here. The institute is based at la Ciudad Deportiva (Sports City) which is a national sports complex near Havana.

Already over 50 nations employ several hundred Cuban sports trainers and coaches. So, we are not entering uncharted territory.

All Cuban nationals have the right to participate in sport for the purposes of recreation, health or high ranked performance. PE and sport are integrated and its delivery is closely articulated with health, education, community development, political and cultural approaches. Sport is a core subject on the school curriculum at all levels and is given equal weight with educational subjects.

The Escuela Internacional de Educación Física y Deporte (EIEFD) is a university-level sports school that provides scholarships for international students to obtain a degree in physical education, coaching and sports sciences.

The school prepares graduates to work towards sustainable and transformational development in and through sport in their home countries. Their Junior Olympic Programme was established in 1963 and every school participates! In fact, the Cuban model stands as a notable example of a state-backed initiative that positions sport as a rights-based development rather than just a tool for development.

The nation of 11.5 million people has over 100,000 athletes currently. Of those, almost 20,000 are boxers of whom over 80 are of Olympic competence. Their Olympic team comprises 12 members. Across Cuba today, there are 494 boxing coaches and 185 facilities.

At the IAAF World U18 Championships held in Nairobi in 2017, Cuba won gold medals in long jump, triple jump, discus throw, hammer throw and javelin throw. Kenya got  four gold medals in 1500M, 800M and 2000M steeple chase.

The School Games run a traditional ladder system where winners move on. For team sports, the winners move on, but the best players from all of the losing teams form a new team and also move on. This ensures that no single great player will be tossed out because of being in a bad team. The Cuban Junior Olympics involves 20 sports.

We could start revamping our sports in Nairobi since the county government wants to redevelop 26 informal settlements into decent low-cost housing estates.

The  informal settlements to be upgraded include Kibera, Jua Kali, Mahira, Huruma Ex-Grogan, Kahonoki, Kiamutisya, Baba Dogo Kasabuni, Baba Dogo Kariadudu, Gathecha Lucky Summer, Glucola Lucky Summer, Korogocho, Ngunyumu, Muriambogo, and Kabiria. Others are Kitui, City Carton Buru Buru, Githogoro, Mji wa Huruma, Mukuru, Fuata Nyayo, Kisii, Site Village, Hazina Sokoni, Maili Saba, Mihango, and Mwengenye.

The planners should ensure that sports facilities are embedded in these developments. The residents and especially the youth would have the opportunity to use the facilities and some would naturally graduate into accomplished sports people.

We must emphasise on indoor sports and infrastructure and estates sports centres where families take part, learn and support sport. If necessary knock down some houses to create space.

Gated communities without sports facilities for the youth and families? Never. Community centres were a good start. But we abandoned them. Go back to them. My first dance was in a community hall in Meru. Look at the impressive Olympics medal table standings for Cuba. Every parastatal, blue chip or other big company, county should sponsor indoor-games tournaments! In addition, all senior football clubs should sponsor some indoor games for the sons and daughters of their fans.

One important point to add is that the US exchanged arts and culture and medicine, and did people-to-people exchanges with Cuba as early as 1999 during the Bill Clinton Administration. They took Johns Hopkins doctors to Cuba and had Cuban doctors go to America. They did sports (with baseball as the linchpin) exchange.

As the saying goes, if an iguana comes out of the water to say that crocodile is unwell, no one doubts it. The Tshi say, if a vulture gives advice to the wolf, the wolf takes it. The Cubans have been there and done that. Let’s take their advice seriously.