Winter Vacation

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your patience.  We are doing well over here during cold season and it has been a lot of fun playing baseball during the sunsets.  Boboyo and Lara's teams are kicking butt, and we have already started to rock some scrimmages.  Kaele, Minjivin, and Guidiguis have taken a little bit longer for the students to catch on, but it is still just as fun or at least the students and I are laughing a lot.  We are just doing some basic drills right now, but I could use a little tuning up based on how my career ended in 9th grade house league.

I will continue to play with some, not all of the schools during the 'winter' vacation, but school starts again January 2nd, so no matter what we will be jumping right back into practice after we bring in 2013.

We do have pictures, but are bandwidth has not been great so that is why we are waiting on those right now, big shout out to my postmate, Rachel, for coming to practice and taking those.

I hope you are all safe and healthy, I am here so no need to worry.

Nous sommes ensemble,

Jack

The baseball gear has finally landed in my house!  I have never seen so many awesome and hats and jerseys.  Thank you for the donated hockey caps as well.  I always talk about my favorite sport and now I can show them some teams.  I was grateful to finally open up the first package and see the gear for myself.  I am organizing it as we speak for the 5 high schools(again Kaele, Boyboyo, Lara, Minjivin, and Guidiguis).  I decided to take a break and write this blog because it is the middle of the day and no one wants to be out in that sun.

As for the schedule for the future.  I will be organizing and calling my professors this week to set up for next week.  Right now we have a tentative plan of each day.  Each day I will arrive at a different village during the afternoon and I will be handing over the equipment to the sports professors which they will keep in their office during non-school hours.  We will also try out the equipment for the first time with the students.

Schedule:

Monday - Boyboyo (You may have seen pictures from my facebook of the crocodile lake nearby)
Tuesday - Guidiguis (A new volunteer was just posted there)
Wednesday - Kaele (My town, you can't ask for a better one except maybe Edina or Iowa City)
Thursday - Lara (My training mate, Rachel, lives here and she lives at the bottom of a beautiful mountain)
Friday - Minjivin (My favorite bike ride because of the rural towns you see)

I will always be adding more pictures, and I think we can expect some next week.  I do apologize for the lack of pictures weekly.  Technical difficulties for my technology has included losing a computer, kindle, and camera to the life of traveling, working and rain here in Cameroon.  Three volunteers are sharing one camera at the moment and another one is doing a great Worlds Aids day project this Saturday.  Check for local promotions and testing sites for your Worlds Aids Day options!

Seko Poli (Thank you very much in Mundang)

We have had a great 2 weeks here in Kaele, perfect Baseball weather and I haven't seen a drop of rain in over a month.  Our fields will be a little sandy, but maybe next year we can work on my sand trap game.  I have been to Guidiguis and Kaele(where I live) during these past 2 weeks and it has been a lot of fun.  Kickball has been easily the best way to teach the rules of the sport.  It has been great to see what I assume the students already know and what they actually know.  A few students have watched baseball games, but the basic idea of running or where to throw the ball has been a great teaching moment for me.

In other news, I met with the the Delegate of Development of Young People and Sports today.  We should be hosting sometime next January a seminar for the Sports Teachers in and around Kaele how to teach baseball to their students.  He stated it was a good opportunity to show a different sport, but also learn different ways teach.  We have a tentative date of Friday, January 11th, 2013, but as you all know things are subject to change here.

I hope to be working with him also for a baseball camp next year during the spring break.  I will be looking for students who have the passion of baseball, not just the best.

For some even more great news, my contact at the post office said the first stage of materials will arrive in Maroua on Wednesday(tomorrow).  I will going into Maroua Thursday after my business class to retrieve the equipment and finally play some ball.

Thank you for all the patience and support.  With the equipment finally here, expect some more great pictures soon.

Some of the baseball equipment to leave for Cameroon on November 1st.  Thank you Pitch In For Baseball and my friends and relatives for your equipment and shipping support

Jack with a fellow coach

Learning baseball 101

 Learning baseball 101A

Its a hit!

Boyboyo Week

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone is doing well because we are doing great over here.  Festival of Ram(maybe sheep) for the Muslim community today so I should eat pretty well.

As for Diamonds For Cameroon, we are also doing great.  I had 3 days in Boyboyo which is about a 30 minute bike ride from house.  I taught a few objectives in the classroom and then we got out into the field.

At first we figured out where all the positions should be and how big the field actually is.  After I have a stick and a 4 baseballs wrapped in ductape which works well for some home run derby.  On my last day there we played a little kickball where everyone could learn a lot more of the rules.  The older students were great and picked up on it right away, and since the younger class is a lot bigger I think it will take more time.

Next week I will be in Lara for 3 days where my postmate and trainingmate Rachel teaches English, so she got me the in with the administration.

I think I will be introducing kickball a lot earlier at least to the older kids because they grasp it pretty easily even though we had one student run straight from the batters box to 2nd base.

Also big news from the states.  Our first shipment of equipment is on its way!  I can't thank everyone enough for their support with donations of every kind in this project.

To the people in Minnesota, hope you can get your snow blowers tuned up in time!

Nous sommes ensemble,

Jack

Schedule Time

For the next 4 weeks I will be teaching at all the different schools the art which we Americans call Baseball.  I will be teaching with the sports professor of each school.  I hope to get some great pictures out of it as well.  Right now we will be using 2 gloves, a make-shift bat, and tennis balls wrapped in ducttape.  Home-run derby will be the name of the game most of the time.

My schedule:

Boyboyo:

Oct. 22nd 7:30am - 8:30am
Oct. 23rd 7:30am - 8:30am
Oct. 24th 8:30am - 10:30am

Lara:

Oct. 29th 7:30am - 9:30am
Oct. 30th 7:30am - 9:30am
Oct. 31st 7:30am - 9:30am

Minjivin and Guidiguis are being scheduled this week, but I expect it to be in early November.  The reason Kaele is not on the schedule is because I am able to walk there daily and work with the sports professor and students.

Also I am looking to my friends, family and baseball organizations in aiding with the shipment costs.

Here is my goal:

I have received most of the baseball equipment. My challenge is to pay for the shipping of the equipment. The estimated cost to ship 40 gloves, 15 helmets, 100 baseballs/hats, 20 bats, catcher’s equipment and uniforms from Minnesota to Cameroon is $2,500 – a challenge on a Peace Corps volunteers wage. I am asking you for a donation of $100 (plus or minus) needing only 25 people to reach my goal. My hope is to ship the equipment on November 1st, 2012.

Checks can be made payable to Phil or Ginny Kluesner and sent to:

3932 Natchez Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55416

Thank you for all the support and help.

Picture's of our baseball field

 

A view of the outfield

 A view of home plate with class rooms in the background

A view of the in field

The Business Plan

My name is Jack Kluesner and I am a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kaele, Cameroon.  Cameroon is located near the Chad border in the Far North region.  I have been working with small-businesses and farming groups during my first year, and am working with schools my second year.  I will be creating a baseball club at the Bilingual High School in Kaele and am hoping to expand it to neighboring High Schools including Lara, Boyboyo, Guidguis, and Minjivin.  Below is my business plan to accomplish this mission.

Diamonds for Cameroon

Mission: Create Baseball/Softball Clubs at local schools in the Far North region of Cameroon during the 2012-2013 academic year.

Goals:

1. Create 5 baseball/softball clubs in the Mayo-Kani department of Cameroon by the end of the 2012-2013 academic year

2. Play a minimum of 2 games (1 boys/1 girls) between opposing high schools by the end of the 2012-2013 academic year

3. Increase mathematical fluency through homework exercises using baseball/softball as a guide

4. Train players at the Kaele Bilingual High School Baseball/Softball Club to train other students in the rules of the sport

5. Have the players of the Kaele Bilingual High School Baseball/Softball Club teach the rules of baseball to 5 small villages in the Mayo-Kani department of Cameroon

I am asking for your assistance with equipment to help me obtain my goals.

Needs:

1. 100 baseball gloves (90 Right Handed/10 Left Handed)

2. 10 baseball bats (30’’-32’’)

3. 5 helmets

4. 5 full catchers gear equipment

5. 100 pairs of baseball pants

6. 50 Baseballs

All donated equipment can be USED, please wash the pants before donating.

Process:

I along with other Peace Corps volunteers will be teaching the theory of baseball at High Schools once a week until enough equipment arrives to start practicing.  After the equipment arrives we will be scrimmaging and beginning setting up games.

I will be having volunteers help with teaching the theory as well as practicing, especially female volunteers who know how to pitch underhand.

I will be updating the status of clubs with photos on a blog.

www.diamondsforcameroon.blogspot.com

DONATIONS CAN BE DROPPED OFF AT

3932 NATCHEZ AVE S

ST. LOUIS PARK, MN 55416

There will be a box on the front porch.

I will update through the blog what the current needs are each week i.e. gloves, bats, etc.

Sincerely,

Jack Kluesner

Contact: jkluesnerpccam@gmail.com

Baseball Field in Kaele

More pictures to come soon!