International Mini Games to Nurture Champions and Discipline

By Julius Mwabonje

Email, thecoastnewsnewspaper@gmail.com

Parents and schools in the country have been urged to enrol their students in the International Mini games program to nurture champions and instil disciplines to end unrest in the learning institutions.

The international mini games is an organization that hosts regional multi-sport tournaments, often referred to as Mini Olympics, for young athletes and students across Kenya and the broader East African region.

Organisers of the international mini games which were held in Malindi said so far they have enrolled over 100 schools and were open to other institutions so that students could get the opportunity to nurture their talents and become champions.

Already some of the students have taken part in international tournament abroad with one of them recently having took part in international competition in Thailand.

Adrian Muthoni, the event director of international mini games, said the purpose of the international mini games was to produce international world champions using the olympic values.

She said they normally tried and made sure they met the set olympic standards as they plan the activities.

“Recently we have been having a lot of tensions in the schools, we see some of the students’ burning classes and dorms, so this is one of the channels we can use to avert that tension and give the kids some space to breath and take a break,” she said.

Muthoni urged parents and schools to partner with them so that they could bring up kids who were all rounded and holistic not only in books but in other sectors such as sports.

She said in the just concluded mini games held in Malindi they had students from Kiambu, Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kilifi counties that participated and now the qualifiers would take part in another international mini games tournament in Arusha, Tanzania in November.

In the event, she said there was sports like football, skating, karate, taekondo, chess, clubs, coding and robotics and children not only enjoyed the participation, but had an opportunity to explore the country and network with others from different parts of the country.

“So, we would urge more schools to partner with us because this is a good avenue to expose the kids outside there. We have been having kids compete internationally two months ago. We had a kid compete in Thailand in taekwondo,” she said.

David Weru, the president of the international mini games, said recently the country had witnessed cases of indiscipline and unrest in schools which he said could be addressed through sports.

He said through the international mini games it would help bring up children into the values of olympics and also the values being taught in schools.

“This is our 20th international mini games. We always have the mini games in Arusha, Tanzania, in Kigali, Rwanda, the great Rift Valley in Nakuru, and Nairobi mini games. So, this was a 20th mini games here in Malindi and also our first mini game here. We are looking forward to have more mini games in Kenya, the East Africa region and the world at large,” he said.

Weru said the main idea of the international mini game was to bring a world standard of athletics and organisation of the tournaments and would like to see other teams from Africa and the world to come and take part.

He said the qualification for the mini games was all about participation as they do not discriminate any child at any point.

“Our motto is all about growing a child into a world champion so its all about growing the child.” he said.

Oliver Otieno from KBA group of schools in Nairobi County said they were grateful for the organisation of the mini games for inviting them.

He said they took 179 students into the games and participated in different competitions which was good for the children.

“I want to urge the community to continue to participate in these games because it helps the students to interact and continue networking. It also helps the students in creativity and critical thinking,” he said.

Otieno said through the mini games it could create opportunities for the students to earn a living as currently games are major income providers globally.

Idarus Mohamed, a student from Town secondary school, said he was happy to take part in the mini games as it helped him interact and network with others from different parts of the country.

Further, he said such programs were good to keep them busy, and stop engaging in bad behaviours like burning schools or causing unrest in learning institutions.