The Hope Raisers by Nihar Suthar

Author:Nihar Suthar
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2022-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

A Difficult Debut

The Hope Raisers compete at the Aquatic Car Park in Kasarani. Unfortunately, none of them performed well in their first race. COURTESY OF HOPE RAISERS

DANIEL AND MUTURA PUSHED THE HOPE RAISERS TO PRACtice more so they could build their confidence. As the Kasarani Skating Championship got closer, Lucy became increasingly more nervous. She was a proficient skater because of all her sessions on Grogon Road, but she never competed against anybody and didn’t know what to expect at the race. Daniel and Mutura heard that the other skaters at the competition, coming from affluent families, would be professionally trained. This made Lucy question whether she could compete with them.

“Give it your best effort!” Daniel urged her. “Just because you are from Korogocho does not mean that you can’t compete against wealthy skaters.” He assured her that regardless of the final outcome, everybody in Korogocho would be proud of her just for competing.

When the morning of the Kasarani Skating Championship finally came around, Lucy could not control her anxiety. Her heart raced and her muscles tensed up. She was so nervous that she avoided mentioning the competition to Jackline or Chumbana. Usually, she was confident about her abilities, but she did not want them to come watch her until she was certain she could keep up with the wealthier skaters. Lucy simply told Jackline and Chumbana that she was going out to rollerblade.

“Bring back some chicken for me if you find any,” joked Chumbana, assuming Lucy was going for practice.

Lucy laughed and promised she would. Then, she slipped out the door of their flimsy house. Grogon Road was the place where the team met prior to the competition. When Lucy got there, a dozen of her Hope Raisers teammates were already waiting. They looked as anxious as she did or even more so.

After all the skaters had arrived, Daniel gathered them around him. “I know you’re feeling tense about the race today. Take a deep breath, relax, and just do the best you can. This will be a historic day for the Hope Raisers, regardless of the final results.” He looked at each of the skaters one by one, making sure they understood. “When you come back this evening, it won’t matter if you won a medal or finished last place. Everybody in Korogocho will see that you worked hard and made an honest effort at something.”

Some gangsters, on their way to the Dandora dumpsite, stopped to hear what Daniel was saying. “People will be proud of you for going beyond the boundaries of the slum and competing against highly trained rollerbladers from Nairobi,” he continued. “They’ll realize how worthwhile this sport is, and the positive change that can come about in our community from it. We’ll gain support for attending future competitions. You will be the leaders everybody will look up to.”

“Let’s go race!” yelled one of the kids, full of enthusiasm.

Tiger, who was among the gang members, burst into laughter. “How is this Mamayao going to race?” he mocked, pointing at Lucy.

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