Page 4 What You Say?

Page 6Did you know

Page 8Sports Time

At a tender age of 12, Enock Mwene is now an ac-complished key board player at Moi Primary School, Nakuru, and most of the school functions are never complete without his performance as he is now a

star attraction during the official functions.More interesting is that the Standard Six pupil is now a part-

time keyboard tutor at the school and among his students are his fellow pupils and teachers who are amazed by his mastery of the key board .

“He is a gift to the church and the community around it,” that is how his father Mike Mwene, describes him .

The first born in a family of three, Enock started playing the key board when he was in Standard Two.

When his father bought the key board for the church, little did he know that was the beginning of exposing the hidden talent of his son.

Today the father has no regrets as his son serves as the key board player at their One Accord Christian Centre Church, in Ngata, on the outskirts of Nakuru town.

“When I bought the first key board , it didn’t occur to me that my son would be it’s main user,” recalls the father. PAGE 3 >>

young nationSunday Nation January 09, 2011

Page 6Story time

Musical genious kicks off career at a tender age

Free with Sunday Nation

Enock is now a key board tu-

tor and among his students are his teachers and

fellow pupils.

BY FRANCIS MUREITHI

January 9, 2011sunday nation ��1

Fun Facts

SHARON MUTHONI, Hope Academy P.O. BOX 30498-001-00, Nairobi. Age 11000000. Hobbies reading, swimming traveling, would like, Penpals from China, United States Russia.Tony Wanyama Namajanja Secondary School P.O. BOX 1674 Bungoma Age 16. Hobbies, swimming, traveling and listening to music. I would like pen pals from USA, Russia and china.

JANET WANJIRU Nairobi Queens Edu-cational Centre, PO.BOX 8584 Kikuyu. Age 15, Hobbies, traveling, dancing and cooking, would like Pen pals from Sweden, Russia and The United States Sweden.

JOHN MUGAMBI Hope Academy P.O.BOX 30498-00100, Nairobi. Age 12. Hobbies swimming, meeting new friends, playing football and reading. Would like Penpals from Canada and and USA.Faith Sarah Nairobi Queens Educational Cen-tre Po Box 8584. Nairobi Age 15 . Hobbies, traveling, reading and swimming. Would like penpals from Tanzania, Iran, German and Netherlands.Fridah Mumbi, Nairobi Queens, Educational Centre P.O. BOX 8584 Nairobi. Age 17. Hob-bies, traveling, playing football, and singing. Would like Penpals, from Canada, Russia and USA.

SAMSON KIOKO Kisii High School P.O. BOX 11 Kisii. Age 14 Hobbies traveling, sing-ing and reading. Would like Penpals from Uganda, Korea, and Russia and UK.

JOSHUA KAMAU Royal International Academy, PO BOX 320-0168 Nairobi. Age 15. Hobbies swimming, singing and dancing would like Penpals from Sweden, China and the United States of America.

JOY MWENDWA Waithaka Riverside School P.O. BOX 67364-002002 Nairobi. Age 15 Hobbies reading, traveling, listening to gospel music and horse riding. Would like Penpals from USA, Canada, Netherlands Uganda and Russia.

pen pals

young nation

editor says...

our teamMANAGING EDITOR: Eric Obino EDITOR: Liz Wanjohi CONTRIBUTORS: Mworia Muchina, Patricia Mundia, Samuel Muigai, John Muchiri, Jim Guteta, Joseph Ngari, Anthony Omuya GROUP DESIGN EDITOR: Kathleen BoganCREATIVE DIRECTOR: Kamau Wanyoike CHIEF GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Rogers Mogusu DESIGNERS: Felix Miring’u, Anini Andrew, Michael Mosota, , Nzisa Muli, Dennis Makori, Benjamin Situma, Ken Kusimba, Alice Othieno, Davis Mulyango, Joy Abisagi, Virginia Borura.

young nation

1. The Chinese New Year begins on the new moon of the first lunar month, usu-ally between January 21 and February 21. February 7.

2. The first day of the year was fixed as January 1 by the Gregorian calendar, adopted by Pope Gregory XIII on February 24, 1582. The purpose of introducing a new calendar was in order to regulate Christian feast days and festivals.

-MERCY GAKII

letters

Resolution is a word used by many but known by few. It simply means to make up your mind to do something. At the begin-ning of every year, we always have resolu-tions .

It may be to work harder, to give up smok-ing, to quit drugs, to maximize opportuni-ties or even to be honest. They are all good resolutions but it is not something to say or write, then laze around waiting for it to happen. It needs motivation to break the old habit and nature a new one.

The driving force is what most people lack and need to build up. Without it, a resolution is nothing but either spoken words or written letters. For some, it is just hard to break the habit and they end up going against their resolutions.

But what they do not know, is that it only needs a try. If the results are encouraging, and they feel that was a goal achieved, it does not take them a sweat to break what-ever habit they want.

Just jot what you want to achieve this year, or term, or first half of the year, and try keep-ing obstacles at bay. With that, I am certain you will be proud of what you had resolved

to accomplish.Have a blessed 2011, with lots of motiva-

tion to drive you to greater heights.

Megan Wanjiru,Memon High School.

The new year has just begun. This is the

time to make resolutions and reflect on pre-vious (un)accomplished goals.

In life, it’s important to use past mistakes to build the future. That’s the way to achieve self actualization, which should be ringing in your mind as the year begins.

It’s also important to set attainable goals when the year is still at its dawn, so that they act as guiding principles throughout the year. What’s more? You need to identify the best manner to achieve your goals, which is normally through hard work.

In whatever you do, let the almighty God be your guide. Happy New Year!

Aseri W. Dicksonaseridick@ovi.com

The very first week of going back to school is usually very interest-ing, especially after a very long

holiday. To some, it’s business as usual while to others, they have just opened a new chapter in their academic life by either joining new schools or moving to the next level. But all in all, life must continue. In today’s issue, we are asking children what they know about New Year resolutions, whether they keep them and what can they do to make sure that they don’t make promises they can’t fulfil. On our cover story, meet a young and talented pianist, Enock Mwene from Nakuru, who is ready to take his skills to the highest level. At his tender age, he is actually teaching other people how to play the piano. Talk of mastering talent at the right time. The rest of the stories are as juicy and educating as usual. For those who are about to join Form One, we wish you all the best and remember to work hard. For the KCSE candidates, it’s only a matter of time before the results are announced. Have a great Sunday and week ahead.

Muchiri

NEW YEARRESOLUTIONS

January 9, 2011sunday nation2

Young Enock would ac-company his father and mother Pastor Monica Mwene, during preaching

sessions and as his par-ents were preaching, he could move to the dais and start tapping the ta-ble as if he was playing the key board.

And as the church ex-panded, it emerged that there was no compe-tent person to play the keyboard and as Enock mastered how to play it,

his father allowed him to take charge.

The church is now sav-ing Sh500 every Sunday, which it used to pay for the key board player dur-ing the praise and wor-ship prayer session.

“He is a blessing in our Ministry and he is why I’m bit reluctant to let him become a boarder at Moi Primary School, until we recruit another keyboard player,” says his father.

“I love gospel music and that is why I love this machine and I can’t remember a single day which passes without me playing it,” says Enock.

Enock who is also a gospel singer says he is

in love with his keyboard and after finishing his class work, he spends the rest of his time sharpen-ing his skills by playing different tunes.

His younger sister Fa-vour Mwene, who is still in nursery school, is fol-lowing in the footsteps of his brother and is show-ing keen interest in play-ing the keyboard.

Enock, who is a great admirer of the American gospel singer Lenny Le-blanc, thanks his parents and class teacher Mrs Gi-tau, for encouraging him to play the instrument.

“My loving parents and my class teacher, are my greatest source of inspi-

A master in his own musical game

« FROM THE COVER

Above: Enock showing his mum Monica and his sister Favour how to play the keyboard. Right: Enock Mwene playing keyboard. Photos/JOSEPH KIHERI

ration and have made me to be what I’m today,” says Enock .

He adds that music is proving to be a well-pay-ing career and should not be neglected in the schools curriculum.

fmureithi@ke.nationmedia.com

CLIFF JOHN WAFULA

You are the most precious gift from God in our lives. As you turn three, remember that will always be there for you, and especially through prayers. May you live to be an obe-dient and God fearing boy. Birthday wishes from mum Joan, dad Gyp-son, aunties Lucy, Elecky, Ngina and Jacky and your grandparents.

MIGUEL KIPLIMO ROTICH

Son, you are now five years old. May almighty God bless all your plans and lead you in your life. We love you very much. Happy many returns from dad Jim, mum Anne Manyasa, brother Niger, sister Se-line, Chemu,Sandy, Purity and Ivy, aunties and uncles, and our sweet grandparents.

MIKE SENI

Happy birthday baby boy as you turn six. We thank God for you and may His blessings be upon you. May our Lord open the doors for you as you grow up and live to achieve your dreams. Best wishes from Mary.

PENINAH OSEBE MOGENI

We wish you a happy fifth birthday. May you grow to be a God fearing girl. You have brought happiness and joy into our lives. May you live to blow 1001 candles. Best wishes from mum Felistus, dad Ronald, un-cles Hopkinson and Silvestor, aunt-ies Doreen and Purity, your friends and your grandparents.

BRIDGET WANGARI WAI-

NOGA

Bridget as you turn two years, may God shower you with his love and protection. May you grow to be a God-fearing person and your dream come true. Birthday wishes from mum mercy and dad Robert.

my hobbyBoxing

My name is Cecelia Waithera. Iam 8 years old. I go to school at Kariobangi Primary School, Nairobi.

During my free time, on weekends I train as boxier. It is a good sport.

I like boxing; because it is a very entertaining sport, if the boxers follow the rule of the game. It is very interesting. Every time one plays it feels good as the crowd cheer participants.

One can use it as a defense, especially in the slums where many cases of rape and kidnapping are reported.

I have been actively participating in the sport for two years. I believe I can compete with young people from parts of the

world.I have trainers from a

group of female and male boxers, called Box girls International, the group is made up of retired boxers who would like to improve lives of young boxers in the slums through the sport.

Conjestina Achieng inspired me to the sport. She looks strong and fearless when playing with opponents in a boxing match.

Achieng has proved to the world that Kenya, can produce one of the best in the sport. I want to be

like Congestina, because she wins, many games she participates in Kenyans especially young ones are proud of her.

However, I have learnt that the sport has no sponsors in the country and lacks support from the government. The government needs to support young ones who have an interest in the sport.

I would like to urge the government, to support young boxers in the country to ensure that the sport is rated one of the best like athletics. In addition the young boxers talents can be fully exploited. ANTHONY OMUYA

happy birthday wishes

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January 9, 2011sunday nation ��3

children and lawShe was born on April 27, 1986 in Moscow and is a renowned pro-

fessional tennis player. Her career high ranking is World number one and she is currently ranked World No. 63. She is right-handed player.

She was runner up in singles at the 2008 French Open, 2009 Australian Open, and the 2009 French Open, falling to Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams, and Svetlana Kuznetsova. She has had suc- cess at Grand Slam events in women’s doubles by winning the 2007 US Open with Nathalie Dechy. She also won the Olympic silver medal in women’s singles at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

She is the younger sister of former World number one men’s player Marat Safin. She and her brother are the first brother-sister tan-dem in tennis history to both achieve the world number one rankings.

Her game is built on the powerful groundstrokes which are hit heavy and deep. Her forehand is the side where she hits more winners. Her backhand hits accurately and can open up the court. She also produces a high number of unforced errors. She has stated that she idolises Rafael Nadal.

Who is this player?Which country does come

from?

sports quiz

ANSWERS ON PAGE 8

young nation

By Patricia Mundia

Corruption is generally defined as the abuse of

public office for private gain. Corruption exists in the social, political, and economic activ-ity of government officials, but it can also include dishon-est activities by non-govern-ment organization (NGO) officials. The major causes for corruption in Kenya is poor pay, high unemployment, and high prices for essential commodities, illiteracy, and extreme poverty.

Social corruption is defined as dishonest or exploitative behaviour in dealing with others, and often includes abuses of human rights. Examples include lying, steal-

ing, human trafficking, child abuse, and nepotism

Political corruption in-cludes election fraud, the conduction of unfair or rigged elections, and the di-rect seizure of power. Exam-ples of corruption among the powerful include, favouritism, tribalism, unlawful arrest and detention of opponents, ex-tra-judicial killings (for exam-ple what happened during the post election violence).

Economic corruption in-volves the activity of both public and private sector of-ficials, and is defined as the taking of bribes or the em-bezzlement of money, assets, or property. This type of cor-ruption is rampant in Kenya.

In response to this wide-

spread and destructive cor-ruption, the Kenyan govern-ment formed the Kenyan Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) established under the Anti-Corruption and Eco-nomic Crimes Act (ACECA), 2003 as an official body tasked with prosecuting and imprisoning corrupt officials.

This Act also provides gives the Chief Justice power to appoint Special Magistrates to hear cases of corruption and economic crimes. Presently, there are Special Magistrates in the following stations: Nairobi, Kisumu, Embu, Bungoma, Kakamega, Kericho, Mom-basa, Malindi, Nyeri and Nakuru.

KNOW ABOUT CORRUPTION

( what you say

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONSWe all make New Year resolutions but somehow most of them never come to pass because we never plan on how we are going to achieve them. With this in mind, what are your goals this year and how do you intend to achieve them? Children from Lavenders Academy, Kayole, spoke to JIM GUTETA.

Beyonce Akinyi 9,

I will achieve my goal of becoming first in class by paying more atten-tion in class and doing a lot of extra studies. I think last year I never did this well.

Peter Mburu 11,

Since I want to visit Ken-ya’s only tropical rainfor-est in Kakamega, this year I intend to be extra obedient and nice and work extra harder in school so that I would be allowed to go on the trip.

James Oloo 11,

When I grow up I would like to be soldier and I know soldiers are very fit guys so this year I intend to be even more physically fit. I intend to achieve this by playing basketball and working harder in school.

Diana Tuke, 11

I will be doing extra homework listening more to the teachers and doing extra work in school so as to improve my grades. If I do that, my parents will buy me what I want most this year, a bicycle.

Ceslyne Achieng 11,

To achieve more this year you have to work harder by waking up early, go to sleep a little late, switching off the TV at home and also revis-ing anything that you did not understand in school.

Charles Kago 12,

Unlike last year for me to achieve more in school I have to deny myself a few things to concentrate in school like watching TV playing with my friends when I should be study-ing. Then this year will be a better year for me.

Samuel Rogito, 10

Besides working harder on my studies in order to better my grades, this year I intend to put more effort in my football team where I play as a defender so as to make my team the best in my location.

January 9, 2011sunday nation4 young nation

Quintillain ))Whilst we deliberate how to begin a thing, it grows too late to begin itJosh Billings ))Success does not consist in never making blunders, but in never mak-ing the same one a second timeIvan Sergeyevich Turgenev ))If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never beginThomas J. Vilord ))If you have goals and procrastina-tion you have nothing. If you have goals and you take action, you will have anything you want

quotes

Eight children from St Catherine’s Mukuru Primary School were treated to a dream flight by Phoenix Aviation. The youngsters

who were selected according to academic excel-lence, talent, good behaviour and involvement in hobbies and sports, were able to view Nairobi, the Aberdares and Mount Kenya from the skies.

Chatting with excitement, the children were welcomed on board the Caravan aircraft for the experience of their lifetime by Captain Belinda Oldenburg and Brenda Wanjala, the flight opera-tions officer.

The youngsters were assisted by Brenda to buckle their seat belts and were made comfort-able before the departure of their flight. The chil-dren were ready for their adventure and seven-year-old Aggrey Omweno exclaimed, “I cannot believe I am inside an aeroplane. I have always seen them up in the skies, but I never dreamed I would board one.”

After carefully explaining the emergency pro-cedures, Captain Belinda, sped down the runway and the children were airborne causing them to scream and laugh in excitement. Looking down from her window, eight-year-old Caroline Jemtai shouted, “Wow, Nairobi looks so beautiful from the sky and the cars and buildings are very small.”

As the youngsters enjoyed snacks, sweeties, chocolates and soft drinks served in the aircraft, the captain pointed out important landmarks that the youngsters could identify such as the Nairobi National Park and the Ngong Hills. They could also see traffic jams on the City Roads. Phoenix Aviation is a leading regional and international charter, aircraft maintenance and worldwide air ambulance organisation based at Wilson Airport.

DREAM FLIGHT FOR MUKURU CHILDREN

Mini-feature

CORRESPONDENT| DAILY NATION

Brenda Wanjala (centre), the flight operations officer of Phoenix Aviation, assists seven-year-old Aggrey Omweno (right) and eight-year-old Caroline Jemtai pupils of St Catherine’s Mukuru Primary School, to fasten their seat belts.

January 9, 2011sunday nation ��5

young nation

Quintillain ))Whilst we deliberate how to begin a thing, it grows too late to begin itJosh Billings ))Success does not consist in never making blunders, but in never mak-ing the same one a second timeIvan Sergeyevich Turgenev ))If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never beginThomas J. Vilord ))If you have goals and procrastina-tion you have nothing. If you have goals and you take action, you will have anything you want

quotes

Eight children from St Catherine’s Mukuru Primary School were treated to a dream flight by Phoenix Aviation. The youngsters

who were selected according to academic excel-lence, talent, good behaviour and involvement in hobbies and sports, were able to view Nairobi, the Aberdares and Mount Kenya from the skies.

Chatting with excitement, the children were welcomed on board the Caravan aircraft for the experience of their lifetime by Captain Belinda Oldenburg and Brenda Wanjala, the flight opera-tions officer.

The youngsters were assisted by Brenda to buckle their seat belts and were made comfort-able before the departure of their flight. The chil-dren were ready for their adventure and seven-year-old Aggrey Omweno exclaimed, “I cannot believe I am inside an aeroplane. I have always seen them up in the skies, but I never dreamed I would board one.”

After carefully explaining the emergency pro-cedures, Captain Belinda, sped down the runway and the children were airborne causing them to scream and laugh in excitement. Looking down from her window, eight-year-old Caroline Jemtai shouted, “Wow, Nairobi looks so beautiful from the sky and the cars and buildings are very small.”

As the youngsters enjoyed snacks, sweeties, chocolates and soft drinks served in the aircraft, the captain pointed out important landmarks that the youngsters could identify such as the Nairobi National Park and the Ngong Hills. They could also see traffic jams on the City Roads. Phoenix Aviation is a leading regional and international charter, aircraft maintenance and worldwide air ambulance organisation based at Wilson Airport.

DREAM FLIGHT FOR MUKURU CHILDREN

Mini-feature

CORRESPONDENT| DAILY NATION

Brenda Wanjala (centre), the flight operations officer of Phoenix Aviation, assists seven-year-old Aggrey Omweno (right) and eight-year-old Caroline Jemtai pupils of St Catherine’s Mukuru Primary School, to fasten their seat belts.

January 9, 2011sunday nation ��5

One day, long ago, hare set out of Wanyama Kingdom and travelled to another kingdom. In this new kingdom, he found the inhabitants as a strange lot that were ruled

by an old but senile tortoise.Taking advantage of their mediocrity, hare enthralled them

by telling many tall tales and performing a lot of trickery. He be-came famous suddenly and as a result, was invited to the king’s court daily to entertain the king and his guests.

He was regarded in high esteem by the king and his subjects and was treated as a royalty wherever he went.

Apart from supping from the king’s high table, he was given a free hand to run some of the king’s affairs. Because their king was a relaxed ruler, hare set upon making an example of the king’s subjects by making them do hard work daily.

Soon, resentment to his authority started to be heard. The animals here were used to doing things their own way and at their own paces without any urgings. Hare knew his fame would diminish as suddenly as it had arisen. He one day announced to the queer old king tortoise of his intention to return back to Wanyama Kingdom for a while.

He was granted leave and as a sign of gratitude, was pre-sented with many presents.

Upon arrival back home, he was shocked that his fame was already known in his homeland. He was told that a bird overfly-ing had told of his exploits in the other land.

Finding himself famous once again, he started boasting of his many and imaginary exploits that he did and which he claimed none had ever attempted, achieved or will ever equal his.

‘I baffled my hosts that whenever I lied down, my shadow would instead stand where I was supposedly to be standing,” he’d brag.

He claimed of how he conjured a spirit that was tormenting his host’s and how he bound it and locked it on a cave.

Now, it was customary for king lion, the ruler of Wanyama Kingdom, to award his outstanding subjects every year af-ter a great ceremony. All animals knew that hare would take home that year’s honours. But monkey, the advisor to the king,

doubted hare’s sincerity.“Why not, O King, put a new rule that will have the animal

perform part of their claimed feats?”The King liked this. When the feast day came, King Lion made

this important rule so all may see if the animal deserved the honours or not.

After the entertainments, the king said, “Now, we’ll see if the hare will lie down and his shadow stand up as he claimed espe-cially on this sunny day.”

There was no escape way for the hare. He was found to be a boastful cheat. The honours instead went to the monkey who had uncovered hare’s tricks.

PAUL KARIUKI Kariukipaul67@gmail.com

PRIDE DOESN’T PAY

it’s story time

The rules of Sudoku are quite simple. You are presented with a 6x6 grid of boxes, some empty, some filled with numbers in the range of 1 to 6. That gives you 2 rows, 3 columns and also 2 larger squares of 2x3 boxes.The idea of Sudoku is to completely fill the empty grid squares with numbers in such a way that the following con-ditions hold true:1) Every row should contain the numbers 1 to 6 but should not repeat the numbers 1 to 6 at any point within that row.2) Every column should contain the numbers 1 to 6 but should not repeat the numbers 1 to 6 at any point within that column.3) Every 2x3 square should contain the numbers 1 to 6 but should not repeat the numbers 1 to 6 at any point within that square.

easy sudoku

Answers on page 8 Answers on page 8

did you know?

young nation

Also known as the paiche or the pirarucu, the arapaima is an air-breathing fish. It is one of the

world’s largest freshwater fish. It can grow up to 2.75 meters long and weigh up to 200 kilograms. They have a wide, scaly, gray body and a tapered head.

They can stay underwater for 10 to 20 minutes near the water’s surface, where they hunt and emerge often to breathe with a distinctive coughing noise. They feed on fish but also grab birds close to the water’s surface

Some indigenous communities consume the ara-paima meat and tongue and use its large scales to make jewellery. The arapaima has a “bony” tongue fit-ted with a set of teeth, which some indigenous people use as a scraping tool.

THE ARAPAIMA FISH SCALES ARE USED TO MAKE JEWELLERY

crossword

CLUESACROSS1. To dig up something that has been buried as a dead body5. The bristley process of barley etc.6. To originate, invent or bring into existence9. A humorous play usually ending happily12. A large non-poisonous snake that kills by crushing its prey13. A circular band of flow-ers or leaves

DOWN1. To engrave letters on a design on metal, etc 2. A simple implement for loosening the top soil3. A small coarse floor cov-ering4. A female sheep7. A projection from the main body8. A nurse-maid9. Mature female of the ox family10. A paddle11. An epoch

What are you doingwith that picturemambo?

I want to see it the right side up, not on

it’s side as it is.

Just grab the computer and rotate it so you can see the picture upright.

Felin

e Com

ics fo

r You

ng N

ation

1 2 3

9

6

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January 9, 2011sunday nation6

young nation

Pupils peep through the door fduring the first day in school at Thorn Tree School.

Children at St Teresia Academy, Githunguri East, sing song at the school during a talent show.

2

Cecilia Nyaboke, 2, cries during her first day in school at Thorn Tree School, Ongata Rongai. It is common for children to show different emotions on their first day in school.

1. Six-year-old Michelle Malo, admires a buffalo picture at a Bata shop when she went with her parents to shop. 2. A parent and children shop for shoes at a Nairobi shoe-shop as schools reopened last Monday. 3. Pupils play at the first day in school at Thorn Tree School. PHOTOS BY ANTHONY OMUYA

3

photo album

1

LEFT: Makupa young stars dancing during the Mkenya Gospel Concert at Wogect Hotel, Mombasa. The concert aimed at fighting drug abuse . Photo/ANTHONY NJAGI

ABOVE: A Standard One teacher conducting an interview to new pupils before admission at Mukuru Primary School located in Industrial Area, Nairobi.Photo/SAMMY KIMATU

January 9, 2011sunday nation ��7

SUD0KU

solutionsSPORTS QUIZ

1. Dinara Safina

2. Russia

young nation

CROSSWORD

BY CHRIS MUSUMBA

It is not every day that a player emerges and takes the world by surprise over his skills and

ability to perform in a particular sport.

Well, that might not necessarily be the description of the endow-ment that can be glued to Tony Kipruto, a former candidate pupil at Olympic Primary School in Kibera.

At age 15, Kipruto holds the fu-ture of tennis at his former school. A regular at the JD Hard Court Tennis Academy, Kipruto was lured to the sport by his parents

and friends. But it has not been an easy task for him to curve his own niche and dominate the sport.

“I have tried my best and some-times, it has not always been my way. You have to accept to lose and win if you are to be a player,” he said.

Having struggled to stamp his prowess at last year’s JD Hard Court Junior tennis Champion-ship, Kipruto like most of the over 100 children taking part in this year’s tournament at JD Academy ending on Sunday (December 9) and want to clinch the boys un-der-16 title against strong opposi-tion from his peers.

“It all has to start with self be-lief. I know I can win, but I have to keep my focus and do my best to be able to win here. There are several players here who have better talent and it all depends on how you turn up at the court,” he said.

Kipruto faces an acid test against his rivals like Thomas Ri-chard, Eric Kipkoech, Mohammed Daff, Brian Omwando and Kuria Kimamo, but he would rather focus on his inner strength and ability rather than the weakness in his game.

It is certainly not a point that Loreto Convent5 player Damaris Musera would like at engage his mind with.

Seeded as an underdog in the JD Junior tennis championship, Musera is pooled against experi-enced colleagues in the under-16 girls’ category.

“It is always tough playing against stronger opponents. But I am here to learn and any wins will be a bonus to me. Playing tennis is simple and it is a game I enjoy playing so much. Be it at school or at competitions, it helps me get into shape and give my best,” she said.

Musera, a class seven pupil, is among the girls who eye to be like Serena Williams and take the world by storm.

“We train hard at school during our games time and whenever I am free. It is always the best sport to help me relax after a doing my school work,” she said.

sports time...

young nation

TENNIS STARS IN THE MAKING

ACROSS1. Exhume 5. Awn 6. Create 9. Comedy 12. Boa 13. Wreath

DOWN1. Etch 2.Hoe 3. Mat 4. Ewe 7. Arm. 8. Ayah 9. Cow 10. Oar 11. Era

TOMAHAWKThis is the name in the English language for the small axe originally made of stone but later of iron that was formerly used as a tool and weapon by North American Indians. It is believed that the name tomahawk was derived from the Algonquian word otoma-huk that means `to knock down.” Different Indian tribes had different names for the tomahawk. In the Mohegan language it was known as tumnahegan, in Delaware as tam-oihecan and so on.

origin of words

Tony Kipruto plays a backhand shot Rishi Kotecha during JD Hardcourt Junior Tennis tournament at JD Tennis Academy.

Photo/CHRIS OMOLLO

January 9, 2011sunday nation8