The girls at WellSpring love to spend time playing various games once their chores, homework, and studies are complete. It has been beautiful to see the blend of traditional Zambian games and American games such as Uno, Connect 4, and a favorite “Dodgeball”.
A favorite Zambian game that every child learns from the time they can walk is called “chiyato”. The game is played with stones that are collected from around the area your sitting. You need a couple “good” handfuls, and you try to keep them around the same size.
A circle is then drawn or scribed on the ground or concreted and the game begins. The game is played one on one, but its not uncommon to find a “tournament” in session where the winners of each bracket move forward to the final championship.
The closest game we would know of here in the US would be the classic game of shooting marbles. There are a few variations to the game, but in general the winner is the player who can throw the stone and catch it, while using the same hand they used to throw and catch to move the remaining stones outside the perimeter of the circle.
The game truly involves a lot of hand and eye coordination and for a new player it is actually quite difficult to “literally” juggle.
Its such a blessing to see the girls enjoying all of their games. They are healing physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Their laughter and competitiveness is testimony to that.
