Paris Double Dutch Workshop

Great news! Two of the trainers I worked with last year were chosen to attend a weeklong Double Dutch workshop in Paris, France. Herry (Tanzania) and Innocent (Kenya) have shown great dedication to the children they coach, and are now learning alongside coaches from South Africa, Senegal, Mozambique, Algeria, Burkina Faso, and France. The event began November 16th, and goes until the 21st.

T-shirts

One World One Rope T-Shirts are again available for purchase in black, white, red, green and blue. Currently for U.S. delivery only. Support One World One Rope today! http://www.oneworldonerope.org/store/store.html

One World One Rope on GlobalGiving!

In partnership with Carolina for Kibera, One World One Rope is now on GlobalGiving, a website that connects donors with grassroots projects in the developing world. This is a huge step forward, as all donations are 100% tax-deductible, and go directly to the individuals running the project on the ground.

Empowering Girls through Jump Rope in Kenya

Kibera Resourcefulness

When there's no rope your size...improvise.

First East Africa Jump Rope Competition and Workshop

Video clips from the First East Africa Jump Rope Competition and Workshop, featuring 36 of the best jumpers from Tanzania and Kenya. On Day 3 of the workshop, each region was given two hours to develop a performance for the staff and other children. Here are some of the highlights.

First East Africa Jump Rope Competition

The competition yesterday was great. Today, we just finished day one of the three day workshop. The kids won't stop jumping, many going nine hours today. And all the kids - from six cities in two countries - have tightly bonded: jumping, teaching and relaxing together. I wish I had time to tell you more. It's just going to have to wait until I can post some pictures. More to come...

Competiton tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the First East Africa Jump Rope Competition and Workshop, hosted by Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, Kenya. Peter Nestler, Dennis and Amy Canady, Colleen McCary, Courtney McBroom and James Evans have all arrived over the last few days. Sandile Ntombela, Manager of the South Africa National Rope Skipping Program is here with World Champion Sibusiso Mabele.

USA Jump Rope National Championships!

Good luck to everyone competing in the USA Jump Rope National Championships! What you do this week will inspire so many generations to come.

The First East African Jump Rope Competition and Workshop

The First East African Jump Rope Competition and Workshop will be held from July 2nd-July 5th at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, Kenya. Children from Tanzania and Kenya will compete on July 2nd, then take part in a 3-day workshop staffed by national and world-champion jumpers from South Africa and the U.S. Stay tuned for updates, pictures, and videos!

Back in Nairobi

First day back in Nairobi. Walked onto a soccer field to see 50 kids, from all over Kibera, who showed up early on a Saturday morning to jump rope. The trainers here are running sessions six days a week, with regular attendance from the entire group. It took me about 15 minutes to stop smiling.

Last day in Moshi for a while...

Last day in Moshi before heading up to Nairobi. Zee, Leps, and Keo...I don't think I can thank you enough for all you did for these kids here. I'll try to post a video sometime in the next few days. Tanzania anaruka!

Can Frida break the East African 30 second speed record?

Just finished a visit to Morogoro, stopped in Dar for the day, and heading to Iringa tomorrow. Can Frida break the East African 30 second speed record of 64? Count on it. Check back soon for new pictures and updates.

Amisi and Athumani

Three days into teaching in Dar es Salaam. In addition to the T.J., E.K., Inverse T.J., E.B. T.J., Sideswing Quad, and Toad to Frog, Amisi is doing skills I've never shown him before. He's figuring out how the rope moves, how skills link from one to the next. Athumani has taught so many of the younger kids in Dar.

グリーンファイタ - 100

Green fighters - 100

The new issue of Sotokoto ( ソトコト ) Magazine just arrived in Ohio. Sotokoto is a lifestyle magazine for the urban dweller of Japan, and focuses on health, environmental, educational and social issues. The special May edition outlines the work of 100 "Green Fighters." I am honored to be among them.

It is an awesome group. Featured green fighters include Paul Watson and the entire Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, whose mission it is to protect the whales, porpoises, seals and other sea life of the oceans through direct action and intervention (see cover at left).

Among the green fighters for Africa are Feliciano dos Santos, who has dedicated his life and his music to campaigning for better public health through clean water and adequate sanitation in Mozambique; Eveline Aendekerk, managing director of dance4life, which advances skills for survival and AIDS/HIV awareness across Africa; Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder of Conservation through Public Health, which seeks to prevent spread of disease between human and gorilla populations in Uganda; and Muuewa Chikanba, founder of Zambikes, inexpensive locally made bikes in Zambia.

Other global greenfighters include an ecologist promoting the understanding of biodiversity through the popular media, women who advocate environmentally friendly environmental publications, local food businesses which connect students and the elderly, the publisher of a journal for the full-figured woman advancing in the business world, and social entrepreneurs who bring clean safe water to remote villages.

Many who have risen to the top of the world of government and business are among the "Green Fighters 100" for 2010, through their commitment to humanity and the environment. I noticed Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren Buffet and Jeff Skoll, former president of eBay, and founder of the Skoll Foundation.

I feel honored to be part of this group.

New Single Rope Speed Record

The single rope speed record for East Africa, which has stood at 60 for the past month, has been broken. Last Saturday, 11-year old Constance from Kibera reached a score of 64 right-footed jumps in 30 seconds. That's 128 total jumps. With a licorice rope. With one mistake. At the end of a 3 hour training session.

I leave for Moshi today. It's been an amazing month here in Kibera, and I wish I could stay longer, but I'm excited to see all of the kids from Mkombozi, Amani, and Tunahaki. I'll spend the next three days in Moshi, return to Nairobi, then head to Mombasa for a few days. Check back for videos soon!

Amisi at Dogodogo Centre in Dar

Amisi is a jump rope student in the Dogodogo Centre in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. When I returned to Dar after my first visit in January, 2009, I started to wonder if there was anything Amisi and Athumani could't do with practice. Not only had they mastered the skills I taught them during my first visit, but they had created new combinations, and taught the basic skills to other kids at the Centre.

Will Futch and Greg Sronce in Kibera

Special thanks to Will Futch and Greg Sronce for all of their help the past couple of weeks in Kibera. They took many excellent photos and helped teach many of the kids here. some of his photos here:

Photos from Kibera

They both left Monday afternoon for Dubai. Asante sana, marafiki!See

Kibera

I just finished up at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa. It was great watching the kids progress during my time there. Many of them have put together some really nice crossing combinations, a few can do the pushup, and some have mastered complex wraps and rope releases. A small group of residential students are now training during their 6 a.m. exercise sessions.

One of the Academy students shattered the 30-second speed record set in Tanzania. It now stands at 60, making him the fastest speed jumper in East Africa. He's 9 years old.

I arrived in Nairobi last night, where I will be teaching with Carolina for Kibera (CFK). CFK was founded by Salim Mohamed, the late Tabitha Festo, and Rye Barcott, an MBA from Harvard. Here is a video of Rye with staff members in Kibera that will give you an idea of the challenges faced.

Thank you for all of your continued support. It means so much to these kids.

Amani,

Mike

Saltare!

Six very good friends of mine are competing for the title of America's Best Dance Crew on MTV. Saltare (Latin for "jump") is comprised of team members Lee Reisig, Brittany Fortier, Lisa Brown, Billy Jackson, Chaz Robinson, and Tyler Perez. Read more about Saltare here:

Saltare

These are some of the top jumpers from the U.S., and they will do a great job representing the sport in a new arena of competition. Tune in each Thursday at 10 PM ET/PT. Congratulations, and good luck!

Back in Mombasa

After a few short stops in Tanzania (Tanga, Morogoro, and Dar es Salaam), I headed to the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa for my first round of teaching in Kenya.

A teacher conference was held here in last weekend. Teachers flew in from around the world, including the United States, Switzerland, Zambia, and Qatar. One teacher uploaded this video earlier in the week:

Here is what he said: "This was an informal demonstration given by Michael Fry on January 29, 2010, at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, Kenya, for a group of teachers attending a workshop there. Michael is spending the year in Tanzania and Kenya promoting jump-roping as a competitive sport. Here he explains what it involves and his hopes for the future development of the sport, and demonstrates some of the skills involved. For more information about his project go to: http://www.oneworldonerope.org/. "

There is some serious talent here. Look for more updates soon.

跳绳的超人们

"Superhuman Rope Skipping"

Don't miss an article in China's "University Students" magazine about teaching jump rope in East Africa.

Very special thanks to all of you who contributed jump ropes for the project.

Click here to read: 跳绳的超人们

Documenting the Decade

The New York Times has a great feature, "Documenting the Decade." Among the many wonderful photos from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2009, is a picture of the kids of Ummu Salama learning to jump rope.


You can see many great pics in the Times photo essay, starting from the link above, or: Here!