Tokyo 2020 Olympics Notebook - Day 12
Jane Wacu autographs a Kenyan flag for Citizen TV journalist Mike Okinyi at Team Kenya’s training session at the Shiohama Civic Gym July 22, 2021.
What you need to know:
- At 36, Jane Wacu is one of the most experienced players on the Malkia Strikers roster.
- The Kenya Prisons Service sergeant has travelled widely, enjoying a sport she started off playing in Nyeri County and, for many years, has been the poster girl of Kenyan volleyball.
In Tokyo
Italian journalist’s grasp of Kiswahili impeccable
*****
One thing I maintain is to never talk ill of anyone. Especially a foreigner close by, assuming he or she won’t understand your language. Well, that virtue came in handy at the Swimming media centre on Thursday where I engaged a colleague in Kiswahili on various aspects of the Olympics.
Just as we took our leave, one of two Italian journalists seated next to us rose in greeting: “Habari! Nyinyi mnafanya kazi gazeti gani?" It was just as well we hadn’t made them the subject of our discussion! Giorgio Scala, the Chief Photographer at Italy’s swimming-specific Deep Blue Media has lived in east Africa for over 10 years and speaks fluent Kiswahili.
Giorgio Scala, the Chief Photographer at Italy’s swimming-specific Deep Blue Media has lived in east Africa for over 10 years and speaks fluent Kiswahili.
Veteran Wacu does it ‘for God and for country’
*****
At 36, Jane Wacu is one of the most experienced players on the Malkia Strikers roster. The Kenya Prisons Service sergeant has travelled widely, enjoying a sport she started off playing in Nyeri County and, for many years, has been the poster girl of Kenyan volleyball.
At Team Kenya’s training session at the Shiohama Civic Gym Thursday night, she surprised Citizen TV journalist Mike Okinyi by autographing a Kenyan flag for him.
"For God and for Kenya,” she wrote, promising to help the national women’s volleyball team pull off a major upset at these Games.
