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CRYCHESS - (Nov-28-2009)
136 kids play CRYchess 2009


The Friends of CRY Club (FOCC), Kuwait staged their fifth annual full day event "CRYchess 2009" on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009 at the Indian English Academy School (IEAS), Salmiya. The 136 participants divided into five age based groups played in the Swiss pairing format and 16 winners walked away with the Trophies. All participants received certificates and medals from Child Rights & You (CRY).

At the onset, FOCC officials welcomed the children and parents, followed by a briefing and introduction of  FOCC, CRY and the issues related to children in India.   A powerpoint presentation on MAS (Manav Ashrita Sansthan) by Capt. Pawan Chaudhry drew the attention of the enthusiastic parents and children alike. MAS is the NGO allocated to FOCC by CRY, which supports upliftment of children and women in twenty two villages in remote tribal areas of Udaipur in Rajasthan state.
 
Rev. Fr. Tony D'Souza, Director of IEAS (Don Bosco), inaugurated the tournament and wished success to all participants. Thereafter the competitors sat down for the grueling session of games. The technical persons in charge and arbitrators were highly impressed with the standard of the games and were in full praise for the skills displayed by the children.  The games that were held simultaneously in five  classrooms were monitored centrally and results and rankings were on display on wide screen for the large number of parents and well wishers who were keeping an eye on the progress of their young stars diligently.

The following is the list of winners, group-wise:
Group - White Opal:
Ist Place - Fawaz Mohammed
2nd Place - Kevin Biju Mathew
3rd Place - Rhibhu Gupta

Group - Yellow Topaz:
1st Place - Santosh K.
2nd Place - Aditya Sudhakaran
3rd Place - Ram Narayanan

Group - Blue Sapphire:
Ist Place - Arunachalam Neethi
2nd Place - Astrid Jerald
3rd Place - Marcus Chew
Special mention : Krishna Neethi

Group - Green Emerald:
Ist Place - Naga Omkar R
2nd Place - Kean Alric Fernandes
3rd Place - Prasanna Kethireddy

Group - Red Ruby:
Ist Place - Someishwar Thamaraiselvan
2nd Place - Isaac Abheek
3rd Place - Swamy Varun

:: CRYCHESS 2009 (Nov.-28-2009) Click thumbnails for larger view

The incessant rainfall did not dampen the spirits. The pleasant weather indoors provided the right ambience for the games. The game stalls and the cheering enthusiastic parents relieved the kids of the pressure and prepared them for the next battle. The sponsors for the tournament were DNV, Kuwait Swedish General Trading & Contracting Co., Al Yasra Food Co., Siemens, and Western Union, who supported the FOCC's Chess Tournament. Besides chess, FOCC also had the traditional stalls to keep the parents and children busy during breaks. 'Buy for CRY' did brisk sales of books and toys while the "Kids Corner" run by the kids "CRYbuddies" was buzzling with activity throughout. FOCC endeavour to spread awareness among children in Kuwait of the rights of their less fortunate brethren in the developing world, especially back home. All players were encouraged to participate in the struggle to establish a better world for children in need. The same message is carried in CRYcket , which is a popular activity staged annually and open to all children under 14 in Kuwait and next year it is tentatively planned to be held on April the 26th, 2010. The third activity of FOCC 'Brain Bang' - the accelerated learning course for children runs throughout the year.

The chief guest Mr. V.K. Mahajan, the First Secretary, Embassy of India was welcomed by the children with floral bouquets. In his speech he congratulated the winners, all participating children and the organizers, FOCC, for the initiative to focus on the plight of the underpriviledged children in India. The presentation ceremony winded up with words of encouragement for the participating children and a big thanks to all.

FOCC expresses its proud appreciation to the parents, schools principals and management, and all supporters who have contributed and have encouraged their wards/students. Over 30 persons took associate memberships of FOCC on the same day to support MAS and this is an encouraging sign. More pictures and activities can be viewed at www.focckwt.org FOCC looks forward to more volunteers and support from the Indian community.

To know more about how you may be able to contribute your time and talent for the benefit of the youngsters email focckwt@yahoo.com or visit www.focckwt.org - Let’s all individually try to bring a smile to a child, collectively we will assist the less fortunate ones to grow up and shine in our society amongst our midst. With CRY, everybody wins.