Jungle Crows Adventure in New Zealand

by Nanda Lal Majhi and Sarfaraz ‘Tiger’ Ahmed

The Jungle Crows Foundation (JCF) has played host to students and teachers from Auckland Grammar School three times over the last six years or so. See a post on their last visit to Kolkata here on KheloKhelo.

This year the tables were turned and two Jungle Crows got the chance of a lifetime to spend four weeks in Auckland. Khelo Rugby Community Coaches Nanda and Tiger tell their story.

Tiger and Nanda Ready to Fly

Nanda: I was very nervous to get on a flight; it was a new country and new people I did not know what to expect. I was happy I knew Ben Skeen our host from his past visits to Kolkata. I think I had packed half the clothes in Kolkata because everyone told me it’s so cold in New Zealand and for sure it was cold for me. I think the moment I stepped out of the plane and the cold air hit my face I took a step back in the plane, lucky Tiger was there to push me back into the ‘Ice Age’. Ben picked us up from the airport and we drove in his car. At times looking out of the window I thought what kind of land is this, I had never seen such a beautiful place full of green nature, it did remind me of the Kolkata Maidan in the rainy seasons where my club the Kolkata Jungle Crows practice.

Tiger: We got on the flight from Kolkata and had our transit in Singapore where we met a Sri Lankan guy who told us that we should not take anything like food, plants or even dirt to New Zealand, not even the mud on our shoe soles. I remembered that years ago Virender Shewag from the Indian Cricket Team had been stopped at the Auckland Airport in New Zealand for dirty shoes. So you can imagine what me and Nanda ended up doing…yes we were in the Singapore airport toilet cleaning our shoes and the people around us thought that we have gone mad. We’re laughing now when we talk about it, but in that toilet ready to get on the plane we had a real panic.

Day 2: NZ v Aus

Nanda: I didn’t understand everything in New Zealand and one of the funniest things which happened with me was when I was at Ben’s home and tried to turn of the light in front of the Garage one day before going to bed. I think I pushed every switch in the house to turn the light off but it would not turn off. And every time I moved away from the light after some time it would turn off by itself but then as I moved closer to it, it would automatically turn on. This carried on for a good ten minutes until I realized it must be some sort of motion sensing system and unable to defeat it, and a bit confused I went to bed.

Tiger: We spent most of our time at the incredible Auckland Grammar School. We were just amazed by the schools educational facilities and even more by the sporting facilities. In total twenty eight sports are being played in the school and the children had the full right to choose any sport they want to play. Mr Tim O’Connor the school Principal was such a down to earth guy….one day we saw him picking up the garbage left over by the children. It showed that everyone was equal and what mattered was the school and not the position.

Nanda, Tana, Tiger

Nanda: We were so lucky to be spending time with the boys who had travelled to Kolkata and their families, they were so kind to us. We had such a good time with each family and they really took care of us. I would really like to visit them again one day, it will be nice. I loved how all places in New Zealand are like small villages it reminded me of my village. My village has only four thousand people in it and the funny thing is I am the only one who has a passport. When I got back I showed them the pictures of Auckland and they were so curious.

Tiger: One of the biggest reasons I am in love with New Zealand and would like to visit again if I get the opportunity is how people look at sport and specially Rugby. I have been lucky to also visit England but it was different in New Zealand it felt like Rugby was not only a sport it was a part of life. I hope one day we get to make it something like this in my city of Kolkata.

Nanda:  We moved to live with different families every 4-5 days and our stays with all the families will be one of the most memorable parts of our trip. We had such a wonderful time and every family and its members made us feel at home and took really good care of us. We visited so many places with them and got to do so many different things like going for fishing, getting to drive a boat, going to the All Black vs Australia match, meeting Tana Umanga – “VERY SPECIAL”, skiing in snow planet, going up Sky Tower, caves visit, playing football with the boys who had visited Kolkata and the list goes on. We will always remember them and keep these wonderful memories in our heart.

Nanda and Tiger: Our experience has been such a positive one. We have learnt so much which we will use in our work with the Khelo Rugby children and share with the people we work with and we know they will pick up so much positive from it. We have so many new ideas for our Crows Academy and our Khelo Rugby children. Just how everything is managed in Auckland Grammar, all the sports and academics working together is really special to see. And how all the boys and teachers get on and respect each other is very different to here in India and we liked this friendly but respectful attitude everyone has.

We would again like to thank Auckland Grammar School, its staff and children for welcoming us. We would also like to thank the families for letting us experience a bit of Kiwi family life which is great, the boys were just fantastic and last but not the least from all the Jungle Crows family here in India a really special thanks to Ben Skeen for all the hard work and support he put in to making the trip happen.  We will be waiting with open arms for the next group of boys and teachers to come visit our City of Joy Kolkata.

Both Nanda and Tiger come from difficult backgrounds, Tiger left school when he was ten years old because of a fight in school. He started to work and abandoned his home for one and half years, his relationship especially with his Father was always a bitter one. On the other hand Nanda had a stable upbringing but the financial condition of his family meant he would not have much opportunity to play any sport or let alone travel to a country like New Zealand. He left school at the age of twelve to work as a paper box maker to pack biscuits. After joining the crows and getting jobs as part of the Foundation’s Khelo Rugby programme they both now have their families respecting them for who they are and have become respected within their communities. Both Nanda and Tiger have played 7’s Rugby  for India. Both are also now looking to work out how they get back into education.

#TryForPeace – What’s Peace All About?

by Paul Walsh

In 2013 we took part in our first ever Global Peace Games, we really enjoyed the experience. It was great that the children from Khelo Rugby in Calcutta were able to share an experience – virtually at least – with children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. You can read about this on the blog we published then: Scoring A Try For Peace.

For this years event we wanted to make the experience more relevant for the children. While the UN Manifesto for Peace is spot on in terms of what it says we thought we needed to try to bring it down to a level the children could better relate to. This is the Manifesto of Peace:

RESPECT ALL LIFE
REJECT ALL VIOLENCE
SHARE WITH OTHERS
LISTEN TO UNDERSTAND
PRESERVE THE PLANET
CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITY

As I said it is all good stuff, but we were keen to make our message of Peace a bit more understandable for the children we work with. One cute little resource we found on the web was this poster:

We were able to build our work around the messages in this and really relate it to the children’s own experiences and importantly the experiences of the Coaches also – since it was the Coaches who were going to have to discuss Peace with their children.

One of the things that came out of this were some touching stories from the Coaches about how the message of peace was interpreted and made much more relevant for the children. Here are a couple of the stories:

Coach Ajay: “This was the first tournament the children of Chingrighatta had played in, they are a new Khelo Rugby community a little away from most of the others. On the day of the tournament the children all pleaded with me that they be allowed to play as their own team. We’d agreed in the run-up to the tournament that we would mix all the children up on the day so they got the chance to play with and make new friends. I think the Chingrighata children were a bit nervous about this and really didn’t like the idea at all. Reluctantly they split up and all joined a different team. And how they enjoyed it! At the end they all came running over to me and said what a great time they’d had, how they had made new friends, how they had played better than they had ever played before and when was the next tournament! I was so happy with this and explained that this was what peace was all about, we needed to spend time with other people, share experiences with them like playing together so we weren’t afraid of others and could all be good friends. This made me very happy.”

Coach Ajay

Coach Lovepreet: “One of the children from my Behala Khelo community, he was in the team that won the Bowl trophy on the day. Since all the children were mixed up we knew some children would be sad not to be able to take the trophies home. And this boy, who is a good player and has played in tournaments before was determined to hold onto the trophy and to take it home. One small girl from the Kolkata Port Trust Colony, I could see she was looking at the trophy and really wanted to hold it. It was the first time she had ever played, so it was extra special that she had been on a winning team. I asked the Behala boy, ‘How many tournaments have you played?’, ‘How good is it to have the trophy?’ He looked a bit shy and then I said, ‘Imagine you were playing in your first tournament and you were able to take a trophy home to your family?’ and pointed out the girl standing nearby. Quick as a flash he got my idea and walked over to the girl and handed her the trophy, telling her to take it back to show her family. Both of them were smiling from ear to ear and I thought, yes this is real peace when we show each other respect, share and can make a small sacrifice to support and encourage another.”

Coach Lovepreet

It would be great to hear from others with experience of working with children through sports and addressing ‘Big Ticket’ issues like Peace. I think we have really learnt a lot from our efforts this year and now better understand how important it is to make issues connect to the children we are working with. We know we engage with our children really well through our great sport of rugby, so we have their attention, just we also need to make our social messages as connecting and engaging.

We now await our next Khelo Rugby event in Pakistan in the Fort Abbas community with the Desert Camel’s very own Wazeeri in charge. One day soon we hope our Khelo children will not only get to look at their friends in other countries through a screen but be able to play together and learn a whole lot more.

All the photos of the day’s action – the children had a great time – can be seen on our Khelo Rugby Facebook Page and please do give it a ‘LIKE’ so you always know what is happening.

#TryForPeace

Special thanks to:

• Global Rugby Collaborative for their super work in marking World Peace Day and getting us all involved.
• Play Soccer who inspired us to first get involved in the Global Peace Games.

#TryForPeace – Action from the Final

My First Month With the Jungle Crows Foundation

by Shreyas Rao

Sports has been increasingly recognized at various platforms as an effective medium to deliver development programs for children, especially those coming from poor and vulnerable communities. Several sports based programs have mushroomed across the world, especially in the last decade, giving rise to a “Sport for Development” sector in itself. The universal nature of sports has enabled organizations that deliver the programs to collaborate and grow at a relatively faster rate, breaking through cultural boundaries and crossing borders in the process. With innumerable economic and political challenges standing in the way of millions of children across the world to have access to health, education and opportunities to grow to their full potential, sport provides a medium to both engage and support them.

Though I was convinced about sports being an effective development tool quite early into my post graduation at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, I slowly became more curious about the possible reasons that may be behind it. I spent a good part of my second year in College trying to explore the social and political manifestations of sports in various parts of the world, starting from its origins to its present state. Through my endeavors, I have realized that sports can be a great satire for the inherent contradictions and inequality in the world. Much of what is possible through sports today is controlled by institutions affiliated to the nation state and private corporations. Yet within its limitations, it provides for interesting interactions and renewed questioning of social relations. A play space can be made into a space for dialogue and emancipation. Since a sport evolves from the act of play which is a universal intrinsic human tendency, it provides an opportunity to connect people across the world in interesting ways and re-shape cultural identities. My own personal experiences at various places like Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Nagaland and even Finland have re-entrenched many of my beliefs. Though my exploration of sports is an on-going process, it is one that has led me to be a part of the Jungle Crows foundation as one of the program managers for Khelo Rugby.

Coach Tiger and the Khelo Rugby children of the Brooklyn Community

I first came to know of the foundation through a blog I happened to read on the internet. I then met the Founder of the Jungle Crows Paul Walsh, the Khelo Rugby Founder Zaffar Khan and the Head Coach of Khelo Rugby, Nanda Majhi at a conference in Delhi where I had expressed my interest to work with them in the future. With further communication, I landed with the job and I now feel very grateful for being given the opportunity where I have a lot to learn. Amongst many other things, I am glad that I have a boss who does not take the word change lightly. In recent times, “social change” has become the most exploited, over-used, over-burdened phrase with people using it for their most trivial of endeavors. In that sense, one of the first observations I made was that Paul preferred a deeper and longer engagement with the players involved with the Jungle Crows rather than a wild fascination for spreading and scaling. Though such an approach has its pros and cons, it prevents the annihilation of subjectivity from development programs and I personally feel that is important.

Most of my first month in the organization, which started from the beginning of October, has been about getting acclimatized to my new environment. Since it is both a new city and new work culture, it has taken me more time than expected to settle into the scheme of things. Having said that, I think it’s an exciting time to be at the organization as it itself is in a state of transition. The new office that we have recently shifted to provides both the physical space and opportunity to enhance the programs that are in place. The unique part of my job is that it involves stints at the playgrounds at least thrice a week and mostly has work on the weekends. I have already gotten the opportunity to visit few of the communities and I intend to visit all the communities and schools that we work at in Kolkata – more than 15 of them. I also got a chance to visit Saraswatipur at Siliguri district where the Khelo Rugby initiative reaches out to hundreds of children of tea estate workers. It was pleasing to see how the sport had reached even to such remote areas. The playgrounds there have provided an entry point into the struggles and dreams of the children and I believe, it can set forth further development initiatives for both the individuals and the community. What was more pleasing was the dedication of the coaches to go all the way to provide children the opportunity to play and learn, an opportunity they had once received back in the day. This sort of system has a lot of potential in future to reach out to more such remote communities and engage with their struggle.

Saraswatipur – hope to be spending more time here

The road ahead seems to be paved with a lot of challenges both personally and professionally. On a personal note, I have the chance to get physically fit and learn a new game from the very boys whom I have been entrusted with managing and training. So the learning happens both ways. It is also an acid test for me to come to terms with all the theory that I have been exposed to in the classrooms. I have already noticed that the people who are a part of the organization cut across caste, class, tribe, religion, nationality and gender. It puts me in a situation where I have to be a willing learner from their skills and experiences and become their team-mate. It is a big deviation from my initial interest in pursuing research as it requires me to act rather than experience and ponder. I believe this will give me a great opportunity to get exposed to the ground realities of sport and sport institutions.

Coach Deep with more of the Brooklyn Children

Professionally, I believe that an initiative like Khelo Rugby has huge potential to grow and it would be a pleasure to manage it. My initial assignment would be enhancing the curriculum so that we have a separate program for those who are Under-12 and those above. I am also to develop modules to engage the Young Leaders (those in the age-group of 16-20), and further develop training for the coaches, who are mostly players of the academy in the age group of 18 and 24. The idea would be to equip the children who go through our program with sufficient skills and confidence to fulfill their potential and create their own careers. I am to bring some form of structure into this process such that it continues on its own beyond a point. I would also like to work on a deeper involvement with the communities, especially Saraswatipur, by collaborating and developing projects to cater to the overall needs of people.

While at it, I intend to ensure that the program scales and reaches new places so that the Khelo coaches get new opportunities on a regular basis. I have already started documenting some of the work through reports, pictures and videos and going forward, I believe that we will be able to use it to present our work in a much better way. Having already developed a huge network over the last couple of years during my study at TISS, I hope to tap into them to develop this program to its maximum potential. In that sense, I am open to collaborate and learn from anybody who is interested to contribute.

Last but not the least I have been asked if I am into Social Work? Well, I haven’t really understood either the meaning or the purpose of that yet, but it seems to me, that by virtue of being born into a society we are all social workers aren’t we?

Khelo Rugby has Landed in India’s Garden City of Bangalore

By Zaffar Khan

Khelo Rugby and the idea of it being in Bangalore, well, when it was suggested to me my only thoughts were that it’s a big city and should we be taking Khelo Rugby there? (I’ve now been here since October!) South India according to research has the highest literacy rates and the best level of employment in India. Every time I’d heard any news about Bangalore it would be for some kind of marathon run happening or some multi-national company opening their new office in the city. It just did not come across as a city where the idea and the fundamentals of Khelo would fall into place. Keeping that in mind India always surprises everyone, even its own children and it turns out that Bangalore is just like any other city in India (while of course being totally unique also) though it seems one of the differences is the media and people on social media show less of the disadvantaged side of society here. The first time I was in Bangalore was eight years back for a Rugby 7’s tour with the West Bengal state team. I then remember the empty roads, green atmosphere and clean air and most important the roads which did not have much traffic on them.

My First Monday late afternoon in Bangalore

Talking about traffic I now live in Sarjapur, almost on the outskirts of the city. To cover a distance of eighteen kilometers in Kolkata it usually takes me more or less one and half hour. I had the first experience of Bangalore traffic, when on my second day I promised my friend that I would meet him at MG Road in two hours max on a Monday evening, I soon realized I was sitting in the bus for the past  three hours and we had not even reached half way. I soon told myself that this is not going to work and I should stop promising people. Well untill I got used to the traffic timings. I have got a cycle now and I make it to MG Road in less than ninety minutes. My greatest achievement in the past one month has been beating a brand new red mini cooper on a fifteen kilometer race #BangaloreTrafficZindabad (#longlive Bangalore traffic).

With Khelo Rugby our aim is not to just photocopy the project to new places like Bangalore, but to learn from where we have had success like Kolkata. In Kolkata #Nanda #Hari and the gang have done a great job so we need to look at those good things but also see what works elsewhere. So we try to learn from Siliguri where #Amirul and #Sanu have done fantastic ground breaking work, Pakistan where #MuzamilWazeeri keeps raising the bar for all of us – all the time, and other places where we are using sport to be more than just a part of the pitch. We’re learning again now from Sarjapur, Bangalore. Sarjapur is a rapidly growing area which has many government schools, which are often lagging way behind. For example I had a conversation with the Sapthagiri School Principal where we have recently started to work and she said, “our school and neighboring schools in Sarjapur had lots more children a few years back but children are now dropping out of school and we do not know how to control that. I think it is because Bangalore is developing and people are finding easy low money jobs and children tend to just drift into the money making business. I think it’s not a good idea to leave education without completing it”

Khelo Rugby Day @ Sapthagiri School

We have often faced issues like “school dropouts” in the Khelo communities we work with, particularly in Kolkata. Our community coaches who work with these communities are able to discuss this with children and often have experienced first hand the same pressures. We speak to the children who are going through a rough phase to help them understand the importance of education, being a big sister or brother able to listen, understand and guide. I personally was a school dropout, when I did not do well in my class seven school exams but I am happy I had a family who pushed me and encouraged me to get back into education and I am eternally grateful to them.

I call it the “Little School”

At the moment in Bangalore we are focussing on the government schools who we can really support . The idea behind working with government schools is that most of the time they do not get attention or opportunity in terms of sport and outside opportunities. Our aim during 2015 is to have over one thousand kids playing rugby every week in Bangalore. We will also start to implement workshops on health and hygiene, carry out sports development in government schools, tell them about our own child protection policies and keep a close eye on every child we work with so that he or she can achieve what they deserve. This is just the start but already we are working with over 180 children every week.

I have also managed set up a “Brothers and Priests” team just to keep us safe from the evil eye ;-) – a longer story for another day!

St. Patrick School Brothers and Priest Touch Rugby Team

As always we are always looking for people who are interested in coaching children and are eager to make a difference to the communities they live in. You do not have to be a rugby coach to be part of the process, if you can bring smiles to the faces of the children or keep them busy in something creative and interesting you are the right person for the job. Please do get in touch with us through our Khelo Rugby facebook page or through the email address: info@junglecrows.org.

Keep Smiling….Be Happy….Play Rugby

Khelo Rugby takes the Oval Ball to Rajasthan

As told to Shreyas Rao

The Khelo Rugby team was recently invited by the Jaipur Bulls team to conduct a 5 day training program for children playing with them in Rajasthan. This came as a great opportunity for us to go into a new location and teach the game to new people. Two of our Khelo Rugby Coaches namely Nanda Majhi and Ajay Balmiki and two of our young Jungle Crows stars Sabirul Peada and Amit Pandey jumped on the train in Kolkata to travel to Jaipur to conduct the training.

Ajay – Sabirul – Amit

The training sessions were divided into 2 segments – a morning session for the seniors who were getting ready to play the National Games qualifiers and evening sessions for the under- 12s. 100 children took part from two different communities and were taught tag-rugby. On the last day of the training camp a tournament was organized by the Jaipur Bulls under the supervision of Nanda and Ajay which had 10 teams of Under-12s. It was a great experience for everybody involved, especially the children who all loved having the the chance to learn a new game.

From the Coaches:-

Coach Nanda

Coach Nanda: The senior Jaipur Bulls players involved were very sincere and genuinely happy to learn. They also showed a keen interest to implement the Khelo Rugby in about 4-5 communities.  They said that they will also aim to go to the schools. The response was very good and enthusiastic from the children too. They were coming from all over and a long way to play every day.  I think that Jungle Crows can grow more with tie ups like this. And in the end, the icing on the cake was that the team I coached won the tournament!

Coach Ajay:  Initially the children that we began coaching did not know any tag rugby and they were only tackling, but the ground was very bad. We had to teach them from the basics. However, they improved a lot because they we were talking a lot to each other and were respecting each other. In the end of our sessions, they used to lift the coaches with joy! Each day a few more girls joined in as well which was good, and the number increased from 2 to 6 to more than 10 in the end.  As we were leaving on the last day, many of the children were crying which made us feel sad and happy. This was my first experience with communities outside and though language was a bit of an issue, it was a great experience.

#KheloKhelo

Coach Sabirul: This was second time I went for coaching outside of Kolkata after my experience with Mirik. On the first day I was quite nervous but when I met the seniors, I felt better. The children were all nice. The first day it rained and all the children ran away but the next day onwards it went fine. On the funny side, I got mixed up with my language and kept giving instructions in Bengali very often! This experience has given me more confidence and I hope to be able to go to more new communities. 

Duke of Edinburgh Gold Team from Scotland in India

by Rory Higginson

Starting line-up: Nanda (host), Anna, Hugo, Lauren, Pedro, Sophie, Rory, DP (host)

As the plane touched down I started to get anxious. What was I doing bringing my Fettes team mates all the way to Kolkata in India to a place almost the polar opposite to where we are all living? Would they appreciate the hot, hot weather, the chaotic travel, the dusty, dirty streets or the food?  None of them had done anything like this before and I was now worried this was going to be a disaster.  However 45 minutes later, after we collected our luggage and left the arrivals and were met by a smiling Paul and Hari who would be our companions for the week and DP our driver, who even gave me a hug I knew it would be OK.

We immediately went to our guest house and dumped our stuff before heading to lunch with Tiger and Ajay – our introduction to food in Kolkata was hot and spicy Chinese.

In the afternoon the Jungle Crows under 18 team were playing the rest of the Jungle Crows in a practice match before the U18 all India tournament the following week. Pedro and I took the opportunity to join the training and play with the team. I almost lasted the first half, but totally shattered from the journey and the heat, with the sweat streaming from my head into my eyes, hardly able to see what was going on I made the earlier exit. Pedro, from Hong Kong was more used to the heat and he managed all of the first half. It’s a great experience playing with the team as they are so enthuastic and although we were so much bigger in height and body mass they were not afraid to tackle and came straight for us, and my goodness they are fast…so fast. We wished them all the best in the All India Tournament.

After a quick sleep we headed out to dinner. DP our driver met us at the guest house and walked us to the New Market – the market is so very old so we don’t know why it is called new. See the pictures we found here, this is how it looked in 1945.  Think this was quite a surprise for everyone as it was so busy and there was so much to see.

Dinner was great, somehow we had managed to get a table in the coolest restaurant in Kolkata – 1658  …….we all enjoyed the food which was a mix of Indian, European and Asian so something for all.  After dinner DP met us to take us back to the guest house and although DP’s plan was to make two journeys we persuaded him otherwise and all 6 of us squashed in for the 5 minute journey.

We all crashed after such an eventful and enjoyable first day but excited about what the week would bring. Some of the highlights included………..

Working With The Children

Sunday there was no resting as we were met at 8am and headed out with all the stuff we had brought with us to our first training session at Salt Lake Dhapa. When we got there it was obvious that the Khelo coaches had been here often as the children were very familiar and treated us all as good friends. They knew the games and were skilled. They loved our hula hoops, as this was new and fun.  There was quite a crowd of children so we split them into three groups with Lauren, Anna and Sophie coaching the younger group and Hugo, Pedro and I coaching the older groups.

Over the rest of the week we went to Brooklyn, Siliguri, Howrah, each Khelo Community was completely different but all had expectant children eager to meet us, be coached and have some fun. When we found something they were good at they just didn’t want to stop and loved the positive praise.

Night Train to Siliguri

That night we were getting the night train to Siliguri and we had been told we had a luxury coach. We had also been warned to sleep on our possessions and not to go to the toilet alone so it was with some trepidation that we boarded the train. Our luxury coach was interesting – it was a compartment with two sets of triple bunk beds separated by a table. The compartment had no door so as people walked down the corridor they could look in. However, it was luxurious as it did have a fan!!

It was a new experience for all of us and we had lots of fun but not that much sleep.

The Elephant

Meeting an elephant was a totally unplanned experience – when we were up in the village of Saraswatipur we could see an elephant in the distance. When the locals saw our surprise at seeing it one of the them brought it over to us. Seemingly it lived outside the village in the forest. For most of us it was the first time we had seen a wild elephant –  it was furry (a surprise) and very friendly and obviously used to people as it would play with our hair and legs with its trunk.  The girls got to ride it and it was very photogenic as we all got to take photos with it.

The Sun Rising on the Himalayas

We visited Darjeeling on our way home from Siliguri and Paul and Hari asked us to get up at 4am for a special trip – we did and made a journey up a rocky, sketchy road to the top of a hill where there was a lodge. We stood on the balcony with lots of other locals waiting to see the sun rise on Everest. It was really cold – a surprise as I was in my shorts! As we had just been boiling in Darjeeling. Despite our poor choice of clothing and although we didn’t see Everest we did see the most breath-taking sunrise over the Himalayas. Well worth the early morning trip and when the sun came up it was a lot warmer :-)

Diwali

We were lucky enough to be in Kolkata during Diwali which is the five-day festival of lights, celebrated by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world. The festival, which coincides with the Hindu New Year, celebrates new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. Christophe who runs Terra Indica works with Calcutta’s street children, providing them access to education and vocational training in woodwork and carpentry, many of them also play rugby with the Jungle Crows. Terra Indica has the most amazing roof terrace looking over all of Kolkata and Christophe was persuaded to have a party – we all dressed for the occasion. The roof was all lit by candles and we had fireworks. We also had great Indian music and were taught how to dance – not sure we were much good at it but we did have fun.

Painting the Jungle Crows Nest

The organisation that manages the Jungle Crows and Maidan Hazards rugby teams and supports all the Khelo programs is called the Jungle Crows Foundation and they had just moved into new offices which were on the top floor of a school. The school didn’t use the top floor as it was so run down and they didn’t have enough teachers for so many classrooms. It is a great facility for the Jungle Crows as it not only gives some office space but also can provide some accommodation for the Khelo coaches and any visitors. It also has shower and kitchen facilities. When we were in town they had the official opening and we helped prepare for it by painting the school yard and outside walls to make it more welcoming for visitors and kids.

Outside the school is a field so some of the training can take place here and on the open day we had about 100 kids turn up to play sport – we had brought some hula hoops and play tunnels with us from the UK and the kids loved them.

We had such a fantastic trip and felt we really had made a difference and had learnt a lot about ourselves. Our hosts Paul and Hari who coordinated our whole trip were absolutely fantastic and along with all the coaches gave us a really memorable experience that none of us will ever forget. Thanks to everyone!!!!

Hula Hoop Team!

Talking Rugby Futures with Akash and Puspendu

by Disha Musaddi

The Jungle Crows Foundation, through its unique open-for-all sport-for-development approach, has supported many children from disadvantaged communities over the years to express themselves through the medium of sports and reach their full potential. This interview series is an attempt to bring out the stories of several such young people associated with the Foundation. We aim to develop a platform for further discussion and dialogue on the theme of sports for development. In the first of the series, Disha Musaddi speaks to two young rugby players – Akash Balmiki (19 years old) and Puspendu Tudu (20 years old) about the experiences and opportunities that have come their way since joining the Jungle Crows and starting to play rugby.

Puspendu and Akash

So Puspendu, first of all, what’s the story behind your unique nick name ‘Commando’?

Puspendu: As a kid I used to play and jump a lot. One day I jumped from the second floor and climbed three floors from the pipe. On seeing this, my friends told me I should be called Commando or ‘fauji’. They eventually stuck to Commando and gradually everyone started calling me by that name.

For how many years have you boys been playing rugby?

Akash: I have been playing for the last 6 years, started sometime in 2008.

Puspendu: I started playing in 2004 when I was just 10 years old.

We’ve heard that, initially, you both have practiced and played a lot together; tell us about those days and how you both started playing?

Puspendu: At first, I wasn’t friends with Akash. We both belonged to different groups. Then gradually we became friends, then I asked him to join me in rugby, but he wasn’t interested. But when I got the chance to go to England one day to play, he was amazed to know about it and then decided to join me for practices. We would go for practices together…go everywhere together. If it rained, then the two of us would play in the maidan…sometimes only the two of us would be there.

Akash and Commando with the Jungle Crows U20s

Which position do you both play?

Akash: I play number 10, I personally feel it’s the best position ever. In this position the player has a lot to do and to think about. He has to take along all the players together.

Puspendu: Centre. It is an important position in the back, they are the ones who make the game.

How do you prepare for a match? 

Puspendu: One day before a match, we increase our water intake because we get cramp easily during a match and even tire easily. I then try my best to calm my mind and be at peace.

Akash: Before a match, I drink lots of water, focus on the game and listen to our coach, what he has to say.

Who is your inspiration, as far as rugby is concerned?

Akash: It’s Sailen Tudu. According to me, he’s the best player; he has taught me well about rugby…everything in life. He’s like a big brother to me.

Puspendu: It’s Sailen Tudu for me too. When I came to Calcutta the first time, I met him. We belong to the same village. There were only two people from my village those days, Tudu bhaiya and me… no one else. He taught me, sent me to school. Those days I used to only play, I didn’t have any knowledge about rugby. One day he took me to the Maidan and introduced me to Paul (Walsh) sir. Since then I’ve been going for training.

Comando makes a superb break to score: All India Rugby 2012

An advice given to you, which has helped you?

Puspendu: Respect is the most important thing for me. Respect the players and your coach. No matter how great you are, if you don’t respect your coach, you’re nothing.

Akash: Tudu bhaiya taught me to respect my position in the team, team mates, and coach. His advice is the most useful as he leads by example.

What about respecting the opponents?

Akash: Yes, we do respect them in the game. When they get injured during the game, we help them. Because at the end of the day, it’s just a game.

You both have gotten the chance to visit UK, how was your experience? Was it the best experience of your Rugby playing career so far? 

Puspendu: I never imagined I’d go to England… never thought I would get the chance to travel by plane. The first time I went on a plane and lived there, it was a very nice place. It’s a very clean, no dirt at all, the people were good… everything was amazing. From then on, I have never looked back and my Rugby playing has only improved. Recently I also got the chance to play for the India team and that for me is my big achievement.

Akash: I had just played my second game in La Martiniere school tournament, where I played well. Arijit Sirkar had asked me for my birth certificate and told me that I would go to UK, but I took it as a joke. My passport was made and Paul Sir came to my house to tell me about the verification. When I went to the station, the officer couldn’t believe that I am going to UK. He looked at me condescendingly and said, “this boy from the basthi will go to UK?”  My mother wasn’t happy with this decision; she was scared about who will take care of us and how will we manage. But, I really wanted to go and convinced her. It was the first time I was on the plane and that made me nervous, and Commando told me that the toilets in the plane are very small… that freaked me out more.  On reaching, we met Peter and Steve, after which we got divided into two’s to live with different families. Sanjay and I got to stay with a Punjabi family. And, we met Curt and Tudu at Caldy Club, where we played our under 13 tournament.

Akash leads a session at Winter Camp 2014

If there’s a new kid who wants to play rugby, what would be your advice to him or her? 

Akash: First, I will describe the ball! The kid will be surprised to see an egg-shaped ball, and then I will talk about rugby and tell them that if they want to play, they should eat good, healthy food.

Puspendu: I will do the same. I will speak to him, and tell him that he’s a good player. I will tell that if one gets into bad habits, it will instead affect one’s health… the game too… I will try to explain the harmful effects of indiscipline.

Besides playing, the two of you have also done some coaching Tell us a bit about that.

Puspendu: I don’t do much coaching. To be frank, I find coaching a bit challenging; I don’t think it’s something I can do too well. When I go for practice, I explain the format and rules of the game to all those who are new.

Akash: I started my coaching experience with netball. Initially, I was very nervous and didn’t know how to go about it. I would just observe Lovepreet and try to work it all out. Paul Sir would encourage me, which did give me some confidence and I’ve had training. Currently I’m coaching at three communities in our Khelo Rugby project (Bhavani Bhavan, Bijoy Basu, and KPT Colony), a couple of schools, and I am also involved with Netball coaching in a few Girls’ schools.

Can you tell us a bit about Netball?

Akash: Netball is the best sport for girls, according to me. It’s a no contact sport, so the girls can play without hurting themselves. It can be played in basketball courts too.

What more you want to do for the children associated with Khelo Rugby?

Akash: I would want them to study while becoming a good player at the same time.

Puspendu: I want to teach them, want them to play well… be a good player… work on fitness, eat healthy food…

Akash: Yes, don’t eat junk always… Most important!

You both have played a few seasons of Rugby now. So can you talk us through your day during the rugby season?

Akash: During those times, we don’t think much about studies! We only think about how we are going to play, about winning the game.

Puspendu: I don’t think about school and studies too.. To be honest, I don’t think much about it otherwise! It’s the rugby season, so my main concern is how we are going to play; we make the game plan, focus on fitness, and go to the gym.

What’s the best thing about each other when it comes to rugby?

Puspendu: Akash is a complete player, has the skills, his passes are good…

Akash: Commando has good skills, passes, running and the best part is, he is always one step ahead of the others.. always thinking about what should be done next.

And, the weakest

Akash: Commando doesn’t talk much, he has to talk more! He can be one of the best player in the country if he talks more..

Puspendu: Akash’s tackle is the weakest; he misses the tackle at the most crucial point and the opponents manage to score a try.

Will you teach him how to tackle?

Yes, of course.

Will you learn, Akash?

Akash: Definitely, there are a lot of things Commando has taught me regarding rugby, before I joined Jungle Crows. I will continue learning from him.

Puspendu: I will be very happy if Akash becomes a better player than me one day!

Can you tell us about Paul Sir, what do you think about him and his influence in your life?

Akash: I’ve never seen anyone like Paul sir in Kolkata, because he took local boys like us and spoke to us and made us what we are.

Puspendu: He has helped me a lot. He would be always very happy to see me play well. Whenever I needed something like shoes, shirt, shorts, he would give it happily.

Commando, tell us about your special interest in the children from the Adivasi community.

Puspendu: Adivasis are very fit… they play football, hockey and so many other sports There are people of all cultures who play… there are Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims… I want there to be a separate team where the Adivasis get a chance to play and have an identity of their own … I want them to organize and play very well, make a mark for themselves. I want people to recognize them, because many don’t know about our culture, and they think we are just illiterates from the jungles. What I really want to do is to train them hard, and learn a lot. If rugby can change me, my brother Tudu, then it can surely transform many other youngsters and prevent them from exploitation.

Other than rugby, which sport(s) do you play?

Puspendu: Football, cricket…

Akash: We play these sports just for fun.

Tell us about your future plans…

Puspendu: Studies is a big challenge for me! But I want to work hard, finish my studies and maybe join the army team one day. I also want to work hard to promote Adivasi Rugby.

Akash: Last year, I played for the India team and that was a very proud moment of my life. I want to be the best coach and retire as one of the top players in the world!

Comando and Akash with the India U20 team playing in Pakistan

Talking Rugby Futures: In the second in our series of interviews Disha Musaddi talks about life and rugby to four young girls in the Jungle Crows programme from the rural villages of Saraswatipur part of Siliguri district – Kirpa Oraon (19 years old), Sandhya Rai (14 years old), Sanjana Oraon (19 years old) and Punam Oraon (17 years old).

L to R: Sanjana, Punam, Sandhya, Kirpa

So tell us something about your background…

Kirpa – I am from Saraswatipur and am studying in class 10 of Gajaldoba High School. I have been learning and playing Rugby for the last one year.

Sandhya – I’m a student of class 9. I am from Saraswatipur; many don’t know about this village, hence, we say Siliguri! I stay with my parents and brother.

Punam – I am from a family of 6 and live in Saraswatipur too. I am studying at Gajaldoba High School and have just started with class 8. I have been involved with Rugby for the last one year and it has been an enjoyable experience as it has had a major impact on my life.

Sanjana – I hail from Saraswatipur, Siliguri and live with my parents and a younger brother… I am currently in class 10 of Gajoldoba High School, and shall be giving my Madhyamik Pariksha (Board Exams) in a month’s time. I have been playing rugby for Jungle Crows and I really enjoy playing this sport.

How and when did you start playing rugby?

Kirpa – It was Father Mathew who told me and a friend that he’s bringing the game of rugby through the Jungle Crows Foundation to Saraswatipur, where both boys and girls will have to play together. He trusted us and wanted us to inform others about this initiative, so that more children could participate. In the village, many leave their studies mid way, hence Father Mathew believed that this sport would benefit the children of Saraswatipur. People were very hesitant at first, and we convinced them by telling them that playing would be great fun and that they could meet new people and learn a lot from it.

We started with tag and touch rugby. Harry sir and Amirul sir were our coaches then. Father Mathew was very happy with the turn out and so were we… we were more excited about playing a new game…we have now started focussing on the tackle format as well and have played many tournaments like the national ones in Bhubaneswar and Nagpur. Now we are going to represent Bengal in the National Games in Kerala. We have travelled a lot through this sport, which was unimaginable. I could not go to Orissa for the tournament, but I was very happy to hear about the girls’ success there. To be honest, I was a little upset even as I wasn’t a part of the team. My first big match was in the National U18s in Nagpur where we were runners up. On seeing the medal, my parents were thrilled.

I personally feel there’s a lot we can achieve by playing rugby and studying. I want the same for the other children in Saraswatipur and would like to motivate them to go ahead in life. My parents too are very happy with what I am doing. They encourage me to help other girls and introduce them to Rugby.

Sanjana – I started playing in 2013 along with all the others. The rest of the story has been told by Kirpa!

Sandhya – But we are new to the real (tackle) rugby; we used to only play touch then, now we play more of tackle. I heard about rugby from a friend.

Punam – Kirpa di told me about it and she took us to play. She told us that there are coaches from outside (outside Siliguri) who will teach us.

What was your family’s reaction when you started playing?

Kirpa – My family is very supportive. I knew I wouldn’t face difficulties regarding this, because both my sister and I play a lot. There are no restrictions in my house; they tell us to play instead of stopping us. At home, everybody is of the opinion that if there’s anything good, we should definitely learn it. My parents…well the entire family is encouraging.

Sandhya – My parents tell me to go and play…

Punam – My mother supports me, but my brothers stop me from playing, because they think that I will hurt myself… I don’t listen to them… when I feel like playing, I run away and play.

Sanjana – Initially, my mother didn’t like my playing and would stop me. I would tell her that I will play since I enjoy and she gave her consent only after Amirul Sir spoke to her. My neighbour objects to it, but I don’t bother about them and continue to train.

Who has been and is currently your coach?

Sandhya – We’ve had 6 coaches so far.

Sanjana – Harry sir and Amirul Sir trained us first… Sanu and Lovepreet sir then we had Sukumar for some time and recently Parvez was also there.

Among all these, who’s your favourite?

Together – All of them…!

Kirpa – Everyone, because they trained us and taught us the same thing…we respect them… we can’t say who’s the most liked and least liked among them…

Sandhya – since Harry Sir and Amirul first coached us, they’re my favourite.

Eight girls from Saraswatipur played for West Bengal in the National Games Rugby

What are the changes you’ve noticed in yourself when you started playing?

Sanjana – there are many changes…we weren’t disciplined, now we have learnt how to behave, how to speak with other people, both elders and those younger to us…

Punam – I was very wicked as a kid… rugby has changed me for good.

Sandhya – Earlier I wasn’t very fond of these girls (Poonam, Sanjana, Kirpa and the other girls) because they were from another village and their team was much better than ours, which made us jealous. Now, we’re a part of the same team so I really like them.

Kirpa – I didn’t know how to speak properly with others, I wasn’t disciplined….I gradually learnt all this. The coaches would talk to us and I made it a point to listen to them. When we were wrong, they corrected us immediately and would guide us to do the right thing. If they told us not to do something, I wouldn’t do it. All of them taught us to respect others, as a result we start gaining respect and that we should even respect those younger to us. We should get the younger generation disciplined by showing the same respect and sharing with them the knowledge we have acquired.

The chai bagan (tea garden) looks to be a very beautiful place from the outside, but can you share with us about life inside the bagan? And considering the problems people face, what would you like to do for it?

Kirpa – In the bagan, the salary is very low…my parents have to leave early for work at 7am. It’s with this in mind that we are studying and hence, we should work hard. Everyone considers the tea garden to be very nice, but that’s not the case in reality. I want to study, work hard and not work in the tea garden and not even let my parents work there… it’s very tedious for them… after working for long hours whatever little they earn is spent on us and our education.

Punam – Even my mother works in the tea garden…I don’t like staying there. I want to be sincere with my studies and work and leave the bagan along with my mother. Living out there is very difficult, mainly because people don’t support each other…if even one mistake is made, everyone goes against  it and makes a big issue out of it.

Sandhya – I like staying there, but people drink a lot making it unsafe for us. The one thing I hate is drunk men lying around everywhere!

Kirpa – People in our society don’t seem to understand the importance of exploring the world outside…many of us from the adivasi samaj have been exploited for many years and have just accepted it.. People do not have the money to venture out, so I guess that’s why they don’t understand this. There is gender discrimination. People think girls can’t play but, girls can play and achieve a lot, whereas it’s the boys who are left behind. I don’t listen to them because in my house both boys and girls are given equal chances to play and we are encouraged to do what is good. In Saraswatipur, almost all the girls are interested in the game. But there are some people who stop us from playing…they believe this game is not meant for girls. In fact, it is this game has come for both the girls and boys of the village…they don’t know all that we can achieve from this.

Recently, when we went to Nagpur and won a medal, some of the villagers commented that we bought them instead of winning it. There was no encouragement from their end… all they do is to demean us. We don’t listen to them; instead we only concentrate on our game.

Sandhya – At times they disturb us while we are practicing… they play cricket on the field and have even made a volleyball post in the ground so that we don’t get space to practice.

Sanjana – It’s more like they are jealous of us…..

Punam – They scold us while playing… hey say that we’ll injure ourselves and no one will come to look after us. We tell them that the coaches will see because they are training us, as well as our family is there to take care of such matters.

Saraswatipur

Who are you closest to in the team?

Sanjana – Sapna, Raveena, Chanda… almost everyone.

Punam – Kripa Di, as she’s the eldest, she is intelligent and is always willing to help us.

Sandhya – Malo and Menoka. One good thing about Menoka is that she doesn’t get angry and is always making others laugh.

Kirpa – Whenever there’s something to share; I first say it to Sapna then to Sanjana and Reema – they always support me.

Who’s your favourite sports person?

Sandhya – In rugby, I like Commando (Puspendu, of Jungle Crows) and Bhagyashree from the Pune team. The first time I saw Commando play was in Siliguri. His tackle is amazing.

Punam – Commando and Harry Sir

Sanjana – Commando…I saw him play in Siliguri first and didn’t expect him to be so good. Then I saw him play in the tournament in Orissa.

Kirpa – Tudu Sir…his passes and running is very good. Even Tiger Sir as he runs fast.

If you could tackle somebody very hard, who would it be?

Kirpa – Hupi and Meerarani of the KISS team, because they blocked my sister Sapna in the match in Nagpur!

Sandhya – the same girls and Sumitra also from KISS!

Punam – the 3 girls from KISS and a girl from Pune and Delhi even… I want to tackle almost everyone, so that we can win.

Sanjana – The same goes for me and Bhagyashree and Surabhi of the Pune team. They play very well…if we manage to tackle them and restrict them; their team will become weaker, giving us the added advantage to win.

Rugby action in the village!

Any other sport you play?

Punam – Cricket, football, athletics and even netball.

How is it like to play netball?

Sandhya – It’s fun to play, but one doesn’t have to run much in netball…it’s like get the possession of the ball, take 2 steps and pass.

If you have to choose between netball and rugby, which one would you prefer?

Together – Rugby, we get to run in rugby!

Kirpa – Rugby requires a lot of fitness, that’s why I like it. I wasn’t allowed to play netball because I’m much taller than the other girls and hence could score a goal easily…

Punam – Our team lost the netball match, because we were much shorter than the other team players and faced difficulties in scoring a goal.

What would you like to achieve in your life, both in and outside rugby?

Sanjana – I want to be a great rugby player and study a lot, at least complete my graduation…

Punam – There’s a lot I want to do. First, I want to complete my graduation and become a great rugby coach. Finally, find a job outside the village.

Sandhya – I wanted to represent Bengal in Rugby, which I just did in the National Games. Now my aim is to represent India. And, when I earn some money through rugby, I would like to get my hair straightened in a posh parlour!

Kirpa – I want to be a good player. I don’t know how far I can study, but I would definitely want to finish my schooling and work extremely hard after that to support my family. Such a long way still to go, sometimes we feel scared about what will happen to us.

Saraswatipur girls at the National U18s in Nagpur in 2014

The Jungle Crows Foundation, through its unique open-for-all sport-for-development approach, has supported many children from disadvantaged communities over the years to express themselves through the medium of sports and reach their full potential. This interview series is an attempt to bring out the stories of several such young people associated with the Foundation, coming from diverse backgrounds, and develop a platform for further discussion and dialogue on the theme of sports and development. 

Talking Rugby Futures: as part of our series to bring out the stories of the young people impacted by the Jungle Crows Foundation today we talk to Roni about his journey and experiences.

How did your tryst with rugby begin?

As a child, I was very fat and would fight a lot. Other boys from Bhavani Bhavan – Tudu, Abhishek, Ritu, and Masudul were playing rugby for Jungle Crows… they called me for a game just to prove my strength. So, this is how I, my friend Pritam and other boys started playing rugby. I was 11, when Paul and Christoph were the coaches, and they would train us separately, as the other boys from Don Bosco Ashalayam knew the sport well and played better than us.

On Saturday mornings, the kids have training, so Tudu and Masudul would force me to go and practice along with them.

Did you experience any difficulty in playing rugby?

I was very shy and wasn’t involved with much physical activities. When I joined rugby I got to meet a lot of new people from different backgrounds. Initially, I would only talk to Pritam and boys from Bhavani Bhavan. But, by playing I became friendly with others; Pankaj and Tarok from Ashalayam became my best friends.

As for the difficulties, I was plump, lazy and wasn’t involved with much physical activities, so that was an issue I had to deal with.

My parents weren’t supportive of me playing rugby – they believed it had no future and would do no good to me – especially after injuring my finger.  They made me promise that I wouldn’t play and stopped giving me bus fair. But, Tudu and Masudul would help me, they lent out their cycles, so that I could ride to practice, they also helped me with the game.

When my father had gifted me a cycle, I would lie at home saying I was going to school or going for football practices, instead I would go to the ground for rugby training. When they started getting hints, they would lock the cycle or try other tricks to not let me play.

They gradually accepted it and later supported me, because at that time, Tudu had just made it big and playing at the National Level, he went to UK, and his pictures would be there in the newspapers. My parents realised that rugby could be good for me as well. And, then I got selected to play for Jungle Crows in the All-India Under 20, so then they realized that I was playing well and they could see I was working hard for it.

Roni as part of the Crows U16s

What impact has rugby had in your life?

I can’t describe the impact it has had. It’s now a major part of my life. Like I drink water and eat every day, I need rugby to live. I am working in hotels now. So, whenever I meet any guest from UK or France, I speak with them about Rugby, Calcutta Cup, and tell them that even I play rugby in Calcutta. I proudly speak about Jungle Crows and Khelo Rugby with them.

When I moved to Mumbai for my work, I played for Maharashtra Police only for my passion. But, my schedule was very hectic, so I could hardly play at all. I missed playing rugby in Mumbai. When Jungle Crows lost the Calcutta cup to CCFC, I was very upset and wanted to come back to Calcutta.

I was passionate about rugby and still am. If I get a chance to play rugby now, I will grab that opportunity. Rugby is in my blood – I think everyone who has played rugby will say this.

We heard that you are travelling for work?

It’s more like training for me, ‘cause I have not finished my 2 years training in Mumbai. I am getting a very good opportunity to work in one of the best hotels in Dubai – J. W. Marriott Marquez. First 2 years I will work as a server, first 2 years I will be a trainee captain, so they will teach me about working in a team and developing it, the difficulties you face as a team leader, how to deal with the guests and clients, etc.

What inspired you to take up a career in hospitality?

One day, after a game of touch rugby, Paul handed me leaflets with ‘IIHM’ written on it. I didn’t know what it stood for then. He would ask me what I would like to do after my schooling, and I would tell him about my plan to pursue an Honours degree in either English or Bengali and play rugby and think about my career later. Paul would tell me to that I might be late in making my choices about my career and handed over the leaflets to me and asked me to go through it and read more about it.

As a kid I would cook a lot, and tell my mother that I will become a chef. But, the courses are very expensive and my parents wouldn’t spend that much on my education, ‘cause they how I am as a student. I did what Paul told me to and spoke to my friends about it. Everyone told me that IIHM is a reputed institution for Hotel Management. I am from a Bengali medium school, so I was under the impression that I won’t have to go to college and could do whatever I wanted to and would always hear “HM toh easy hai… sab pass kar jate hai.” (HM is easy, everyone passes in it).

That time I was doing well in rugby, but unfortunately, I didn’t have a passport and I got selected for Jungle Crows senior team and, could play alongside my heroes Zaffar, Tudu, and the other boys. This was a like a dream for me, and I guess, also for many other boys who have been a part of Maidan Hazards. I then thought that I could concentrate on playing for Jungle Crows as well as on my studies and got back to Paul, and told him that my father won’t spend that kind of money. So, he told me that the money aspect would be managed, and my father would just have to pay a small sum.

Funnily, when I went to apply in the college, the receptionist asked me to pay the money and I was clueless as to what money she was talking about. Then I told her to speak to Paul and Shaun (Chef Shaun Kenworthy) but, they were busy, so I messaged Paul. I was asked to wait outside until things were sorted, which was annoying. Paul came and gave me money to apply, and after he came, everyone was treating me like a celebrity.

How has your relationship with Paul Walsh been like?

Paul is like a father to me, and even the senior boys – Tudu, Ritu, Masudul, and all treat him like their father. Tudu would always tell me to bring something for Paul, whenever we would go outside, even if we go out to play; this would make him very happy, because he doesn’t have anyone in Kolkata and whatever he does is for us and not for his own self. He has left his work and continued to work with us. So, I really respect him for this, he’s doing so much for rugby, for us. Probably now, my relationship with Paul has become more friendly. Paul is like a father to me and, I obey him a lot. In fact, whenever he suggests something to me, I take it as an expert opinion.

After my graduation I got 3 job offers- 2 in Calcutta and 1 in Mumbai. I decided to go with the one in Calcutta, for the designation and pay, as well as it would be more convenient for me. But, Paul was insistent that I should go to Mumbai, as it will boost my career. He would ask me every day about it. So, would Tudu. It was very annoying… like both never wanted me to live in Calcutta. But, I later realized that going to Mumbai was indeed a very good decision.

What is your best moment in your Rugby career?

I still remember this: it was in Mumbai and we were playing for Under 20 rugby. Curtis Russell and I were playing together against Bombay Gymkhana. I scored my life’s first try, which was a good one… I had dodged few players and even tackled some in that game and, those days I used to weigh 90 kilos, so that try actually came as a surprise.

Another moment, which I distinctly remember is a match against Future Hope. Tudu passed the ball to me and I could see a few players running towards me. But, then Tudu called out to me and assured that he will tackle the boys harder. That moment I realized that these boys aren’t only my team mates – they are my brothers.

Scrum time….

And, your worst or most embarrassing moment?

It would be, when I was playing for Maidan Hazards, Ajay was with me… it was the last minute of the game and it was a really close match against YRC (Young Rugby Club). YRC had many strong players then – Mesu and Noa were playing for that team – they were very big, whereas we at Maidan were small and everyone’s age would be around 16-17 years old. So, at the last minute we gave 2 good tackles and were about to win, just then Ajay missed an easy tackle, allowing them to win. I felt bad on losing and I fought with Ajay over the matter, told him things which were wrong and shouldn’t be said, and as a result we wouldn’t speak with each other.

What do you think about the future of Jungle Crows? How would you like to contribute for the future of Crows?

I tell Paul that my travelling for work is only for a better future of Jungle Crows. By travelling I can speak with people about Crows, broaden our networks, so that we get more support. If I stay in Calcutta, no one will be benefitting. While I was in Calcutta, I was playing, learning and even earning. I was leading the boys as well. I have gained from Crows and should move up from this position. By doing so, I am giving my other brothers in the team a chance to play and make some progress.

When I come back after few years, I can help Jungle Crows mentally, financially, or else all I can provide Crows with is man power.

Tudu is the biggest example, he always shares his experience with the boys and whenever he comes back from UK his bags were packed with jerseys, shoes and all the essentials for others to have a safe and good game. So, like him I want to help crows.

What is your advice to the young rugby players?

I am going to speak only about Crows; I cannot advice some other rugby player as I’m not good at it.

I have seen many boys in Crows who play for fancy shoes, jerseys, working in Crows, etc. instead of concentrating on the game and developing a career. People should think how they can get a job through rugby or Jungle Crows, which will eventually help everyone rather than settling down in Jungle Crows. for instance Masudul, he now works for the Kolkata Police, which he got through Crows.

Do you think sport is a good preparation for life?

Yes, it definitely is. People should play a sport.

I was very lazy and plump as a child. I would opt to be a wicket keeper in Cricket, as I would have to run less. I would not enjoy running. If I hadn’t got involved with professional and competitive sport, I would have been playing video games and Gully Cricket, which wouldn’t take me far.

But, after getting into rugby, and having this association with sports, I have developed a passion. After playing, I would go back home and think how I played earlier that day, areas I should focus on and how I should play in the future. Through sports, I have understood myself better and become mentally and physically fit.

What would be your biggest achievement?

When I was playing very well, I never got my passport and didn’t get a chance to play for the national side. But, I’m happy my brothers – Arun and Commando got a chance to play for the national side.

An achievement in rugby was when Paul named me the captain for the Under-20 All India squad.

But, another achievement for me would be when I got into college, I managed to do well, although I was from a Bengali medium background and the course was designed entirely in English. And, I even landed with good opportunities to work in the one of best hotels.

I’d be glad if someone walks in the same path and follows me from Crows. That would be an actual achievement.

It’s time for some controversial questions. We’ve heard that you are known to make up stories. How true is this?

Yes, that’s true. I love to cook up my own stories. And, to top it, I’m very talkative, so you can imagine the combination. Many people have told me this that I exaggerate to an unrealistic extent. Even, at home I hear this!

 If you could give a nasty tackle to anybody from Jungle Crows, who would it be?

I have already given one to Tiger; it was so bad that he couldn’t remember a thing. And, if I have to give a tackle now, it will be Tudu, because he is the one who has taught a lot of things in life, especially rugby, and he’ll be happy to see me excelling as a player.

Saraswatipur – Challenges and Opportunities through Khelo Rugby

By Lovepreet Singh Gill

My name is Lovepreet Singh Gill and I have lived my whole life in Kolkata.  I started playing Rugby more than 3 years ago starting from the Winter Camp organized by the Jungle Crows Foundation and I have really loved playing and training with my team – the Jungle Crows.  The founder of our club is Paul Walsh and with him we now we run the Khelo Rugby program for children from disadvantaged communities. I am involved as a full-time coach in the program, in which I go to the communities to do rugby coaching and have some fun with the kids, while helping them to have a good way of life.  I have also been involved in Netball and I have been doing the same in the schools while teaching netball. On Saturday morning, we also have our Rugby Academy sessions were children from all over come to learn proper rugby. Having been involved with the Khelo Rugby project and Academy for a while, I received a fresh challenge in October 2014 from the foundation.

With some of the Saraswatipur children

Just shout; “KHELO KHELO”

I was selected to manage our Khelo Rugby programme in the North of Bengal in a very rural village called Saraswatipur. The nearest big town is Siliguri and that village was right in the middle of the jungle! The previous coaches were Sanu and Amirul, and as their time in the village was over, Paul requested me to do some work there. I was little bit scared when I heard from my colleagues that lots of wild elephants are there in that jungle!

The three and a half months that I was there was amazing and I found any number of really talented children. Not only in Rugby, but even in other activities like dancing, football, volleyball etc. The children were very enthusiastic and they were really good at catching new games. The participation of the girls in rugby in Saraswatipur is more than in the town.The senior girls team were already very good in the game and all the credit goes to Sanu and Amirul who made it possible through their hard work. I didn’t have too many difficulties while coaching them because all the boys and the girls were listening to each and every thing through my coaching sessions!

Victory In For the Girls!

When I heard that the All India Under 19 girls 7’s tournament was coming up, myself and Sukumar (who joined me for a month and helped me a lot) had planned to do plenty of good training sessions with the girls – using drills, developing their fitness and working on their other weaknesses. The girls worked very hard and came runners-up in the All India tournament. On that day, I felt really proud that I was able to coach such talented girls and to win in only their second tournament outside was indeed a great achievement for them.

Saraswatipur: All India Runners-Up

Jungle Adventure at Saraswatipur

One day I planned with the local boys that we will go deep into the jungle where the villagers are allowed to hunt for birds and pigs, we were about 10 boys and they all were excited about it. Next day in the morning, I was excited but nervous about facing the elephant, still I heard a voice in my heart – “lets go, we will see what will happen!” I took my catapult and lots of parle-g biscuits in my bag and we all arrived at the jungle for a day of lot of fun! We came back and on the same night, a jungle elephant came into the village! It was the first time I had seen a jungle elephant in the open and all the people (including me) were shouting “hurrrr hurrr” so that the beast would go back to the jungle!

Friendly Village Peacock!

Winter Camp 2014 at Saraswatipur

Like every year, in the last week of December, Jungle Crows Foundation organized a winter camp at Kolkata and at Saraswatipur in which more than 400 hundred kids participated. The main motive of that camp was to have fun with kids. This time I got the opportunity to do the Winter Camp in Saraswatipur and make it successful. Parvez was there to help me and previous coach Sanu also came along. Before the winter camp started, we organized a one day workshop with young boys and girls about how to become a good leader. We had given the tasks to them to create new fun games which we can apply in the winter camp. After that, we selected the best young leaders who will do coaching in winter camp and this time we said to the young leaders that, in this winter camp, the main focus is to teach boys and girls in the age group of 13-16 about proper rugby.

Through the blessings of god and hard work of young leaders, the Winter Camp went excellent! All the young leaders and the kids said that this was the best winter camp they had!  I felt so good, no one can imagine that! It was all possible due to my mates –  Parvez and Sanu. Big thank you to them.

I have been back in Kolkata for some time now, in my home and felling happy but I miss Saraswatipur a lot. For a number of days, I was there and I didn’t miss my family at all much because the boys and girls there gave me so much love and respect that I will never forget. Miss them all a lot. But I have so many great memories from my time in the jungle and village, I will cherish them forever!

Winter Camp Saraswatipur

Busy Busy Times for the Crows and Khelo Rugby

by Shreyas Rao

The last three months have been incredibly busy with the Jungle Crows Foundation and we have just now found time to tell you all about what we have been up to here on our Khelo Khelo Blog!

We have the most amazing team working on all our projects, which are really having a huge impact on the children we work with everyday. So it is a very big thank you to the team, but no time to rest as the next three months are going to be even more exciting.

Here goes for a mad dash through June, July, August and even a bit of September………

Khelo Rugby:

• Has now expanded in Kolkata to 21 locations with more than 600 children regularly taking part in the programme.
• Sessions got a little chaotic as pressure from the rugby season built up, but now that is over we are getting back to normal and making sure Coaches are keeping up with their coaching timetables.
• The Khelo curriculum is undergoing a re-write as we learn more from our different experiences in all the locations where we work. This is a job that we can see never really ends. We are always learning, each Coach and Community brings a different dynamic, there is no one fits all solution.

Global Peace Games:

• Conducted over three days in September (18, 19 & 20) beginning with a mini-leadership program led by Lovepreet and Akash for 20 Khelo Leaders from our Kolkata communities.
• Day two was a Tag Rugby Festival with the participation of 200 children from 16 different locations. A record participation of sorts! Each Senior Coach was asked to bring 3 teams minimum and they all met the targets. A fun day for all involved and good job by the Khelo Leaders in leading and organizing the event and putting some of the learning from the day before into practice. Our new communities also participated in a festival for the first time.
• Day three was a Cycle Ride organized by Pritam in association with Discover on Wheels for all the children who had received bicycles earlier in the year from Pink Bike.

Junior Rugby: 

Lots of ‘proper’ tackle rugby tournaments organised by the Crows, Future Hope and Bengal Rugby saw participation from most of our Academy players. We kicked off with a slightly mediocre performance in the Future Hope Monsoon Cup on a splendid looking #CrowField mind you! But then really picked it up with a top-notch performance in Bengal Rugby’s Under-14 tournament at CCFC where the Jungle Crows emerged Champions beating larger teams like Armenian College, KISS and Future Hope. The girls where not to be left out coming Runner’s Up in both the Women’s 10’s and Touch Rugby tournaments. 

Rugby is Great:

One of the highlights of the last three months was the Rugby is Great event which we organized with the British High Commission and KISS in Orissa. Ravi was sent on a one – week assignment to coach the teams and prepare for the tournament – great job by him. We also selected an Under-13 team from Kolkata after conducting our own Tag Rugby ‘qualifier’ tournament.

A 12 member team comprising children from 10 different Kolkata locations set off with coaches Kameliya and Lovepreet in charge. The event was hugely successful with the British High Commissioner Scott giving away the prizes and loads of newspaper coverage. Home team KISS emerged well deserved champions while the Khelo Rugby team were runners-up. The final was pulsating and an excellent display of rugby pre the Rugby World Cup!

Power of Display:

Our event to mark UN Youth Day saw our Khelo coaches taking on a theme and engaging with the children from their communities to come up with posters, art work or displays on those themes. Themes included Environment – Ravi, Child Rights – Kameliya, Khelo/Play – Tiger, School – Akash, Hygiene – Deep and Equal Rights – Lovepreet. Before going into the communities each Coach had to make a presentation on their theme to myself and Paul so we were sure they understood and had researched their topic.

Plenty of guests turned up on the day and the children guided by their Coaches came up with some really interesting and diverse work ensuring the event was a good one.

Jungle Crows Cupcakes from Mrs Magpie were a bonus for the super effort all round!

In Partnership with the American Center:

In August we were invited by the  American Center in Kolkata for a film screening about girls participation in sport. This was a good chance to involve many of our girls in a different activity and let them see how other girls around the world enjoy sport just as much as they do. 

A total of 8 of our Khelo Leaders have been selected for a Leadership Programme at the American Center. They will go through a 3 month training at the Center on a one class per week format. Post this they get a chance to meet US diplomats, take an internship at the American Center besides other opportunities.

What Have I learnt? 

All the coaches were given the task of preparing presentations about their last one year with JCF and all the coaches responded in a very positive way, making presentations and surprising many with their improving grasp of the English language!

Khelo Sporting League:

KSL (Khelo Sporting League) is really doing very well, giving those youngsters who have graduated from Khelo Rugby a new and interesting focus. We moved away from the location teams format we had originally started with and we now play in mixed community teams. Though the players were initially reluctant, the idea has caught on and all the youngsters are responding in a positive way. KSL now has an average turn-out of 100 to 120 youth every month and we ensure that they all have the chance to learn something new every time!Media:

Khelo Rugby and Jungle Crows has received plenty of media attention over the last one year – founder Paul being featured in Amazing Indians show of Times Now, we were on BBC World TV, on the Award Winning Scrumqueens site, and articles published at Sportskeeda. 

And there is more, much more that has made lots of people smile and will keep them smiling into the future. We have only just begun……

The Story So Far of the Jungle Crows Winter Camp 2015/16

by Emma Richardson, Trustee and Supporter

Jungle Crows Winter Camp has been running for 11 years now and goodness has it grown! Just on Christmas Day alone the programme attracted 787 children, supported by 66 coaches, and the camp goes on for 11 mornings.  Many children get up before 5am, to travel by chotahathi (small truck) to get to the Maidan.  While this year the temperatures have been milder (I still remember 2012/13 winter when temperatures dropped to below 10 degrees!), it is damp and foggy when the children first arrive.  They have travelled from as far away as Bhattanagar in Howarah and Brooklyn in Khidderpore. 

So at 7am, the coaches full of energy, encourage children to play bulldog, dance and skip around for the first 20 mins, simply to get warm.  The coaches then take their groups of circa 25-40 children, let me tell you just organising this is a feat, to begin the serious stuff – having fun!  The coaches stick with the same groups, so they get to know the children, each coach is supported by less experienced coaches and volunteers, most have rugby experience, but a few are simply passionate about putting something back into the community.

Amit started coming to the camps 10 years ago, as a shy boy, today, I watch him coach a group of u10s, full of confidence as a young man, who takes great pride in the trust he has developed, watching the children grow, hoping they too might become Jungle Crows players and coaches in the next decade.

Nanda as a senior coach and has been involved in the Jungle Crows since 2007, and as both a senior player and coach, he takes a leading role in the preparation and coordination of the programme, months in the planning, working with Hari, Shreyas and Pritam.  Nanda’s love of children, and seeing smiling faces clearly motivates him to keep coming back.  He says their smiles, are the best reward, but with a special opportunity to teach rugby skills and maybe even find the next Tiger to join the Jungle Crows within the u14/19s groups?

This year is Sahil’s first winter camp, he was in Amit’s u10 team, and has been completely won over by playing rugby, citing his dream of becoming a rugby player when he is older.   He has already ‘signed up’ to come next year!

The coaches work in the various communities throughout the year, Lovepreet has been involved over the last 4 years; by day 4 he has practically lost his voice, from shouting such passionate encouragement to his young u10 group.  He is committed to the development and education of young children, saying that this programme teaches the children respect for themselves and each other, learning to work in a team and how to behave both on and off the rugby pitch.  At the end of each day, the children are given a breakfast kindly donated by hotels and businesses in Kolkata, let me tell you, it takes a lot of work to distribute 800 bananas, eggs, cakes, and juices.  Some mornings, toothpaste and tooth brushes, with the coaches reinforcing the need to brush teeth twice a day.  These teaching moments, happen at the end of the frenetic morning, when the kids form a circle within their groups, sit in the warm sunshine and listen intently (well the majority do!) to the coach.  There is a calmness by 9.15am, with everyone either tired from the morning’s fun activities or just wanting the chance to catch up with their newly made friends. 

This programme does not happen by chance, the Jungle Crows, led by Paul Walsh MBE, requires mammoth planning both in advance and on the day: trucks to be booked and driven, registers to be taken, donations requested and gathered, T shirts to be bought and printed (we distributed over 850 on Christmas Day morning), with a few going without such is the success of the event).

Then by 9.30am, the children start gathering up their belongings, and head back to the trucks.  Each thanking their coaches for a great start to the day, munching on their fruit as they start the journey home.

The coaches have a quick catch up, what worked well, what could be changed and then they find the energy to play a quick game of rugby, because it is this game that binds these young adults together.  The Jungle Crows are an amazing extended family, who like any family work hard and play hard together.  But they, unlike many families, need the support of their city – Kolkata, this 11 day programme costs 6+ Lakhs and the Jungle Crows rely solely on donations and goodwill of the community both here in Kolkata but also from further afield in the UK and elsewhere.

This year we have also run programmes in Siliguri and Bangalore, managed by coaches from the Jungle Crows, who have again gone into the local communities to seek out communities who need the Jungle Crows support. 

Even as I am typing, I can hear the children chanting and singing – playground games, it is this happy chatter which keeps me coming back to Kolkata, the Jungle Crows make a difference and that surely is something to crow about?

Do you want to help?  Can you donate your time or money?  The Jungle Crows run programmes throughout the year and need more support! Donations for the Camp can be made on-line in a very easy way, in India through Ketto: https://www.ketto.org/wintercamp or around the world through JustGiving: https://www.justgiving.com/wintercamp2015/

Happy New Year everyone!

Ed’s Note: Emma is also an ace photographer, all images here are hers and she’ll go to any length to grab the best shot!

The Story of the Khelo Rugby Winter Camp in Bangalore

By Zaffar Khan

I think everyone involved felt really proud at the end of our first Bangalore Rugby Camp. We worked with a total of 216 different children, fifteen hundred bananas were smashed, eight hundred Oreo cream biscuits munched, seven hundred real fruit juices punched and god knows how many oranges pealed over the 6 days. This was the first time we managed to get so many children under one umbrella. The camp took place in Sarjapura, Bangalore.  Barely enough space for sixty children, the ground was packed at an average of one twenty children each day and this was a real challenge . Bangalore particularly has issues of public spaces especially for so many rugby mad children to run around and exhaust themselves.

The camp would start sharp at 7am and finish at 9am. Children came to the camp from as far as 15 km to be a part of it. The ratio of girls to boys is what we are looking to focus on, for our next year camp. We want to get more and more children involved in the sport but our focus is also on more girls playing. This year we had one girl to every five boys. We know the girls love playing rugby it is just a bit more complicated to get them out of their homes and to the field each day, but we’ll work on this. Khelo Rugby Bangalore runs its project in twelve schools, three communities and a 7am Sunday morning academy at Decathlon, Sarjapura for free as all our coaching sessions are.

We spoke to a few children in the camp and asked what they thought of the camp “I am very excited. I met so many new children but my favorite was Sitara didi (Sister).  She played for the Indian National Rugby Team. I thought only boys can play for India. If I get strong and fast like her, I will also play for the Indian Rugby team. I love running” Princy Age 11. Children like her get training twice a week as a part of our school and community imitative.

Throughout the camp we had volunteers who would come whenever they found the time to help. One such legend was the ex Indian Rugby International and Commonwealth Games player Puneeth Krishnamurthy.  “Having played rugby in Bangalore all these years I did not know that there were hundreds of children playing and enjoying the sport. Need to commend the fantastic work put in by the Khelo Rugby team for starting something so wonderful from scratch. I would like to thank them to give me an opportunity to spend some time with the children and give back something to the sport and community also reminding me why I love this sport”

We are always looking to reach more and more children. We want to grow our network of sport lovers who want to give back something to the community and volunteer. We have now partnered with more groups and organisations so that we can spread our wings to other parts of the city. Many people ask us  if they will have to give a lot of time to be a volunteer or take up a coaching session? Our Idea is to just give two hours a week and the difference one can make is huge. From our experience we have understood that children do not need fancy stuff. They just seek a bit of our attention and time.

Another such volunteer was Anand. Who is genuinely a sport lover and had never played  Rugby…

“A beautiful morning at the “KheloRugby” – Sarjapur chapter. I had the opportunity to be part of a wonderful initiative – it was the final day of a weeklong training for the children. Honestly I did not expect it to be such a hit amongst the kids. The organisers were extremely professional in their approach and the kids loved every bit of the attention given. There were some lovely girls along with some macho boys taking some valuable tips on team work, hand & eye coordination, planning and general fitness from a Professional Coach. I saw some great learning imparted to the kids there – both boys and girls alike.

I came into help and immediately was given the task to write down the names of the students along with their age and then transfer the same to the certificates. Yes, after the entire week long course, they get certified too from Khelo Rugby and Jungle Crow Foundation.

The 2 hour energizing session with the kids ended with some breakfast and a special Gatorade drink for each of the participants. The last count I had was over 124 children (both boys and girls of all ages) and to manage this size is no small feat.

I could see enthusiasm, energy and high level of motivation in those precious eyes. I am glad that I could stand witness to the good efforts taken by the team at Jungle Crows and Khelo Rugby. This organisation is trying to make a difference in the lives of these children. Humbled by their efforts. Hope to be part of more such initiatives.” Anand Menon 

A great Winter Rugby Camp in Bangalore enjoyed by 100s of children and quite a few volunteers also. Thanks to all who supported the effort especially Cult The Workout Station and Nihil.

If you are interested to be a volunteer in Bangalore please get in touch with us on zaffar.khan@junglecrows.org

Reviewing the Winter Camp and looking forward to the Year of Play

By Shreyas Rao

The Jungle Crows Foundation has been conducting its annual Winter Camp at the foggy environs of the Kolkata Maidan for the last 11 years starting from the year 2004. It is normally an event that lasts about 10 -11 days and involves engaging hundreds of children from several disadvantaged communities for a couple of hours each morning. Rugby is the principal sport and the camp involves the participation of the children in several play based activities developed around the central sport of rugby. The legacy of the Winter Camp has been well established through several journeys over the years of youth being transformed from a life of meager future to successful players and individuals who are able to take control over their lives.

The Camp has been growing in size due to the growth of our Khelo Rugby project which is getting involved with more and more communities across Kolkata. The objectives of the Camp and the Khelo Rugby project revolve around the idea that play can be a huge positive, a belief that all children, irrespective of their socio-economic background, deserve to develop themselves through the medium of play and this supports them in fulfilling their potential. In a society rift with inequality and casteism, the programme aims to aid children break through the dogma of predestination by providing a support structure based around play, in an environment that is inclusive, non-threatening and aids in self-discovery. The 2015-16 Winter Camp engaged more than 800 children on an average each day from 22 different communities, who were attended to by a team of 75+ volunteer coaches. It turned out to be the biggest camp we’ve ever organised, the biggest anything we’ve organised actually!

This Camp involved a lot of planning and turned out to be a huge logistical effort – one of the benefits to all of us this. We had to ensure all the 800 children had a safe transport facility to and from home, a fun-filled Camp session, some basic kit and a healthy breakfast each day. As we prepared ourselves to gain a momentum into the Camp, we felt that it was important to develop a higher objective, so as to create a sense of direction to all the effort and have an over-arching goal. Thus, was born the idea of “Year of Play” – the concept of utilizing the Camp to create a platform for the year ahead, to start our own movement towards the Power of Play.

It is quite easy to be cynical about an initiative like this as it is for a short period without guaranteeing any sustainable or measurable impact on the lives of all the children involved. Yet, it contains within it, an essence of an ideal world, a consistent effort for equality and a belief of a new social reality. It is this feature of the Camp, that I believe, makes children participate each day in consistent numbers and compels the volunteer coaches to forfeit their Christmas holidays for this noble cause. Waking up early on a cold smog filled winter morning at Kolkata can be quite a task but the noise and laughter of hundreds of children enriches the heart of any soul who wishes to lay oneself bare to the experience. It was in such an exhilarating atmosphere that we wanted to take the first small step towards initiating the idea of our Year of Play.

Within the Khelo Rugby project team, we have developed a set of fundamental principles that we keep in mind as we develop our programmes with children. It basically revolves around teaching children to value their own lives, teaching them something new each time, appreciating them, developing their self-belief, acknowledging their rights, providing them emotional support and working towards building non-threatening platforms for them to succeed in their lives. The medium of play helps us to break several cultural barriers along the way in realizing these principles. It provides an environment where the engagement can take place in a very spontaneous unpretentious way.

Taking forward from these fundamental principles we felt like we needed to develop the theme further and use the New Year’s Day to delve, discuss and initiate the activities of the coming year. Perhaps, we were looking for “resolution” of our own. We have become so used to objective singular New Year “resolutions” that the concept itself has become drenched in mindless euphoria. As an organization, we had to ensure that the “resolutions” involved the hopes of others with a spirit of equality and justice. We needed to provide space for the rights of the children of the world. In that sense, we felt that one of the ways to “resolve” for a better tomorrow was by working towards initiating a movement on the topic of PLAY. Not just in a superficial way by playing or teaching someone a game but by acknowledging that the Right to Play of children in the world is directly connected to the various movements of social justice and freedom. That war, violence, hatred and greed eventually effects the way or the amount a child gets to play, to learn, grow and fulfill human potential. That the Right to Play is under threat from the inequality and ecological destruction that is manifesting all around. While there was the theoretical challenge of having to articulate our vision to our children, our team and to the world outside, there was the other challenge of practically implementing it as a visual display of our thoughts.

The idea came about of creating the word “PLAY” on our Maidan Crow Field, involving all the children and volunteers who participated in the camp. The preparations began a day earlier by marking out the field through outlines and cones. As the day started, the coaches were encouraged to hold open discussions or a “Charcha” over the topic of Play with the children, trying to make them understand what it meant to them in their lives. We then moved onto the Herculean task of arranging all the 900 odd children in the formation of the four letters, with all the coaches keeping a vigil and making sure everything was in order. It turned out to be a lot easier than expected and when the formation was finally done, our team was brimming with a sense of achievement. A few slogans were chanted on the theme of Play, a mass wishing of Happy New Year took place, great photographs taken through some daredevilry up trees, breakfast distributed and finally all returned home overwhelmed by the feat!

Having managed to accomplish the feat, our next challenge was to elaborate the idea into a framework of ideas that could be practically implemented in various forms. We felt that such an important and universal idea needs to be laid out on a canvas in a way that we can paint our future plans and goals. After open discussions, we managed to create a fundamental framework:

• Providing opportunities to as many children as possible to have a safe play experience.
• To promote the participation and support for girls and their participation in their own journey of self-discovery through play.
• To bridge gaps and fight inequality by being inclusive in all our endeavors.
• To aid in the development of the culture and market for sports so as to develop play as a worthy effort for participating children.
• To establish platforms for advocacy that can minimize the hurdles for success through play.
• To innovate and create new designs for play spaces and play grounds, such that it stimulates play based activity in all communities.
• To acknowledge rights of children and launch a fight against child abuse by creating awareness among children themselves through the medium of play.
• To acknowledge that the children are the future and the next year needs to provide the basis for better years to come, a better tomorrow full of hope and promise because our children deserve that.

So, we at the Jungle Crows Foundation, are going to try our best in our own small way to develop our program around these points. For all of us who have been a part of the Winter Camp, it has been very memorable as we soak in the positivity, delve on the negative points and look to better ourselves for the future. At the same time, we invite development organizations and governing bodies worldwide to join our endeavor, for what lies ahead of us is a huge task. Year after year is turning out to be more harmful for the lives of children as the threat of both man-made and natural disasters looms large. So the idea of play and its universal appeal has become more relevant than ever before. We need to believe in it, for sake of ourselves and the children.  It will involve debunking a lot of myths, reshaping our identities, re-learning our histories, re-assessing our self-worth, introspecting deeply on our delusions and liberating ourselves to a brighter future. However, and most importantly, it involves engaging ourselves in the simple safe, fun-filled, powerful activity of PLAY.

Let us all cheer for a Year full of PLAY!!

Talking Rugby Futures: as part of our series to bring out the stories of the young people impacted by the Jungle Crows Foundation today we talk to Jim about his journey and experiences.

Tell us a little about your background…

I am from Fiji and came to live in India to complete my higher education.

In Fiji, people are crazy about rugby, similar to the way Indians feel for cricket, so we start playing rugby from a very young age. Interestingly, if we don’t have a rugby ball to play with – we use bottles, coconuts, or random objects to enjoy the game…we just love the sport and can’t stop playing.

I got involved with competitive rugby at the age of 9. At first, I started playing in my village, and then went on to play at higher levels – high-school and state.  In the first year of my secondary school I got selected to represent the school in various rugby tournaments. I would normally play with the older boys, and was also the captain of the under-16 and under-17 team.  And, I played club rugby till I left for India.

I came to India through a scholarship program, where students from less-developed nations are selected to travel to different countries for higher education. I went to Pune to study. Over there I joined a local rugby team, and started training with them. Later a friend told me about rugby being played in Kolkata; that’s when I started travelling to Kolkata.

One aspect of the game you enjoy the most…

I really love this game! It’s a physical one and I’ve been playing it since I was a kid.

What I really appreciate about rugby is its awesome and unique ethos – we have enemies on the field who can be smashed or attacked, but off-field we are the best of mates.

What have you learnt in India?

Living in India has been quite an experience, and very different from the way I lived in Fiji. I’ve become more independent and I get to enjoy life over here.

In Fiji, rugby is played throughout the year. So, I would have to train daily. We had a really interesting schedule with various tournaments simultaneously on. Moreover, I was always busy with training, studies, work…

But when I was in Pune, my main focus was on studies; so all I would do was sleep-eat-study-exercise, and never had much activity initially. It’s when I got introduced to Jungle Crows that I learnt about giving back to the society – this is important; and there’s much more rugby training now!

Comparing India to Fiji, India has very few ruggers and is not doing well in this sport (as compared to Fiji). What is your view on this matter? 

Fijians are passionate about rugby. Everyone out there will play and know about it. In fact, you don’t have to teach rugby to a child; it comes naturally to us.  It’s not the same in India.

Out here, cricket and football are far more popular, and we don’t see the same love and obsession for rugby…it’s there in Crows though and getting all the players into the community side works really well. Means we are not just rugby players but mini social workers also, gives a good feeling.

In Fiji we have prize money and a good player can make a living from the sport, there is nothing like this in India. Maybe, if there are more sponsors and funds to support the India players, then the situation will change.

How can this condition be improved?

Firstly and most importantly, the passion for rugby should be present. Once people are passionate, they will naturally go out and play the game.

In the Media!

We should also start at the grass-root level. In Fiji, we have so many tournaments, right from under-9s to under-19s, village and state tournaments, and then there is regular coaching.

What Jungle Crows and Khelo Rugby are doing, more such projects should be implemented to encourage children. So, first the easier versions of rugby, like tag, should be taught and then gradually the physical game should be introduced.

Plus, India Rugby should also concentrate on better opportunities for players like playing abroad or bringing in Coaches. This way they can promote the sport and also ensure better opportunities to the young players.

Further, rugby should be promoted more and in a better fashion in India to attract more attention. I went to one tournament and the posters and signs showed American Gridiron Football players but this was for rugby, the sports have only an egg shaped ball in common. Was sad to see.

Jim as Coach with Crows National U20s Champions

 Coming back to rugby, who has been your role model?

My father has always been my inspiration. He too played rugby and had represented the state.

What is your most cherished rugby moment?

There are several such moments. But, I will share the most recent one – winning the Centenary Cup in October (2015). The boys had been training and working very hard for it, also we had near misses in the last few tournaments. So, this victory means a lot to us.

What about the embarrassing one?

It’s an incident from back home; there was a big rugby tournament between the high-schools. I went to a renowned rugby all-boys school, but for two straight years we lost in the Quarter finals, which was very disappointing.

After you return to Fiji will you stay connected with Jungle Crows and Khelo Rugby?

I definitely want to stay connected!

I have seen the work and have also been to the Khelo communities for coaching. I want to come back and help the club and children associated with it. The best way to do so is by raising funds, brining in new and more children and help in building the program, and finally, by coaching. The work with the kids is great, just building up for their brighter future is amazing and with our rugby what could be better.

What advice would you give to a new child who comes to you for coaching?

I would tell them a little about rugby, and how to pass, the rules, and the basic idea. But, there’s one thing I will tell them is what my coach would tell me, “Take the ball, run, and forget about your life.’’ This is why every kid should play to be able to have those times when all the pressure can be lifted. Growing up can be tough.

Lining Up with Jungle Crows Seniors: All India Mumbai 2015

Who do you think is the player-to-watch-out-for in Jungle Crows?

The present younger lot has many good players. Sukumar , Amit and Akash are great with the game. If you look at them, they are small or haven’t got the big build some think is required for rugby, but they have worked extremely hard to become sure and confident players.

Finally, if you could give a nasty tackle to anybody, who would it be?

It will be Ajay Singh, he is a great friend and won’t mind if I tackle him. Another person will be Shuvomoy. He is the laziest person in Crows, so this tackle is just to wake him up and make him focus on the task ahead.

900+ Children and their Coaches form the word PLAY at our Winter Camp

Thoughts and Reflections from the Khelo Coaches on Jungle Crows Winter Rugby Camp 2015/16

On 2 January 2016 the Jungle Crows completed its mammoth Winter Camp in Kolkata and what an amazing experience it was: an average of 800+ children each day from 25 different communities across Kolkata. The Camp required a massive effort from many, but the absolute focus of activity were our Khelo Coaches. They had to train the volunteers – more than 80 of them, ensure all the children traveled safely to and from the camp, keep the energy levels up with fun and engaging activities, ensure every child got involved and felt a part of the camp, feed everyone – in a nutshell their job was to make the whole thing click and be excellent. And what a superb job they did. Here they share some of their thoughts and reflections.

Lovepreet Singh Gill

“My best experience was getting great positive feedback from our guests, getting  the ‘Top Star’ certificate by Jungle Crows Foundation and when different groups of children asked me to coach their groups.”

I felt very proud with our well organised Winter Camp this year .This year we were thinking that about 500 children might come, but as we started the camp, attendance went to more than 800. That’s the great achievement for the coaches involved with Khelo Rugby .This was the first time we’ve managed to get that many children on our Crow Field. We split the children in age group of under 10 ,14 ,19 . I enjoyed a lot in this camp because in the very cold morning, I managed to keep the children busy with my moves and my jumping exercises. The idea was to make them warm and we did it every day before the classic bull dog – a very famous game of ours which we do in every winter camp.

I learned a lot from this winter camp. I got the responsibility to train the young leaders and help them be good coaches, so they can deliver their coaching skills to under 10 children. It was very tough to manage the small children. It was our hard work that we successfully managed the small children from beginning to end of camp. In the end, I asked my team what they had learned from this camp, they said how to make the children busy with different activities and how to manage the number of children! All the coaches booked the mini van for each location to take the children to the field. By these good arrangements of transport, we had seen many more girls coming to winter camp.

Our guests showed a great involvement in all the activities .They were participating in fun games, managing the children, distributing foods etc. One of them came to me and said “You guys were doing an excellent job. Well done guys, keep it up!”. Thanks to Mr. Shaun who personally arranged the foods for 11 days of winter camp and thanks to every guest who showed their commitment to wake up in the morning to come to the field to have fun with children…..

We did an excellent job by making PLAY word with the children. The idea is that we want make this year a Year of Play. This was the main motive this year to give every a chance of play. All the volunteers had done great job and shown their full effort to make the winter camp successful. My best experiences were getting great positive feedback from our guests, getting Top Star certificate by Jungle Crows Foundation for the Camp and when the different groups of children came to me and asked me to go to their group to coach them!

Biswanath Turi:

“My best moment was in Siliguri where we had to take the food in a big pan from one village to another by walking!”

This was my 2^nd winter camp with Jungle Crows as a Coach but this time I was the main leader in my group to manage all the children from different communities which was very tough. On the first day of winter camp, I was quite nervous about how to bring all the children from different location and make them play together but me and my team of young leaders managed that easily.

I also went to Siliguri for my first winter camp there. It was very challenging  for me as we had to make all the arrangements in the cold. I have to say that doing coaching in Siliguri was very easy compared to coaching here in Kolkata, because the children there were very sincere but here children can be very naughty. So from here I learned to handle the naughty children..

My best moment was in Siliguri where we had to take the food in a big pan from one village to another by walking. And teaching theme based fun games to the children also made me happy because I am teaching something to them which is based on their lifestyle. One such theme was Safe Drinking Water and we managed to conduct many games on this theme.

This time the Kolkata’s winter camp impressed me a lot, especially seeing the involvement of the guests. I know it’s very hard to wake up in the morning and coming to the field but I guess enjoying with the children made it easy.

Kameliya Mondal

“Before the camp, just about 100 odd children knew me and now, almost a thousand children got to know me!”

We conduct the Winter Camp every year but this year it was special because we had more children than the previous years. The number used to reach so much that sometimes it became tough to handle but we managed alright in the end. Personally for me, it was a tough experience to be put in charge of a large group of Under 10 children because I had to constantly think of new games to keep them engaged. I think the breakfast was great everyday and I think it made the overall experience good for all the children participating.  I think this was the reason that more and more children were participating each day! I heard it from the many of the children that they wished that the camp was of more days and that was very encouraging to hear. We can do better next year by involving more coaches and more children, Personally, I love the fact that before the camp, just about 100 odd children knew me and now, almost a thousand children got to know me!

Suraj Srivastava:

“For me, the best moment was when I finally learnt how to make the crying children smile!” 

For me, the positive thing was we had so many more children from the community because we all worked hard towards reaching our target. I was very happy about my KPT colony where we managed to include about 180 children from all the communities in the locality. The children were very cheeky and naughty but they were listening to us all in the end. The important thing was that we planned everything well in advance and that is why, we succeeded.

The last Winter Camp was fun as well but in 2016 Winter Camp was very exciting, just to see us being crowded by children and coaches each morning. I was very content as I got to talk and interact with many people this year.  The most challenging thing for me was to manage the really naughty children and the crying children. For me, the best moment was when I finally learnt how to make the crying children smile. The children enjoyed a lot because we were having a lot of games together and when, we saw their smile in the end, we knew that they all enjoyed a lot.

We can do the camp even better by working harder and not wasting any time. We need better planning for our sessions so that the children can develop in their lives.

John Voniani:

“The effort shown by the coaches dealing with more than 50-60 children in each groups, with some groups having a maximum number of 80 children, was super to see”

Winter Camp 2015-16 was a great success looking at the number of children that attended the 11 days camp compared to the previous ones. Personally I think the children enjoyed the 11 days they spent at the Maidan with those amazing young coaches who sacrificed their time in helping the children understand the game of rugby and having a fair idea of what rugby is all about. Waking up early in the cold mornings and making their way to the field either by truck, bus, cycle or by foot, the children loved each and every session they attended.

Coaching the U19s came with some challenges as well, with communication on top of the list. Some boys have difficulty in understanding English but with the help of the senior coaches in the group (Monu, Adash & Muna), who are able to help the boys understand using the local language. Also majority of the boys came from total football and cricket background having no idea what rugby is. Within the 11 days, they showed that they had learnt so many new things and enjoyed the tournament on the last day of the winter camp. Discipline was not a big issue since it was overcome by conducting fitness every time the boys misbehaved!

The coaches and the organizers also did well with looking into the health and safety of the children from leaving their homes in the morning, travelling and reaching the ground, and their way back home after the camp. The effort shown by the coaches dealing with more than 50-60 children in each groups, with some groups having a maximum number of 80 children, was super to see. Since its my first winter camp, I enjoyed every single day with the lovely children at the Maidan, travelling with the children in the truck every morning and then dealing with my group of boys and having a taste a what’s its like to be a coach.

Generally the 2015-16 winter camp was a huge success, credits to the coaches and the organizers for making it possible and hoping the coming winter camps to keep on getting bigger and bigger. Involving more young coaches and coming up with more and more fun games for children and also keeping each and every children busy within that 2-3 hours of camp so that the children don’t get bored can get even better. All in all there’s no low point in this Winter Camp.

Saima Taj: 

I have been a part of the Jungle Crows Foundation for many years and I have learnt a lot by organizing and managing the children in each events. I started out as a small child participating and now, I am given the chance as the coach put in charge not just of teaching the game but also arranging for the children from my community each morning. This year, as a Young Leader, in charge of a community, one of the big positives was the transportation arrangements which ensured that all the children had a safe mode of transport to and fro from their homes. For me personally, it was a good experience to train the boys this time around and also to be featured, in a newspaper article. These are small steps and I hope that I can use the skills and the support to achieve bigger things in life.

Bikas Paswan:

“It was a big shock for me to be given in charge of a large group of naughty Under-10 children..!”

This was my first camp with the Jungle Crows Foundation which I really enjoyed a lot. Personally it was a big shock for me to be given in charge of a large group of naughty Under-10 children which I had never done before! But in the end, it was a really good experience for me and I learnt a lot of things that are going to help me a lot in future. Now I am quite confident of dealing with a big group of children, and the special thing for me by this camp I got to know all the other coaches well. I would like to thank our team and Paul Uncle for giving me this splendid opportunity. To be involved with the Aripota community and engage the children from there for the first time was the best experience as I had to personally go and bring them each day.

Akash Balmiki:

 “Every morning as we warmed up the children through Bull Dog game, I could see that all the children were very excited to play and to see those hundreds of smiling faces was great”

Personally I enjoyed this Winter Camp much more than all the previous Winter Camp as the number of children was much more this time around. The transport plan was well organized this year. My best and nost challenging experience was to take all the community children by truck this year as I had to be very alert that all of them are safe. The best moment for me was to see all the coaches contribute to cleaning the Maidan before we started play one day after it had been made into a dumping ground in the political rally the previous day. Every morning as we warmed up the children through Bull Dog game, I could see that all the children were very excited to play and to see those hundreds of smiling faces was a great. This Winter Camp, all the children enjoyed a lot because there were so many of them and had a good time with coaches. Each and every volunteer did a very good job , I noticed that they did not behave as coaches but more like a loving brother and sister.

Ravi Misra:

“Great that we saw so many girls participating this year, another record that we managed to set”

It was amazing to see the number of children who turned out at the Maidan for the Winter Camp, even better to see that the number kept increasing each day! It was the transport arrangements that was the best thing that we managed to do this Winter Camp. For me as the Co-ordinator of the Under-14, it was nice to see many young coaches do quite well despite the fact that they all were catering to more children than they were expecting. Great that we saw so many girls participating this year, another record that we managed to set. They were kept well engaged by the coaches in a variety of rugby skills and fun games and surely was a new experience for them. I think one skill that everybody managed to learn was how to manage situations so that they don’t go out of control. I would like to personally thank all the members of the Jungle Crows Foundation for making the Winter Camp very successful.

Sarfaraz Ahmed:

“..the display of PLAY on the playfield on the 1^st of January was amazing as we managed to make the formation by organizing about 850 children on the field.”

This year, the Winter Camp was fantastic especially because about 25 communities were involved in it. This involvement was much larger than all the previous years and I think all the children who participated had a great time. I saw that many of them managed to make many new friendships. For me, I was put in charge of the U-19 boys, and I think all the groups did a good job in giving sound rugby training to both the old and new boys. Personally there were two highlights of the camp that made the Winter Camp very memorable. First one was the display of PLAY on the playfield on the 1^st of January which was amazing as we managed to make the formation by organizing about 850 children on the field. The second one was the U-19 tournament on the last day which was great as many of the boys teams played really well and made the coaches proud.

Ajay Balmiki:

“It was great fun to climb the tree to take the picture of the PLAY formation”

This year, the Winter Camp was special not just because of good planning, the numbers, the breakfast, the transportation but also because all the Community Coaches got new challenges. This year, my job was to visit to oversee the work of all the junior coaches and help them out when they were finding it difficult to handle the situation. I enjoyed this role and also was good to see many young coaches perform well in their first time as coaches. Most of the children were very happy and enjoyed this camp a lot. It was also great fun to climb the tree to take the picture of the PLAY formation that we made on the field on the first of March!

Parvez Faizan:

I was part of the organising team this Winter Camp from the very beginning and frankly, I did not expect the turn-out that we had. Every day I felt more and more proud of the Jungle Crows Foundation. I am a part of the Jungle Crows from 2008 where I joined as a small boy and to see the number of children participating this year, I really felt that the organization was grown. I felt good that all the children received good breakfast, kit and many gifts even though there were more children participating each day then we expected. Paul sir threw a success party for all of us a day after the Camp, which means that it was a very good success!

Pritam Singh:

I have been involved with the Jungle Crows Foundation for more than 10 years and I can safely say that this was by far, the most amazing Camp organized. Infact, it was one of the best events that I was a part of. It was great to see how we all came together to make solid plans for the Winter Camp, and also work tirelessly to implement the plans. I witnessed some dedicated effort by everybody, starting from our internal team, our volunteer coaches, to supporters from outside. The transportation and breakfast arrangements were a highlight of the Camp for me, something that contributed immensely to the success of the camp. The children had a very good time and I think maximum care was taken to ensure that we all did something different this year and did it well. Perhaps some of the coaches could have done slightly better with their planning but all in all, it was a cherish worthy experience for me.

by Paul Walsh

(Article first published in The Telegraph, Calcutta and reproduced here with permission)

“Want to change the world? Invest in an adolescent girl.” – the United Nations Foundation.

Over the winter our Jungle Crows Foundation ran winter rugby camps for children in Calcutta, Saraswatipur and Bangalore. In Calcutta this was the 11^th year of the camp. Combined more than 1800 children took part, on the biggest day in Calcutta we had more than 900 children out playing on the Maidan. Looked after by more than 80 volunteer Coaches and fed each day of the 11 mornings a hearty breakfast by one of 14 local hotels and restaurants who stepped forward to support the initiative. Get along to junglecrows.org and you can watch a short film about it.

Over the course of the camp we too realised that girls are pretty damn important in facilitating change. I mean it wasn’t the sudden dawning of something pretty obvious, but a sense that involving more girls in our work really did make a difference to the experience for everyone. We tried hard to get more girls to this year’s camp, organising safe transport, reassuring parents. And it worked partly, 35% of the children playing each morning were girls, this was certainly an increase on previous years and you could sense it changed the atmosphere of the camp.

This year in the Jungle Crows we are driving forward with an initiative we are calling the Year of Play. The same film referenced above tells you more about that, but the first objective of this programme is to involve more and more adolescent girls in our work. The UN says girls are the key to, “eliminating poverty, achieving social justice, stabilizing the population, and preventing foreseeable humanitarian crises.” That’s quite a lot of responsibility, but having been brought up by a young Mum on her own I can also report how it’s not an unrealistic expectation. We all know girls in our society face many more hurdles in growing up than boys, whether it is marriage at too young an age, isolation due to community customs, denial of education or the threat of trafficking. Most of us will be able to recount experiences where we have at least heard of young girls denied their full chance in life. And this denial of rights is bad for all of us, for all of society. Girls are real change makers in our world, they are the catalyst around which a better world can be created. Today there are more than 600 million girls aged 10-19 growing up in developing countries, just imagine the change they could create if given the right chances.

We reckon PLAY and sport can be pretty powerful in encouraging and supporting this change. This is what our Khelo Rugby Community programme is all about. Working with children directly in the communities they live in. Community support is essential to any change and if we want to get more girls playing we need to have the support of their families, elders and schools. One way we can change attitudes is by involving girls in high profile visible events of which they are the centre of attention. This was why when we had the chance to partner with the British High Commission for a Sport is GREAT event we chose to do girls rugby. It really was an incredible day with 160 under 14 girls all playing tag-rugby to a very high standard. The final was particularly close and featured a mixed Calcutta team versus a team from Saraswatipur – the tea garden village we work in near Siliguri. The girls from Saraswatipur won, which was a super achievement for them and really showed how they have bloomed with Khelo Rugby.

After the girls rugby myself and the Deputy High Commissioner Scott Fursendonn-Wood raced over to the British Council where we were part of a panel discussion on how sport can play a central role in social development. The debate was high quality and really showcased some of the great social development work going on in Calcutta with sport at its centre; from engaging with school drop outs through Kolkata Goalz to the huge impact of Special Olympics Bharat with so many positive stories in between.

The benefits of play and sport are well known to most parents and in so many ways it is even more important that we work to extend these benefits to include all girls. I think we all know how play and physical activity is a key to a healthier life now and as children grow up. Research has also shown that active children learn better, develop keener memories and have better concentration. Play boosts self-confidence, lessens stress, helps us make new friends, develops team work, is good for goal setting, and I can go on!

And so this is why in the Jungle Crows we’ve adopted the hashtag #PowerOfPlay for 2016, please do use it if you think PLAY can be a positive in children’s lives. And for all the girls in your life please encourage them to get out and play, and then you too can be a part of supporting 600 million girls who are going to transform our world.

Our Sport is GREAT Children’s Forum brought together sport for development children in Kolkata and Karachi

by Shreyas Rao

The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace – IDSDP (6^th of April) always provides good opportunities within Sport for Development organisations like the Jungle Crows Foundation to try new initiatives and bring refreshing ideas into our projects.

Sport for Development events across the world provide a focus to the day and help in building new ways to engage young persons in different ideas and initiatives through sport.  With this in mind, we had the ‘madcap’ idea of seeing if we could get children from our communities in Kolkata to interact with children in Karachi through a video conference on 6 April.

Sport is GREAT Children’s Forum – Kolkata meets Karachi

Britain is GREAT, an initiative of the British High Commission has given us the opportunity to create and deliver several events under the Sport is GREAT banner. Using our Khelo Rugby programme we have held events in Kolkata and Bhubaneswar. Our Sport is GREAT work kicked off with a  Rugby World Cup themed children’s tournament in Bhubaneswar and most recently saw a rugby tournament in Kolkata just for girls. For this we had more than 160 girls from across our Khelo locations in Kolkata and Siliguri come together to play and listen to an inspiring talk from Shubha Kenworthy.

Our thinking was that we wanted to do something a little different to mark IDSDP in 2016 and the video conference was something we felt could be very special for all the children involved. We were fortunate that the Kolkata offices of the British Council and Deputy High Commission shared our enthusiasm. Kolkata partners for what we called our Children’s Forum were identified by including Future Hope and Durbaar who both participate in the Football for Development project Dosti. And though we would have liked to link up with our own Khelo Rugby children in Lahore logistics meant it was better to connect with Dosti children in Karachi.

On the day of the event, 30 children arrived very excited at the Deputy High Commission in Kolkata dressed to represent their respective organisations. After a brief ice breaker session, the children all seated themselves anxiously at the conference room eagerly waiting to meet new children in Karachi.  After a few redials the children were all soon immersed in free-wheeling, fun-filled banter about various aspects of their life, opening their hearts and their minds listening and talking about each other’s lives and engaging in an engrossing exchange.

Children representing Future Hope, Durbaar and Jungle Crows meet in advance of their Kolkata – Karachi link-up

I was delighted to be the moderator and followed a plan along the following lines, while encouraging the children to set the pace and be in control of their own conversations:

• Introduction – from each side: their names and what sport they played.
• A brief chat about their city and community.
• Language and culture – sharing each others different and same languages.
• A discussion about their own sporting experiences and favorite players.
• Challenges the children have faced while growing up and how sport has helped in these.
• Exchange on passions and hobbies.
• Fun chat over the hypothetical question – if I was in India for a day…. or If I was in Pakistan for a day…
• A round of Anthakshari between the children based on their common love of Bollywood songs

To make things simple, it was agreed at the start that the interaction would take place in Hindi. While it was the girls who dominated the discussion in Karachi, the participation was relatively equal from both boys and girls in Kolkata. Sport helped ease the tension even through a video conference – we started with a debate about whether Ronaldo or Messi was the better player. Of course Messi won, with the discussion going to a vote in both Karachi and Kolkata! Other highlights for me included the children teaching each other their respective languages – Bengali and Pashto, laughter and agreement on their love of Biryani and telling each other about their famed city landmarks.It was also great to see how the children could think criticaly even at such a young age, always surprising us with their maturity about issues and their enthusiasm about learning about each others culture. They were also sensitive enough to be politically correct – with a girl from Pakistan saying that she would love to play “Holi” if she ever visited India. The sports kits of girls was also a topic for discussion with the girls from India quite curious about what girls wore when they played outside in Karachi. At which, a little girl in Karachi nonchalantly stood up and turned around to show everyone her name printed on the back of her full sleeved track, implying that they were all indeed present in the room with their sports kit on. Several of the Kolkata children were pleasantly surprised that the girls even got a chance at sport. Towards the end, there was a lot of light banter about Bollywood and varying and similar tastes in music, fittingly ending in a fun game of Anthakshari between the two teams!

Karachi Dosti On the Air

This experience turned out to be  incredibly memorable for everyone involved; children and adults alike. With such an event it is quite hard to comprehend its significance. But it was noteworthy that all the children participating came from disadvantaged communities and generally lacked any regular access to technological resources. Yet, the children showed much maturity in the discussion, steering clear from populist prejudices and preconceived notions. The exchange of thoughts seemed to have enabled the children to refresh their minds from any narrow vision of the “other”, the “enemy” or other such identities that can be indoctrinated from a young age.  It was clear that at the most basic level, children know no hatred, their curiosity is genuine, and the bonds they form are pure. It was incredibly heartening to see, in the end, a couple of them came near the screen and intently waved at each other.  Alas, their hands could never meet but a peculiar yet innocent friendship took form.

One thing was clear, it was only the medium of sport that made something like this even possible to imagine. Sport creates unique channels of interaction; it provides an opportunity for opening new passages for dialogue. At a time when debate about nationalism is becoming ever more loathsome and petty, such events help elevate the plane of debate. Sport with its broad visions of equality can open up so many new doors everyday and guide us towards a renewed global movement.  It is indeed a rare privilege for sport for development organizations around the world that they can facilitate such unique initiatives, that they can dream beyond borders and provide experiences beyond boundaries!

It is worth concluding by noting that the views here are expressed on my experience as a moderator. I will also be compiling more thoughts from the children themselves, and I am sure that is bound to spring many surprises.

Author Shreyas captures a selfie with the children in Kolkata and Karachi!

How playing rugby in the mud (kichad) can teach children important life lessons

By Peter Fernandes

We started 2016 with a plan to build our Khelo Rugby project around the Power of Play. Sport can be such a powerful tool, on our playing field there is unity, social inclusion and gender equality. Khelo Rugby has come a long way in serving the community and we want to keep doing more for the young children who play with us. Khelo wants to be able to make a lasting impact on the lives of thousands of children, giving them strength, courage, knowledge and essential social skills required to build a good future.

At Khelo Rugby, we train our community coaches to provide high quality coaching to children that would not normally get such a chance. We encourage a very informal and friendly approach that builds trust with the children. The coaches are ably assisted in most communities by ‘Young Khelo Leaders’, who are young rugby players, normally graduates of Khelo Rugby who have displayed consistent skills in leadership and commitment to the programme. These Young Leaders are essential in enabling us to conduct more than 40 training sessions per week across 24 communities in Kolkata.

Khelo Rugby’s Milindo leads a Charcha in Saraswatipur

Each month we work on a theme based around a socio-development issue and selected by the children and coaches themselves. The objective is to impart important knowledge to the children and give them a chance to learn away from preconceived notions & stereotypes. These knowledge sessions we call “charchas”, they are usually conducted at the end of each training session. Apart from the standard charcha sessions, we also organise workshops and rallies for our young leaders and community coaches to impart more in-depth knowledge about social issues.

The results have been really fantastic and have also been a test of the leadership qualities of the young leaders who have delivered beyond our expectations. We have realised along the way that true leadership skills come to light when the young leaders are given important responsibilities and are held accountable for certain duties.

Khelo Young Leaders getting their work done!

Our Khelo Rugby centre in the village of Saraswatipur near Siliguri has been one of the most inspiring stories of the impact of the Power of Play. Within a span of 4 years, with the dedicated efforts of our coaches, the children have excelled to become outstanding rugby players and strong individuals who have gone on to represent the India National Women’s rugby team at international competitions and the West Bengal state rugby team. The girls have superb athletic abilities and are now looked upon as role models for the younger generation of girls from Saraswatipur. The story of the empowerment of the rugby playing girls of Saraswatipur has been a special feather in the cap of Khelo Rugby.

Our August theme was Indigenous Peoples to coincide with 9 August the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. Like many tea estate communities Saraswatipur has a large proportion of indigenous people, mainly from the Munda and Oraon Adivasi communities. In order to celebrate their Adivasi culture we planned an educational camp concluding with a one-day rugby tournament – giving the children a few days of learning, competition and fun. The organising of the entire camp and tournament was entrusted to a few young leaders, from both Kolkata and Saraswatipur.

Kichad Rugby

Through the camp children were able to learn about other indigenous peoples around the world and why there is a day to mark indigenous peoples. The children were also able to share interesting things about their own culture and life and feel proud of their Adivasi culture.

New Khelo Rugby manager Milindo on his first visit to Saraswatipur led a team of 6 young leaders from Kolkata and supported all stages of the project. His own expertise and experience was invaluable in enabling the children to talk and discuss openly and in a positive way. Interesting that the symbol of the international day was designed by a youngster from Milindo’s own indigenous community Rebang Dewan a Chakma boy.

Major highlights:

• 12 teams with 180 children playing mixed tag rugby participated in a total of 32 passion filled matches, delighting the spectators.
• Felicitation ceremony was held for 8 West Bengal players and 2 India National team players, Swapna Oraon and Chanda Oraon from Saraswatipur. Attended by the Sarpanch and members of the Panchayat of Saraswatipur village, Priest from the local church and the manager of the Saraswatipur tea estate.
• A friendly tag Rugby match was played between Kolkata young leaders and Saraswatipur young leaders with a display of great strength, technique and stamina giving a boost and vision to the young ruggers of the village to continue working hard in the sport.
• 20+ Young Leaders of Khelo Rugby organised the whole event with tremendous professionalism. The young leaders from Kolkata were treated like family and their hosts took them sightseeing, bathing in the river and to their homes for lunch and dinner. The experience was a humbling one for the young leaders who brought back some vivid memories.
• For the first time, the people of Saraswatipur village celebrated the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples and they promised that they would celebrate this day every year.
• Celebration of indigenous culture with a program of Adivasi songs and dance which gave a broad perspective of the deep-rooted culture and uniqueness of Adivasi people.
• 300 plates of chicken curry were cooked, served and eaten – nobody went home hungry.

This was a true community event with everyone participating either actively or as part of a supportive audience. The elders of the villages were touched that their children had brought such an incredible event to life and that to with an acknowledgement of their own culture and identity. The energy and vibe were mesmerizing. Every try, every good effort on the field was keenly responded with huge cheers and much clapping. The audience and community were a big motivational factor and contributed in large part to the success of the event.

How the children of Khelo Rugby worked together to SCORE for Health & Hygiene

by Milindo Chakma

On any given chilly morning or sunny afternoon you will find Khelo children running around to score a try, can be in Brooklyn or Boistala or any of our 25 Khelo Rugby locations in Kolkata. India today is still one of the major countries where half of the urban population are living in slum areas. Most of the Khelo communities we work with are in these slum areas. There are many many health related issues for the children growing up in these slums, specially in the monsoon season.

Diseases such as dengue, malaria, typhoid take many lives in the rainy season. “Health and Hygiene” was selected for the month of September as the theme for our Khelo Rugby Program. The main objective was to work with the Khelo children to help them better understand issues around personal hygiene – such as washing hands with soap and eating healthily and raise awareness about monsoon diseases such as dengue and malaria both for the children and their communities.

At Khelo Rugby we try to work on different social issues affecting communities by using fun games, rallies, street plays and charcha sessions. We encourage the children in Khelo to came up with their own innovative ideas to deliver these messages. We want the children to be leaders in their own communities and pioneer what we do together. The Health and Hygiene month was a tremendous example of this, with children devising their own posters, organising rallies and getting out and about in their own and neighbouring communities to share the messages they had devised. This is neatly summed up in this 90 second film featuring some of their activities.

SCORE: Since we work with young children, the medium we choose to deliver key messages is very important. Shashi one of our young leaders from Howrah Philkhana designed an info-graphic poster “SCORE”.  In the graphic the word “SCORE” is used to convey important messages on the wider topic of health and hygiene. The meaning of SCORE is short, catchy, sweet and meaningful.

Sleep Safely – Use a mosquito net. Sleep for 8 hours. Early to bed, early to rise.
Clean with Soap – Wash hands with soap. Take bath daily. Keep nails trimmed to keep germs at bay. Erase germs with soap.
Open your Eyes to Your Surrondings – Keep your home and surrounding area clean. Use dustbins and empty dustbins regularly.
Remain Fit – Play Sports. Walk, jog, run. Exercise regularly. Encourage your family to stay fit.
Eat Healthy – Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Eat boiled and well cooked food. Drink plenty of water. Avoid salty snacks and soft drinks.

This excellent infographic from Shashi gave our coaches and young leaders great support in delivering these important messages.

September at Khelo Rugby was all about health and hygiene. It is important our young leaders and children are fully engaged and leading the way on our monthly themes – they have to be owned by them.  Through awareness campaigns, cleanliness drives, charcha session and the SCORE infographic we were able to support children in taking a small step forward in living safer lives.