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December 2009 Jaipur, Rajasthan.
During my last few months working in India I looked for a way to support a project related to team sports.
I have played team sports all of my life and I am keenly aware of the benefits that playing sports offers to both young and old. Leadership, teamwork, structure and most importantly, fun, are just a few of the things team sports can offer. Sports have a unique ability to change one’s life if only for a little while.
Being on the field, on the pitch, or on the court can make one completely forget the struggles one has in their daily life. For an hour or two, nothing but the game at hand matters. Sometimes a bad day can be worked out with a little hard work, sweat and a smile.
I had the opportunity to visit several public schools both in Mumbai and Jaipur, and have been actively looking for a way to contribute to some type of sporting endeavor.
I was invited by a friend in Mumbai to visit a public school that is largely funded by local NGO’s. I went with the idea of looking at their sporting equipment to see if there was a need for more or new equipment to help promote sports in their school. While wandering the halls, I was invited into a few different classrooms. Teachers, as well as students were excited to see a foreigner and they were eager to ask me questions. I stood before a class of students between the ages of 12-14 and spoke of Canada and answered any questions the children had. Along with usual questions of name, age and marital status, I was surprised by some of the questions put to me. A shy young man asked me why I wanted to come to India? Why I wanted to help people in India? What I liked about India?
I answered his questions and decided to ask the students some of my own. I asked them about the sporting equipment they had in their school and if they were in need of any more?
All in agreement, they stated that they had just enough equipment for what they needed. Surprised, I asked them what equipment they currently had. Although they didn’t have enough for each child, sharing was not a problem. I was genuinely shocked. I was offering them enough new equipment for everyone. They declined because they simply didn’t need new equipment as the old stuff still worked. This is a real testament to where these children come from and how they live their lives. People living in developed countries often throw money at things believing we always need the newer and better version to be happy.
Humbled and happy I left the school with my sporting project still on hold.
A few schools and a few months later I found myself in Jaipur. After several discussions with Hitesh and Jaimila Gupta of Vatsalya we worked out an idea for me to help with their Winter Sports Tournament at the Udayan Children’s Village.
The Udayan orphanage is in a rural area 40 kilometers outside of Jaipur near the village of Archol.
This year’s tournament would not only include Udayan’s children, but several other teams made up of children from rural villages in the nearby area. This Tournament would provide enjoyment for over 150 children competing in a range of sports including Cricket, Volleyball the Indian sport of Kho-Kho and plenty of other fun events.
Earlier in the day I met with Udayan’s English teacher and we set out to buy hings for the tournament.
Hopping on the back of his motorbike we drove through the chaos that is Indian traffic. Our first stop of the day was a local sporting store where I wanted to buy some new cricket equipment. Over the next hour we looked at several bats, balls, gloves and all that is cricket, leaving me confused and excited. With bags filled with equipment piled high on my lap, we piled back onto the motorbike and powered through a gap in traffic barely missing a cycle rickshaw laden with metal bars as we headed to our next stop. After several death defying u-turns and wrong turns we finally found the shop we were looking for. On a side street near the famous “pink city”, we found Chawla’s Trophy Shop. A young Muslim man named Maresh who was eager to help us greeted us inside. I was excited to see if I could afford some small trophies for the tournament. After several samples we decided on small gold medals with an inscription written on the back.
Together with the medals, I was also giving away two small cricket bats left to me by my friends Hugh Brodie and Brett Dee of Australia. The famous Australian cricketer, Brett Lee, signed these two bats.
It’s tough to describe how the game of cricket is viewed in India. Most males in India attempt to play cricket wherever there is a patch of dirt or an open space. Impromptu games are played by men and boys in slums, city streets and by the elite on freshly mown, luxurious cricket fields. The National players are treated and respected as gods. Although Brett Lee is an Australian, he has a storied connection with India, having sang and acted in some Bollywood films which make his signature and status important. The two signed bats would be given away as trophies to the MVP’s of the tournament.
The tournament was set to take place in early December, but due to many other circumstances the date was being continually pushed back. I’m now back in Canada and the tournament took place on December 25 and 26th. I was sad and frustrated that I couldn’t take part in the festivities, but excited to hear from Jaimila and Hitesh that the tournament was a success.
I can imagine the sounds of 150 children playing and laughing and I am already excited about my next sports project when I return to India in March.
Below is Dirty Wall ‘s Contribution to the Tournament:
- 2 cricket bats $ 28 CDN
- 28 white baseball caps (uniforms) $45 CDN
- 4 Indian team cricket jerseys (gifts for awards) $21 CDN
- 12 cricket balls $ 8 CDN
- 1 pair wicket keeper gloves $ 9.50 CDN
- 4 jocks $3.50 CDN
- 50 medals $ 28 CDN
- 2 signed cricket bats $ free
Along with DWP’s contributions, a local fruit and vegetable vendor from Archol donated over 100 kilos of fruit to supply the players on both days of the tournament.
DWP has had the chance to work in a wide variety of areas from healthcare to sports over the last few months and I’m very excited about DWP’s future projects. Being independant and free of structure enables DWP to help in many ways and to adapt and learn on the road…
“Anything is possible”
Sincerely, Kane Ryan
dirtywallproject@gmail.com
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