With the end of the first ever CWB Volunteer project to Nepal, each member of the volunteer team looks back on our last day here in Rajbiraj, and on the project as a whole.
Yolanda
I have had an amazing trip in Nepal, with too many fantastic moments to relate them all; Head Shoulders Knees and Cone using umpire signals, the smile on the face of a girl when she learned to bowl, the pairs cricket festival in Biratnagar and so many more.
However at the top is when I umpired the cup final of the T20 Cricket for Dignified Menstruation cup in Rajbiraj on our last day which was the 5th International Menstruation Day. What an honour. While I was umpiring, several local schools came in to protest about violence against women and girls and to join the workshops on menstruation.
Seeing them lined up so bravely on the boundary edge and hearing the chanting made me cry – not so good when you are standing at square leg and trying to judge a runout! What a day! Thank you to Cricket Without Boundaries, Sabal Nepal , Saptari Cricket Association and all the sponsors.
Ali
As we say goodbye to our new friends in Rajbiraj, it seems incredible that we’ve known them for less than a week. It’s a very ordinary working town, far from the tourist trail, but it casts a magical spell. I’ve never been welcomed so warmly, or appreciated as much anywhere else.
Rajbiraj Champs beat Khadak Queens in a great final, and the explosion of joy at the end was wonderful, with the teams happy to share the celebrations. Their love of cricket was matched by the courage of the students who marched in to watch, their banners and chants demanding period dignity and an end to violence against women and girls.
These extraordinary young women are working to create better futures for themselves, and they will be my lasting, and inspirational, memory of a special project.
Sara
When I tell people Rajbiraj is my favourite place in Nepal, it is for a reason. It might be chaotic, full of noise and constantly changing plans and last minute problem solving, but the people who we work with here – especially the team at Sabal Nepal – are absolute gems, and the impact of girls having the chance to play cricket is immeasurable.
A day or two after the project finished I bumped into a journalist who was frankly flabbergasted that girls were playing cricket in Madhesh Province. The girls are smashing restrictive gender norms here, and it makes me so proud. The video we developed with the players at the final really speaks to everything we are trying to achieve here – give it a watch!
Saq
My first tour with CWB was absolutely amazing. The team worked so well together to form an unbreakable bond.
We always supported each other and all the kids we coached. Everybody we worked with, appreciated our hard work.
I was taken aback by the love shown to us and the receptions we received in each city, village and town we visited. The highlight was especially rambunctious cheering at the presentation after the final.
I am extremely proud to have been part of the maiden voyage to Nepal and will never forget the experience. Even in the short time we were here we feel we carried on the great work Miss Sara Begg started and made a difference. I hope it continues for many years to come!
It will be hard not to come back next Autumn… I would love to see the undoubted improvements that will have taken place.
Kajal
My first volunteer experience with CWB absolutely surpassed all my expectations. I always knew cricket would bring us all together but what I didn’t expect is the huge impact we would have on the kids that we coached and the immense changes we would bring to the girls. From the coaching skills, dance warm ups, rapid fires and the education workshops on menstruation to the many smiles and the freedom that cricket brought to them. I felt proud to see such comraderie and fellowship amongst them all, safe in the knowledge that they will always support each other.
The highlight of the entire project was at the tournament final of the Dignified Menstruation Day when I looked to my left and my heart skipped a beat to see an army of girls from local schools walking down the side of the pitch fighting for their rights to normalise periods and gender equality. It is this strength, bravery and passion that will motivate me every day.
The Koshi and Madhesh province and Nepal itself, will always have a special place in my heart and I look forward to hopefully revisiting the children next year to see how we have helped them on their journey and to further enhance their cricketing skills.
Of course, none of this would be possible without CWB and the extraordinary leadership of Sara Begg and the dream team I was lucky to be part of. If Carlsberg made a CWB dream team, well here it is…
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