Final Reflections

Sian

My brain is buzzing, the last 2 weeks with a fabulous CWB team has hit all the senses. We’re the 2nd project team to come to Nepal with every day realising what work has been ongoing; the second week with Nepal Cricket Foundation in Biratnagar. With enthusiasm we encouraged the teachers to allow more children to get involved in the sessions, and to see the joy on the faces and opening possibilities for their future was heart warming.

Working with the coaches and their feeding back on how we have brought fun to coaching and including girls boys young and old to any session. That disability is no barrier and the message of equality is key. The skills of coaching is something I keep thinking about, being inclusive, kind, clear and enthusiastic, engaging with the children is very fulfilling facilitating learning in life and cricket skills.

There were differences in Rajbiraj and Biratnagar, however the enthusiasm of the project leads was mirrored in both places. We worked hard, ate well and experienced the back street walks between schools, bumpy Rickshaw rides searching down the next street for the next school. It was great to see the girls play a good standard of cricket at the Equality Cup 2024 on International Women’s day was the icing on the cake.

Tim

Another fantastic week coaching at loads of different schools. Exciting to see so many girls playing cricket and really enjoying it. Some of the schools were progressive in giving opportunities to girls and were supported by the boys. However not everywhere so loads more work to do to ensure girls get the same opportunities as boys to play cricket in Biratnagar.

End of the second week also means end of the trip. It has been awesome, amazing to be part of a great team, seen some amazing places, loved the food and thank you for having us Nepal. 

Rachana

Rachana’s not good at sticking to a word count.

So click here to read her reflections.

Note – It’s a great read

Lee

Six years ago, I arrived in Biratnagar, Nepal, with Connecting Clubs to help introduce cricket for equality in the region, despite initial resistance from head teachers who told me repeatedly that the girls don’t like to play cricket.

With the support of local coaches trained through the ICC platform and partners like Sabal Nepal and Nepal Cricket Foundation, great strides have been made and it is an honour to be able to now witness girls not only in Biratnagar but other areas in the region training every week and playing competitive cricket regularly.

Witnessing the joy and empowerment of the girls as they embrace the sport is deeply gratifying. Our journey, though challenging, has been immensely rewarding, and I’m confident it will continue to inspire positive change in the community.

Ed

It was really interesting going to a country where volunteer trips are pretty new (this being the second round), and where the Changemaker programme is still pretty new, albeit that it is well established and already showing significant progress. For me it reinforced the enormous significance of high quality local partner support and consistent local coaches. In some ways the consistency feels more important than the quality (not that quality isn’t important too!) and that could be one of the reasons Rajbiraj seems to have accelerated cricket development so quickly from a standing start.

I loved everything about Rajbiraj, the more rural settings and the feeling the Changemakers brought of energy and hope. There’s so much further they can go and I’m sure in time the Saptari district will start to win Nepal-wide competitions. Balancing participation needs with improving quality at the more elite end is not an insignificant challenge given limited resources, but to be in that position so fast is a great sign.

With no Nepalese language under my belt there were times when language was more of a barrier than I would have liked, but the cards we used were invaluable! I was able to use them even when there was no shared language – something I’ve never done successfully before. This trip also developed me as a coach more than others before have, because we had less kids and more planning time. Running through POP one morning was really helpful.

We know Nepal’s men are pushing to break through at elite level. While there’s a way to go, it’s really encouraging to see there’s already some classy female players, particularly from Morang. Even more impressive though, was the increase in participation session numbers and the change to majority female cricket sessions down in Rajbiraj. This is testament to the work Sara and the Changemakers have put in, and it’s very encouraging to see Sport for Development working in practice. Reminds us all why we do these trips.

With such a small team it was more important than ever that we all got on and worked well together. Fortunately, with similar reasons for being there, the group came together really well. It was probably the best CWB group I’ve been involved in for being able to challenge each other to deliver improvements while retaining the supportive team feeling required. I will be intrigued to see how Nepal cricket, and in particular, Nepal women’s cricket, develops over the next few years.