With energy to burn and rules non-existent, street children in Kolkata are wild and free. “They’re used to getting bumped” says Tim, “but on the rugby ground, they can bump somebody else!”
\"Tim made Rugby accessible to all,\" says Sujata Sen, Future Hope CEO. Four students of the school have gone onto represent the India national team! This is inspiring stuff...
Rugby was the first sport introduced at Future Hope; playing a vital role in developing discipline, team work and personal responsibility. For children who would run away when told to sit down, let along enter a classroom to study, it was a way of shackling that energy from the streets and harnessing the wild-side of some pretty wild kids!
We meet coaches Paul Walsh, whose Khelo Rugby programme now sits under the Future Hope umbrella, and Sanjay Patro, one of the very first boys at the school. Both have incredible stories to tell...
A search for future talent takes us to The Dhapa; the dumping ground of the city. Here, like all over the city, kids play in bare-feet and compete in mixed girls-and-boys teams. The smiles and laughter emphasise the fun...
Then, on the weekend, the aspiring fly-halves walk for miles and cram onto crowded buses to reach a tournament. We follow them there, for a surprise result…
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