CRICKET LIVE Volunteering at Cricket Live in Sri Lanka
Rupert Whyte, Jacob Bird and Jakob Kerr went to Sri Lanka during the Christmas break to help out at Cricket Live, a foundation for under-privileged young children who need a chance to improve their lives.
Rupert (Year 13) visited the foundation in 2014 and, although he found it a challenge initially, he was keen to go back again. “It was such a great experience, I wanted to go straight back and when I told Alex this, he asked if I would like to take some people over and lead a volunteer group. Initially there were going to be five of us, but now three of us went. “This trip was a trial run to look at the way Cricket Live organises volunteer efforts and we hope to be able to extend this to other schools.
Cricket Live Foundation was set up by College Old Boy Alex Reese and, using sport, provides the children with direction in their lives, opportunities to further themselves, and most of all, provides them with a pathway for their futures. The CLF currently operates four centres in Sri Lanka in partnership with the MJF Foundation, the charitable arm of Dilmah Tea. The centres work with 300 children, from the Moratuwa and Siyambalanduwa areas. The children are in the programme for three years.
We wanted to get infrastructure in place so other people can copy it.
“The children in the academy have all had terrible beginnings as a result of the civil war in Sri Lanka. Many are orphans, some have been burnt and they all are super-damaged in some way, so cricket is their counselling. They learn life skills through the foundation.’’ Rupert’s first trip in 2014 was a baptism of fire in many ways and he had to learn very quickly how to find his way around.
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Christ’s College Canterbury
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