My Experience with Kampuchea Balopp

par camille | 31 Mar 2014 | Actualités, Featured, Grassroots, Grassroots, Mise en avant, News

In February, Australian student and rugby fan Mary Crowley, spent some time with Kampuchea Balopp to learn about what we do and to assist us with some of the training sessions and work with our coaches on improving their English language skills. Mary made a significant contribution in the time she spent with us and has written up about her experience working with Kampuchea Balopp in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

I have been privileged to have had the opportunity to spend two weeks working with Kampuchea Balopp in March 2014. In this time, I travelled with Coach Trainer and Program Development Manager Jean-Baptiste and his team of skilled Khmer coaches, Khemrin, Ra, Khemara and Pheary. I also worked with Anna-Maria Nugent (Fundraising coordinator) on providing some English lessons to the Cambodian coaches.

Training takes place at several locations in Phnom Penh where the team coaches rugby to disadvantaged children. The highlight of the experience was being able to share in the fun and play rugby with the kids who have boundless energy and a willingness to learn.  It wasn’t until I was participating in the training sessions that I began to appreciate the true value of the work this French/Cambodian NGO does.

On its most fundamental level, Kampuchea Balopp brings happiness and fun to the lives of underprivileged kids by giving them the opportunity to play rugby regularly where they would not otherwise be able to.

The enthusiasm with which the kids play and the admiration and respect that they have for their amazing coaches is testament to just how much this experience means to them. The physicality involved in the tackling is something that these energetic kids particularly enjoyed; both the boys and girls.

Finally, rugby brings out the competitive spirit in these beautiful and enthusiastic children. In speaking with the coaches, it is apparent that they strive to teach more than rugby though. They hope to have a long term impact on the children’s lives by showing them the value of cooperation and hard work.

That is the benefit of Kampuchea Balopp training up Khmer coaches to run these clinics. Having grown up in similar conditions as the kids they teach, Khemrin, Ra, Khemara and Pheary are role models for the children who show that sport is both a productive pastime to improve fitness and quality of life.

In all, I felt very lucky to have worked with Kampuchea Balopp.  Everyone is so committed and so enthusiastic about their work with these beautiful children that it is hard not to be affected by their comradery, passion for teaching rugby and making a difference. Kampuchea Balopp’s investment in the futures of Cambodian children makes it well worth getting behind in any way possible.

Mary Crowley, 19, Australia

Development Through Sustainability

par camille | 12 Fév 2014 | Actualités, Featured, Grassroots, Grassroots, Mise en avant, News

Last week, Thursday 6th February 2014, Dul Khemrin, one of the Kampuchea Balopps rugby coaches, visited Siem Reap with Pierres Yves Tondeur, the development officer of French partner association Terres en melees. Kampuchea Balop and Terres en Melees formed a partnership about a month ago and Pierre has been actively involved in training the coaches since he arrived from France.

The pair of Khmerin and Pierre visited Siem Reap to run two rugby sessions with two NGO’s based in the famous temple town of Cambodia. The NGO’s « Friends International » and « Ecole du Bayon » were treated to more than a simple rugby initiation session, but also a workshop for all the NGO educators from “Friends International”. The workshop was entitled “How to animate a rugby activity for kids and how to use it as a tool of education ». (Loosely translated from French).

The idea of the workshop was to enable and empower the educators and to provide them the skills to use a sport, in this case, rugby, as a tool for education whilst still letting the kids (and themselves) have fun.

The idea came about when Kampuchea Balopp realised that many of the Khmer educators working in the NGO’s don’t fully know that sport can be used as a tool of education. Instead sport is thought of as a good physical activity that enables the kids to have fun and spend energy, but through sport, a positive message and lessons can be taught and learned which can be provided to the youth through regular training.

It was also the first time in the history of Cambodian rugby that a Khmer coach (Dul Khemrin) was training other Khmers to teach them how to be a rugby educator. Kampuchea Balopp are very proud of Khemrin and this  shows that we are making the Development sustainable.

Kampuchea Balopp would like to thank Terres en Melees for their support in this initiative as well as all of those who participated.

La semaine dernière, le jeudi 6 Février, Dul Khmerin, l’un des entraîneurs-éducateurs de Kampuchea Balopp, s’est rendu a  Siem Reap, en compagnie de Pierres Yves Tondeur, l’agent de développement de Terres en Mêlées.
Kampuchea Balopp et Terres en Mêlées travaillent ensemble depuis maintenant un mois, et Pierres Yves a été très impliqué dans le développement  des compétences techniques et pédagogiques de notre équipe d’entraîneurs.

Notre binôme s’est donc rendu a Siem Reap non pas pour y visiter ses fabuleux temples mais pour y animer deux grandes séances d’initiation rugby auprès d’enfants pris en charge par les ONG Friends International et Ecole du Bayon. Toutefois, plus que deux simples séances de rugby, le but de cette visite a été de mettre en place plusieurs ateliers de travail auprès des éducateurs employés par ces ONG. L’Intitulé de ce workshop était: « Comment animer une séance de rugby auprès d’enfants, et comment comment l’utiliser comme un outil d’éducation ? »

L’idée de ce workshop était vraiment de faire prendre conscience aux éducateurs que le sport et le rugby, en l’occurrence, est un formidable outil pour permettre de véhiculer des messages éducatifs forts comme le respect des règles et de ses camarades, l’esprit d’équipe et de combativité, et la découverte de soi-même.

Avant ce workshop, il était intéressant de constater que la majorité des éducateurs participant ne réalisaient pas forcement que le sport n’est pas qu’un simple moyen d’occuper les enfants, mais qu’il doit être utiliser avant tout comme un outil éducatif.

C’était aussi la première fois dans l’histoire du rugby cambodgien, qu’un entraineur-educateur de rugby cambodgien (Dul Khemrin) animait et formait d’autres cambodgiens pour développer leurs compétences d’éducateurs de rugby. Kampuchea Balopp est très fier de Khemrin, car cela montre une nouvelle fois qu’avant de vouloir développer le rugby éducatif, il faut penser a rendre ce développement le plus pérenne possible.

Kampuchea Balopp aimerait remercier chaleureusement Terres en Mêlées pour leur soutien technique dans cette initiative ainsi que tout ceux qui ont participer a ces deux jours de formation.

Our Home: Welcome to a new NGO partner !

par camille | 5 Nov 2013 | Actualités, Featured, Grassroots, Grassroots, Mise en avant, News

Last monday, around 60 children and teenagers, aged from 6 to 16 years old, had their first rugby training with Kampuchea Balopp coaching team.

Divided into two groups, one which comes in the morning, and one in the afternoon, the children from Our Home will train every Friday.

Our Home is an NGO which takes care of about 80 children who are living in difficult areas near Wat Samkosal.

Kampuchea Balopp is happy and proud to welcome these new players within our big family!!

Here are some pictures from the training of the afternoon group!

Here are some picture of the training of the afernoon group !

Kampuchea Balopp est heureuse et fière d’accueillir les nouveaux joueurs venus d’Our Home. Cette ONG s’occupe de 80 enfants des quartiers difficiles de Wat Samkosal!

Lundi dernier, 60 enfants et adolescents , âgés de 6 à 16 ans, ont eu leur 1er entraînement de rugby avec nos éducateurs.

Tous les vendredi matin et après-midi, les enfants d’Our Home suivront une initiation au rugby.

Venez découvrir les photos du 1er entraînement !

Divided in two group, one which came in the morning, and one in the afternoon, the kids are going to train every friday. 

Our home is an NGO who takes care of about 80 kids who are living in the difficult areas near the Wat Samkosal. 

Kampuchea Balopp is happy and proud to welcome those new players withing our big family!!

Here are some picture of the training of the afernoon group !