Human babies are extremely vulnerable. They are born helpless – unable to feed themselves, to walk or even hold up their own heads. They cannot protect themselves from danger and need 24/7 care from the moment they are born. With no inbuilt immunity, their tiny bodies are also highly susceptible to disease and malnourishment.
It takes many years of development before a human baby can achieve even small milestones in independence. For new mothers, the resulting sense of responsibility can be overwhelming and scary.
But in Timor-Leste, the situation for new mothers is even more frightening. Every five hours a child under the age of one will lose their life, making them 14 times more likely to die than an Australian newborn.
Yet with education and support, these deaths are largely preventable.
It is early on a chilly winter morning in Kim Boi, a northern mountainous district in Vietnam. The sun is still hidden behind the clouds and the air is filled with thick, grey fog.
A group of local youth are already up and ready, even though it’s Sunday and school is closed. That’s because today they are heading to the district stadium for a competition they had been looking forward to for months – ChildFund Pass It Back’s end of season tag rugby competition.
In 2016, Than was 15 years-old and had never played with a rugby ball in her life. Than lost her mother when she was a baby, and after her father also passed away, she moved in with her relatives. Than was the meek one, who rarely laughed. She grew up shy and reserved, with a small circle of friends and was sometimes teased by other children.
Few people in Than’s community, let alone Vietnam, knew what rugby was. All Than understood about the game was that it used a strange, egg-shaped ball, which could only be passed back. Encouraged by her cousin Phuong, two years her senior and already a particpant in ChildFund Pass It Back, Than thought she’d give it a go. It was a decision that was to change her life.
ChildFund Pass It Back is a sport for development program that uses rugby as a tool to build leadership and life skills in children and young people across disadvantaged communities in Asia. Soon, Than was a member of team ‘Peony’ along with 11 other girls. Her journey with the egg-shaped ball had begun.
