In July 2015, 57 young people from Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia came together in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, to participate in a two-week training program to learn about rugby and life-skills coaching. It was all part of the new regional Pass It Back program, which ChildFund Australia is working on in partnership with Women Win and Asia Rugby, with the support of the Australian Government.
Pass It Back is an innovative program using rugby to equip children and young people in Asia to overcome challenges, inspire positive social change and ‘pass it back’ to their communities.
The first-ever coaches training camp was a truly regional affair with the program led by a team of trainers from ChildFund Australia, Women Win, Asia Rugby, the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union, Japan Rugby Football Union, Lao Red Cross and the Lao Rugby Federation.
Pass It Back Director, Chris Mastaglio says: “For many of the youth who participated in the training, this was their first time travelling outside their community. It was incredible to watch the participants go beyond their language barriers to connect and learn from each other.
“The training equipped the coaches with not only rugby skills but also leadership and life-skills. They have now all returned to their communities where they are registering children and youth to get involved in Pass It Back so they too can build their leadership and life-skills through rugby.”
Mother-of-one Tiem, is one of the 20 youth from Hoa Binh province in northern Vietnam who travelled to Vientiane by bus for the Pass It Back training. Now 21, Tiem dropped out of school in grade eight. To support their four-year-old daughter, Tiem and her husband work together on their farm.
“I loved the training. It brought me back to my childhood. Even though I did not know any Lao I found out I could still communicate with people there,” she says.
For young people in Tiem`s village, one of the main issues affecting them is the lack of job opportunities. For most people farming is the only option to earn an income. There are also limited chances for children to stand up and raise their voices within their families and communities.
“I decided to take part in Pass It Back because I want my little girl to have the opportunity to have choices in her life,” says Tiem. “I also thought if my little girl participated in these kinds of activities then she will have good health and skills for life.”
For Tiem and her fellow coaches from Hoa Binh province, they are now working on recruiting children and youth, especially girls, to take part in the project to help build their confidence and improve their leadership skills.
Lao Khang comes from a small village in Nonghet District in the rural north of Laos.
Like many of her classmates, she helped on the family farm, in addition to keeping up with her schoolwork as she was growing up.
At 13 years old, Lao Khang stopped going to school so that she could take care of her family as her father had fallen ill. “I couldn’t talk about what I wanted at that time,” she says.
In 2012, at age 20, Lao Khang was introduced to the world of sport through ChildFund Laos’ sport for development activities in Nonghet, taking part in the first pilot of what was to eventually become ChildFund Pass It Back.
Lao Khang learned about the sport of rugby, and seized the opportunity to be a part of something new that was engaging young boys and girls in her community. She began participating in rugby for leadership sessions held in the village, eventually becoming a Coach, which led to an internship with the Lao Rugby Federation (LRF).
For Lao Khang, one of the earliest participants in ChildFund Pass It Back, the experience has been life-changing.
A native Hmong speaker, she worked hard to improve her Lao language skills while also supporting LRF and ChildFund with coaching work in Vientiane, as well as organising rugby events and activities in Nonghet District.
As her rugby skills improved Lao Khang was also selected for the Lao Women’s National Team. Since 2014, she has represented her country at international tournaments in Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore including the 2014 Asian Games and the 2015 Southeast Asian Games.
In 2014, Lao Khang was awarded a Global Sports Development’s Athletes in Excellence Award. She is also the first person from Xieng Khouang Province to earn a World Rugby Coach Educator qualification and now helps lead World Rugby courses in Laos as well as helping with coaching courses in Vietnam.
Lao Khang says: “As a girl I was always very shy. Now I am a brave and confident young woman.
“Before I began playing rugby I only knew people in my small village. Now I have friends all around the world.
In 2018, Lao Khang was named by the BBC as one of its 100 most influential and inspirational women from around the world, chosen for their impact on their communities, while in 2019 , Lao was listed in Forbes 30 under 30 Asia Entertainment and Sports.
She remains a firm believer in the power of sport to change lives, especially children in developing communities Lao Khang says: “Rugby is an exciting way to educate children. When we play games, we teach children about things such as the importance of hand-washing, manners and respect for elders and friendship.”
And she is determined to see others benefit in the same way she has: “I want to help involve as many Lao girls and women from rural and remote communities as possible in rugby so they too can feel brave and strong.”
