The Aussie-made rugby program that changed my life
24 July 2019
•By childfundrugby
At 16 years old, Lar went from never having played a sport, to competing in a tag rugby competition held in Belfast during the Women’s Rugby World Cup . Read her story below.
Lar lives in one of the highest areas of unexploded ordnance contamination in Laos. A lasting legacy of the Vietnam War, the 16-year-old girl had very few places to play around throughout her childhood.
Lar (pictured with ball) says: " Rugby has given me so much courage and motivation !"
But a uniquely designed Australian-made rugby program, ChildFund Pass It Back, offered Lar and her friends the chance to play a sport for the very first time in their lives.
The life changing effect of playing rugby
Lar says that being able to learn the game changed her life forever. “Rugby has given me so much courage and motivation! I loved playing so much that I have never missed a single practice.”
Not only did the sport build Lar’s confidence and build her team work skills, but it also shaped the way Lar understood gender equality .
“Before participating in ChildFund Pass It Back, I thought that men had more rights than women. But now, I know more about gender equity – that women also have the same rights as men, and that women can do things just like men. This has changed my thinking .
"I believe that women also have the right to speak out just like men.”
Incredibly, Lar went on to compete in Belfast as part of a tag rugby competition during the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
The impact of learning life skills
Today, Lar is a young woman who knows that passion, perseverance and hard work can pay off.
As a rugby player with ChildFund Pass It Back, she has not only taken part in the adventure of a lifetime, but now has life-long skills , knowledge and increased personal confidence on which to build her future.
