Good morning Vietnam!
Cricket Victoria has long understood the power that sport possesses to bridge cultural divides.
It has the unique capacity to bring together people from all walks of life be it on the streets in India, the beaches in the Caribbean or the alleyways in Melbourne, just as Hoddles Creek’s Shawn Tipping recently found out.
Vietnam may seem another world away from the Yarra Valley, but through cricket, Shawn has enjoyed a trip he’ll never forget.
Locally, I am known as Tippa, just as I am now to the kids in Vietnam.
Hoddles Creek has always put a lot of time into the youngsters at our club.
Last season, we ran a successful MILO in2CRICKET program, which was favourably received by participants and parents alike.
The success of the program led me to think about helping Project Indochina in a similar manner.
Based out of Hoi An, Project Indochina is an organisation that assists and educates underprivileged boys and girls in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
With this in mind, we contacted Cricket Victoria, which was kind enough to donate some gear, and we set about lugging it 7000kms!
Over summer in Vietnam, kids enjoy a break from school for six weeks, and in that time, some get the chance to attend summer school where they learn subjects such as English via Australian teachers and helpers.
This year, Project Indochina was involved in school at Xã 膼iê蹋n Tho蹋 which is a small town about 40 minutes inland by car from Hoi An.
With volunteers from across the world on hand to help, kids came from near and far to attend the school.
While we primarily worked with kids aged between 12 to 15, there were young students as well, and it didn’t take long for these 10 to 12 year olds to get into the spirit of cricket and start playing as well.
During break times at school, we would pull the gear out, and despite some initial shyness, five minutes later there were bats, balls, kids, teachers and cricket chaos everywhere.
While it was hard to run formal clinics because of the language barrier, the basics of cricket were picked up quickly and the kids had a great time.
Through a translator we presented a MILO in2CRICKET kit to the Xã 膼iê蹋n Tho蹋 Principal, along with a wombat mascot from the Hoddles Creek Cricket Club, and enjoyed a trip we’ll never forget.
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