Category Archives: International Development

May 8, 2015 · 10:41 pm

Representing Khelshala and Kidsquash at the United Nations Headquarters

Over the past few days, I was fortunate to attend the 3rd International Forum on Sport for Peace and Development at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the Dr. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee led the opening session of the Forum. Here is the official UN press release.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Dr. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee leading the opening session.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Dr. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee leading the opening session.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Dr. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee leading the opening session.

As a member of the International Sport for Development and Peace Association, I attended the forum to represent Khelshala (India) and Kidsquash (USA) to learn, connect and collaborate with others working in the field of sport for development and peace. An informal meeting of practitioners, researchers and educators provided an opportunity for networking as well as an avenue for sharing updates on university programs, research and sport-based youth development initiatives.

There were several references made by Mr. Wilfred Lemke, UN Special Advisor on Sport, on the role of volunteerism in sport as a means to activate young people. As a former United Nations Volunteer, I believe this would be a valuable experience for aspiring development professionals. Thanks to the organizers of the event it was an opportunity to learn from the nuances in high-level, policy discussions as well as be at the forefront to mainstream sport-for development programming in the United Nations systems and beyond.

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Filed under Community Development, Conferences, Education, Foreign Policy, International Development, Leadership, Networking, Olympic, Paralympic, Peace Building, Private Public Partnerships, Professional Development, Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement, Youth Development, Youth Sport

January 27, 2015 · 10:41 pm

Sport and Development Documentary Filmmaking: Khelshala Next?

Earlier this month, I attended the 2013 UMass Boston Film Series to watch the movie China Heavyweight and listen to a question and answer session with the Director of the movie. Without giving away too much, for friends and colleagues in the sport and development field I recommend watching the movie. Below is the trailer.

The movie resonated with me since the master coach’s triumphs and tribulations were parallel to my observations of Coach Bajwa’s vision for Khelshala. While Khelshala graduates will be making their career decisions in the coming years, the young boxers in China Heavyweight illustrate the challenges of collective action versus individual pursuits in a resource-constrained environment.

In listening to the Director Yung Chang speak about the production process behind the film, I could not help but think that a Bollywood Director or documentary filmmaker would find an equally enriching storyline behind the children of Khelshala. A “Champion from Chandigarh” would be a fun movie to make.

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Filed under Coaching, Community Development, Education, International Development, Leadership, Literature Review, Networking, Poverty, Professional Development, Stakeholder Engagement, Uncategorized

January 9, 2015 · 7:17 pm

Bringing Change Through Private-Public Partnerships

Just over 10 years ago, I embarked on a journey to Africa to serve as a United Nations Volunteer in Uganda to help strengthen and expand the Cisco Networking Academy Program across secondary schools, technical colleges and universities with an emphasis on gender equity and workforce development. I shot some of the footage from Uganda for the video below that was shown at the 2003 Africa Forum in Dakar, Senegal.

Fast forward 10 years later the explosion of social media and computer networking is continuing to rapidly bring about economic and social change in developing countries. While I am yet to return to Uganda to see the long term impact of the Cisco Least Developed Countries Initiative, I am grateful to Ugandan and non-Ugandan volunteers, colleagues and friends for sharing a pivotal growth experience. Moreover, the lessons that the emerging sport for development and peace sector can learn is that private-public partnerships can spur innovation.

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Filed under Capacity Buidling, Community Development, Corporate Social Responsibility, Education, Foreign Policy, Gender, International Development, Leadership, Networking, Philanthropy, Poverty, Private Public Partnerships, Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement, Volunteering, Youth Development

January 7, 2015 · 4:28 pm

Facilitating Greater Growth and Learning in Sport for Development and Peace

In my early 2009 blog post titled, “A good starting point,” I encouraged those new to the field of sport for development and peace to view Youtube videos as means of becoming more familiar with current programs. Not that I can claim any credit for this, but fast forward to 2013, I was pleased to discover a website dedicated to raising awareness of the sport for development and peace sector.

Those of you who are interested in learning more about sport and social change programs, I recommend visiting and joining Sport4dev.tv, an emerging site that allows viewers to be active participants in the sport for development community.

Not only is it a good way of sharing one’s involvement (like I have already done with various Khelshala’s videos) but to learn about other sport for development programs in numerous countries and by sector, such as health, gender or disaster response. As the world becomes increasingly connected, communities of practice such as Sport4dev.tv will hopefully facilitate greater growth and learning for all stakeholders.

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Filed under Capacity Buidling, Community Development, Education, International Development, Literature Review, Networking, Professional Development, Stakeholder Engagement

December 28, 2014 · 2:16 am

Witnessing Sport and Development Unfold Before One’s Eyes

My travels in India would not be complete without paying a visit to Khelshala, a sport-based youth development program founded and led by Coach Bajwa, my former college squash coach, colleague and dear friend. Khelshala celebrated its third year anniversary on August 13th, 2012 as covered by the Indian Express with the opening of a new tennis program on a 4-acre facility in Village Majra, a rural area near Chandigarh.

Khelshala Tennis program in Village Majra

Khelshala Tennis program in Village Majra

This was my 3rd visit in 4 years to Chandigarh and can say with confidence I have seen first-hand how Coach Bajwa has transformed Khelshala and the community through sport. The photo above was taken during a visit to the Majra facility where 100 village children from low-income families were learning tennis for the first time. Furthermore, it has been 3 years since the squash, academics and yoga activities have been taking place at Village Attawa and the results are beginning to show.

Khelshala is a non-governmental organization (NGO) and a registered charity that relies on the goodwill of donors, volunteers and friends. As a founding member of Khelshala, I am proud to be associated with the organization and plan to continue to assist remotely until a future trip materializes. Overall, my 3-day visit to Khelshala was short on time, but long on inspiration.

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Filed under Capacity Buidling, Coaching, Community Development, Education, International Development, Leadership, Philanthropy, Planning, Squash, Volunteering, Youth Development, Youth Sport

December 18, 2014 · 11:10 pm

Exploring Frontiers of Social Enterprise in Bangalore

I am writing from Bangalore, India where I recently visited Sneha Care Home, a “home away from home” for HIV infected children. Sneha Care Home is a part of the Sneha Charitable Trust, an initiative by the Brothers and Priests of the Roman Catholic Order of St. Camillus who are collectively known as Camillians. Today’s International Red Cross originates from the work of Camillians.

The purpose of the visit was to listen, observe and exchange ideas between Sneha Care Home staff, volunteers and students. Over the course of four days, I was fortunate to gain valuable classroom teaching experience with children between the ages of 6 to 13; observe extracurricular activities such as student clubs; introduce new physical education elements emphasizing dynamic stretching and exchange ideas with Brothers, Priests and staff.

Sneha Care Home orphans Playing Sports

Sneha Care Home orphans Playing Sports

At the end of my stay, I met with Father Mathew Perumpil, Director of the Sneha Care Home who just returned from a visit to the USA. He spoke at length of macro and micro issues and we brainstormed together about ways in which Sneha Care Home may have a wider impact in addressing HIV AIDS at the state, national and international levels. Overall, it was a very inspiring visit and again challenged me to find ways of connecting the dots with my experiences in the field of social enterprise.

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Filed under Coaching, Education, HIV AIDS, International Development, Leadership, Networking, Philanthropy, Psycho-Social Support, Rehabilitation, Stakeholder Engagement, Volunteering

December 6, 2014 · 4:56 pm

Advancing the Field of Sport for Development and Peace

Thanks to my International Sport for Development and Peace Association colleagues Sarah Hillyer (Georgetown University) and Eli Wolff (Brown University), I was able to attend the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education and Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) Symposium titled “Sport for Development and Peace: Initiatives, Challenges, and Pathways Forward.” To view the presentations click here.

The field of sport for development and peace is still relatively young and aiming to achieve legitimacy from the mainstream international development community. Nonetheless, it was welcoming to see AAPHERD host this event. Furthermore, many of the academics involved in this field are scholar-activists, working on the cutting-edge of research and practice both in the United States and around the world. In listening to the presentations, I was reminded by the quote from cultural anthropologist – Margaret Mead, who stated “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world.“

As with most conferences, one must find ways to take away the information that will add value to the organizations in which one serves. As a coach who works with young people, the three big “take-aways” were: designing positive sport-based experiences, the importance of pedagogy and leveraging support networks. Each of these requires skill, patience and coordination that can be developed over time. In short, to advance this field more awareness is necessary starting with coaches, teachers, administrators and parents.

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Filed under Capacity Buidling, Coaching, Community Development, Conferences, Conflict Resolution, Education, Foreign Policy, Gender, HIV AIDS, Homelessness, International Development, Literature Review, Networking, Peace Building, Professional Development, Psycho-Social Support, Public Policy