THE WOLFPACK CHANGE OF

A young Rugby enthusiast has astutely utilised the sport as an instrument of change by reaching out to society’s underprivileged and juvenile youth – dragging them out of a life of cursed misery to help them build a future of resilience, adaptation and op

The wolfpack The wolfpack with Rugby India officials

ive rounds of the park in organised folds – anyone who chickens out in sheer

lethargy automatically qualifies for two more. It’s another story that everyone might eventually fail; but that circumscribes the very objective of the instructor’s goal setting logic. The early five o’ clock assembly witnesses children from several impoverished neighbourhoods, overzealous with the prospect of learning the sport, spending their morning hours practising the basics of Rugby – a booming sport in the nation (as per the

latest statistics of Rugby India). Through Rugby, these children, ranging from five to 17 years, grasp the principles of discipline, solidarity, resilience, integrity, respect and empathy – the salient takeaways from the sport. With engagement in the sport augmenting the comprehensive growth of these children, the focus relies on their aspiration building, to help them rise from the misfortunes in their innocent existences. Prior to proceeding with the story of these children and how Rugby is uplifting their spirits and aspirations, it is necessary to understand the source of this subtle change. Whose prognosis are these children fulfilling; as unpredictable as the rains during monsoon, how did this very prognosis come to be?

The dynamic instructor, assisting the children grasp the sport to embark on a process of experiential learning, is a passionate player himself. His heightened understanding of the game and general sensitivity has carried him beyond the sporting arena, to a point where he channelises his enthusiasm onto the children who view him as a role model. Saif Ullah Khan, a Delhi Hurricanes and National player, is an active social worker progressively contributing to the lower strata of society. He infuses his ideology of ‘Sports for Change’ to empower The team huddle Officials of Rugby India with the 2019 World Cup trophy Post-practice sessions

Fthe underprivileged youth while simultaneously promoting Rugby. For Saif, following his professional career or grooming the new ones in the sport wasn’t as lucrative a prospect as utilising the sport for the change he envisions. “I had often thought about the life situations of the kids living on the streets and eventually decided to work towards my aim of getting them from the streets to the field,” claims Saif, whose sole ambition is to see these children harbour confidence to rise from the shackles of misery. His belief that sport is a powerful instrument of change certainly reflects in the unity of these children who have come from different areas and backgrounds. He is also involved directly with Rugby India in the development sector of the North Zone. The training sessions that he conducts with street children from areas of Jasola, Madanpur Khadar, Nizamuddin, Okhla and Jamia Nagar, is scheduled on weekend mornings in a local park with a turnout of at least 80 per session, which Saif collectively refers to as ‘wolfpack’. A warmup comprising of a set of activities is convened before exclusive drills of the sport take over. A detailed two-day routine – comprising knowledge of the sport along with practice – gets underway prior to a small match. Through the continuous sessions, he has developed a faction of players fit for playing, as well as for pursuing careers in the sport. His perseverance has left these kids, normally adhering to their mundane lives with very few prospects, aspiring for unthinkable heights.

Apart from diligently focusing on the game, refraining from dropping out of schools has been a key change in everyday affairs. Normally, the drop-out ratio of children in government schools is concerning. However, under the guid- The mentor has united children from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds Saif Ullah Khan, the team leader Heading towards the practice ground