We are delighted to share the inspiring journey of Rachana Chaudhary, a young Nepali girl who discovered cricket only after her school joined our Breaking Boundaries project. In just a short time, her talent and dedication led her to an incredible achievement—being selected to represent Nepal in the Women’s U19 World Cup in Malaysia in January. While the Nepali team didn’t progress beyond the group stage, Rachana’s outstanding performance earned her a place on the national women’s team, winning her first full international cap in a match against the Netherlands.
To date, c.2,000 young people from some of the poorest families in Pokhara have benefited from participating in Breaking Boundaries. The project has fostered confidence, teamwork, and commitment to learning among participants, with schools reporting improved attendance as students embrace opportunities beyond academic subjects and exams.
In a country where gender discrimination remains a significant barrier—particularly for girls from marginalized communities, where chronic poverty often forces them into child labour or early marriage—Breaking Boundaries is challenging traditional norms. Remarkably, 50% of our participants so far have been female, proving that given the right opportunities, girls can excel in sports just as much as boys.
The success of Breaking Boundaries, along with our work integrating Life Skills Education into the curriculum of 75 government schools, has inspired us to go further. We are now collaborating with schools to introduce regular sports into their curriculum. Though still in the early stages, the positive impact is already evident, with more schools eager to follow suit. However, our ability to provide the necessary coaching and training is currently limited by a lack of funding.
If you have connections to potential funding sources or ideas on how we can expand investment in our Sport for Development initiative, we would love to hear from you. With the right support, we can give more young people like Rachana the chance to develop new skills, build confidence, and transform their futures.