My

Story

Fasloon

“I am one of five children. The area where I come from was highly affected by the 30-year civil war and the Tsunami in 2004. We lost our properties, friends and family because of the Tsunami. During this period, I heard many new words for the first time in my life, such as Tsunami, relief, NGO, disaster, etc. It was also the first time that I slept rough on the street. It took several years to return to our usual life and rebuild our homes.

In 2013, I was invited to join the Young Coach Education Programme by the Ampara District Football Association. I grew up playing football in school, and it has always been a key part of my life. The education was remarkable for me. It was different to other development or livelihood programmes that had been offered following the Tsunami.

I had just been a player before, but now I coach, and train children from my school. I train 10-12 year old boys and girls, once a week. I have also started to incorporate the ball and other physical activities into my classes, using games like catch and pass to build vocabulary.

The area that I work remains heavily affected by the civil war. This is the first generation to be educated following the war. Students and parents are not aware of the importance of education. That is why I use football to teach the children, and encourage them to attend school. The kids that previously didn’t attend school, joined my activities, and now go to school on a regular basis.

The education inspired me – it gave me the confidence – to get involved in sports as a social worker. People look at me and believe that Fasloon has the capacity to make things happen. Through your programme, I received the opportunity to visit Korea, to take part in the UNOSDP Young Leaders programme. This was a good experience that taught how the sports network can incorporate social elements into our activities.

Now I am in the process of forming a sport for development NGO called ‘Green Max Sport Club’. Once setup, we plan to hold a leadership programme for youth in Sri Lanka, to train more coaches, just like Scort did.”