Cricket Players Come to Bat for Literacy: World Cup Stories from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka

Cricket is practically a religion in South Asia and cricketers are no less than gods. The adulation and fanfare must be seen (and experienced) to be believed, and it is difficult for non-cricket playing countries to begin to understand the rock star status of these players.

With cricket being the second most popular sport in the world, Room to Read was thrilled when the International Cricket Council (ICC) named our organization as their charity partner for the 2011 ICC World Cup. Additionally, through a unique initiative, Reliance Life Insurance, one of India’s top private sector life insurance companies, committed to a 25,000 rupees donation (approximately US$550) for every “sixer” or boundary that the cricketers hit. So far, 132 sixes have been hit which translates to over 3.7 million rupees donated (US$82,000). With each six, you can imagine the cheers coming from our country offices in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka -- countries hosting the World Cup games!  

In an effort to draw attention to Room to Read's work and encourage donations, the ICC coordinated special events with both cricket players and students participating in Room to Read programs. Reliance Big FM, with a special "Hit Illiteracy for a Six" segment, Big Cinema, Big CBS and various other Reliance ADA Group platforms are being used to promote these interactions widely.

Reena Luke, Room to Read Asia Regional Communications Manager, attended the events and shares some of the unforgettable moments. For these children, meeting and spending time with their sports heroes was a dream of a lifetime. And even for the millions of children unable to attend these events, the support of ICC, Reliance Life Insurance and the global cricket-loving community will fulfill their dreams of becoming educated young adults.

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Tigers Celebrate International Mother Language Day in Bangladesh

 When the World Cup opened in Dhaka, Bangladesh, our Room to Read Bangladesh country office was ready to pitch! Just after their big game with India, the Tigers (the Bangladesh team’s nickname) were ready to take a break, and Room to Read invited them to celebrate International Mother Language Day on February 21 with hundreds of young children at the Pora Khela Utsob (Reading Festival) at the Kishalay Girls School and College in Dhaka.

The names of the players were kept secret until the last minute, and the entire community gathered to greet them at the gates of the school which was decorated with tents and colorful bunting. The invited students managed to squeeze their way past the adoring crowds and, after a security check, anxiously awaited the arrival of their favorite players. Each time the huge iron door creaked open, there was a collective gasp of anticipation, and children pulled out their autograph books and ran towards the gate.

Finally, after a couple of false starts, in rolled a cavalcade of cars with police escorts. Three cricket stars—Zunaid Siddiqui, Mahamudulla Riyad and Shariar Nafees—stepped out and immediately faced a wall of waving autograph books eager to be filled. Without wasting much time, the young heroes took to the field and ran with the children, took part in “Read and Run” games, signed more autographs, posed for photographs, visited all the booths, talked to the kids, and flipped through Room to Read’s local language children’s books. Shahriar Nafees even managed to give a brief pep talk to his young fans, “I want each of you to focus and read better. Reading requires practice like cricket, and to excel, one needs to practice.”

All too soon, it was time to say good-bye. The cricketers handed over prizes to the winners and gifted the school a full cricket kit. Said Mahamudulla, “It was a good experience, and I enjoyed the afternoon with the kids. I am happy to see that these young children are getting such good books to read.”

Eighth-grader, Zoya, exclaimed, “I will never forget this day. Imagine—I got to shake Zunaid’s hand!”

Girls' Education Scholars Practice Their Interviewing Skills in India

  Across the border, in India, the ICC arranged several opportunities for Room to Read India to showcase their work to cricket lovers. Several match venues had Room to Read booths, filled with books and displays inviting book lovers to sponsor our reading programs. Aside from the matches, the big event of the World Cup was when four of Room to Read’s Girls’ Education program participants—Ishan, Ruppu, Renu and Moushmi—got an exclusive interview with Virat Kohli, India’s upcoming star cricketer and the nation’s heartthrob.

For these young girls, all from the Sarvodya Kanya Vidyalaya school in Tuglakabad village in Delhi, a trip to Bangalore by flight just to meet their favorite Indian cricketer was stuff that dreams are made of. And Virat made sure that they would remember this day all their lives by playing cricket with them, signing autographs and, of course, getting photographed with them. He even promised that once he was over with the hectic match schedules, he would visit their school and help to champion Room to Read’s cause. Said Virat to his young fans, “I am happy I got this opportunity to promote Room to Read. I would like to continue doing whatever I can to promote literacy and reading.”

Virat wasn't the only cricketer the girls got to meet. In the evening, the girls were taken to the stadium to watch the England cricket team practice. A sudden rain shower proved to be a blessing, for the players had to run for cover, and the girls knew how to grab an opportunity. Soon the English team was signing autographs and talking to the girls. Ishan even dared to ask the English captain about his strategy to defeat the Indian team! The captain threw up his hands and ducked to the nearest exit!

The BBC crew filming the event took the opportunity to meet the girls and learn more about Room to Read, and within minutes of the cricketers’ departure, the girls and the crew were fast friends. In fact, after a quick broadcast lesson, the crew found themselves on the other side of the camera being interviewed by the teenaged amateur camera-persons and reporters!

Shane Watson, Room to Read's ICC Ambassador, Teaches Fielding and Encourages Reading in Sri Lanka

March 3 is a day 10 children from central and northwestern provinces of Sri Lanka will never forget—for that is the day that they spent several hours with Australian cricket star, Shane Watson.

 Shane has been named Room to Read’s official ICC brand ambassador and, between World Cup matches, led a coaching session with the excited group of children at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo. The children, all participants in Room to Read programs and all very avid cricket fans, received individual coaching about fielding from Shane, and one exclaimed, “We can’t even believe that we are practicing with Australian cricketers. Our worry is that no one would believe that we got such an opportunity!”

  Reading has been a big part of Shane’s life since childhood, and he is anxious to help other children discover the joy of books. He humbly explained, “The cross section of people that cricket reaches means that we are able to reach a lot of people and promote the work Room to Read does. It is very special that we have the chance to impact people’s lives away from cricket. Hopefully we can touch as many people’s lives as possible and provide them with a chance to benefit from some of the things that we have been lucky enough to have.”

The end of the afternoon held another great surprise, as each child was given a personally signed photograph of Shane and a ticket to watch the match between Pakistan and Canada. Shane, too, was equally as moved when the children presented him with a picture they had created for him.

The event was covered by Yahoo, ESPN and Star Cricket. ICC also posted a short video that was screened pre-match on March 5. 

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  Room to Read will be featured on billboards, scoreboards and other events throughout the 2011 ICC World Cup which culminates with the finals on April 2. Visit our website to learn more aboutRoom to Read’s World Cup partnership.