Tours are always jam-packed for the Big Bang Ballers, however the Nepal Tour 2012 in September blew the roof off of the definition of “busy”!
Before we get into the details, a HUGE shout-out to our photographers, the legendary Mike Schreiber and the wonderful Riaz Lalla!
The Tour kicked off with a friendly game against local Nepalese ballers. While we would love to blame our loss on the fact that our main Team was unable to make the Tour, the fact is that these guys can ball! Great game, great vibe, lots of love on the day.
To follow up the game, the Big Bang Ballers held both a men’s and women’s 3×3 Tournament at the National Stadium to bring together local ballers and set the seeds for Big Bang Ballers – Nepal. The day was a resounding success, with several girls’ teams showing the boys just how talented girls are, and many, many ballers learning more about the Big Bangs and what we do in-country.
Next came a full-day camp at Heartland Children’s Academy. The Heartland Children’s Academy (HCA) is a fast growing, internationally supported school providing co-educational classes from Nursery, Lower Kindergarten, Upper Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary to class Ten, with over 330 students enrolled and over 30 staff members. HCA is supported by GDG, CLCR Australia and managed by CLCR Nepal and its global partners from the UK, New Zealand and Australia.
Most of the Big Bang Ballers who attended this Tour were Tour Rookies; the Heartland kids could not have been a better introduction to how the Big Bangs do things! Check out the pics on the Big Bang Ballers – Nepal facebook site; you’ll be smiling for hours!
Our next camp was to be held at the Sailung school. As a school we have supported with books and toys in the past, we were quite keen on making the long trek there. After a full day of driving and many hours of trekking through mountains and jungle, the team finally made it into the community around midnight. Ask any of the team members about the trek, it’s a story which has to be told in person.
The Big Bangs held several mini-camps throughout the day for all the kids in the school, as well as donating a laptop and books care of Big Bang Ballers – France. Make sure to check out the pictures, it was a blessing and an honour to be ballin on top of the world with such fantastic kids!
On return to Kathmandu, the Big Bang Ballers made a special visit to the HCC Orphanage, cooking for the kids and taking part in games and activities and donating shirts and cash. Reports from the day are incredibly inspiring to all of us here at Big Bang Ballers International.
A highlight of the Tour was meeting Anuradha Koirala. Ms. Anuradha Koirala is the Founder and Executive Director of Maiti Nepal. Born in Nepal and former English teacher, Ms. Koirala started Maiti Nepal in a small house in Kathmandu with her own savings. Today she is a widely recognized activist and lecturer who has dedicated her life to combating the sexual exploitation of women and children. Her accomplishments have been recognized through numerous awards. Her work is often dangerous and requires great personal sacrifice.
It’s with great pride that we now call Ms Koirala a Big Bang Baller. Our Team Is Strong.
Can’t wait for the next tour!