FOOTBALL4GOOD MAGAZINE | MARCH 2020

Left: Kunthea (33) plays for the Somneng Chun Pika blind football team. Below: Chen (32) plays wheel- chair football at the Bonthey Breab School. Next page: A young player with autism during train- ing with the Hands of Hope Community All Abilities team. “SUSTAINABILITY IS PARAMOUNT. WITH OVER 15 YEARS PLUS IN CAMBODIA, I’VE SEEN A LOT OF GREAT, GREAT NGOS DIE BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T LIVE WITHIN THEIR MEANS” Leo Brogan Beyond Stung Meanchey, through outreach football programmes, they were able to access yet more vulner- able communities in the city, from Smor San Community, Derm Sleng and Derm Chan. For the first few years, without a pitch to call their own, most eve- nings ISF coaches would scour Phnom Penh looking for spaces to play. Come nightfall, they may have found a patch of grass for activities, only to be told the next day it was unavailable. The other option was to rent from the government or mil- itary, whose discretion towards ISF was similarly temperamental. “You could see by having the uncertain- ty of not knowing if you’re playing or not, we couldn’t grow,” said Brogan. With every session lost, one less star- fish was being helped back to sea. “We needed certainty,” Cubbon made clear, “we’re doing this to transform lives, not to just improve them. With most of the pushback coming from the parents, it takes more time for the parents to see the impact. We needed to provide a solution in the long term.” After investing in land, the organisa- tion now boasts its own pitches and its very own school. With 728 young Cambodians within Indochina Starfish Foundation’s fast-track edu- cation system, more than 8,000 take part in the organisation’s football activities through multiple leagues and tournaments stretching beyond the city’s edge. Like Punna Song, many former partici- pants once eked out a living by collect- ing rubbish and are now full-time staff and coaches. She epitomises the desire among parents to get their children into the school, which Cubbon makes clear has brought its own challenges: “We’ve thought about scaling up but we need to operate within our means to make a real difference.” “Sustainability is paramount. Our approach is to do as much we can, for as many as we can,” Brogan declares, adding that, “with over 15 years plus in Cambodia, I’ve seen a lot of great, great NGOS die because they didn’t live within their means.” “Every year, when we sit down to discuss capacity there might be 500 applications and it’s a matter of taking on 80 young children or 90,” he says. His words hark back to the encoun- ter with Therey, with thoughts of more young Cambodians who could benefit from what Indochina Starfish Foundation could offer. Most impor- tantly, however, the family that once numbered 15, continues to grow. With each new generation comes the opportunity to go further and tackle issues beyond education, from all-abil- ities, to HIV and AIDS prevention, and even the plastic waste crisis. “Unfortunately, we can’t help every- one,” says Brogan, “otherwise we would. But we’ve got a fantastic pro- gramme, we’ve got to make sure we maintain it.” 51 KICKSTARTERS