Pass It Back to Launch in the Philippines

BACOLOD, PHILIPPINES: 3 February 2017: Pass It Back, an innovative sport for development program managed by ChildFund, is heading to a third country this month as a collaboration with the Philippines Rugby Union (PRFU) gets underway in Negros Occidental. This will be the program’s third country after Laos and Vietnam, which have seen more than 2,500 players take part in regular rugby and life-skills learning over the past 18 months, with girls making up over 50 per cent of the players and coaches. 

This collaboration has come together under ChildFund’s Pass it Back program, which promotes the right to play in communities where children have little or no access to organised sport. Using a fully integrated rugby and life-skills curriculum, Pass it Back not only supports young people’s health and wellbeing but provides important learning opportunities around leadership, life skills and gender equality to help them overcome challenges, inspire positive change and ‘pass it back’ to their communities. 

As part of this collaboration, the program will work with the PRFU to train 12 Coaches to deliver the Pass It Back curriculum, which builds on World Rugby’s Get Into Rugby program, by also delivering life-skills learning opportunities. Eighteen new teams will pick up a rugby ball during this collaboration, which will run from February to September. 

This collaboration is supported by the Australian Government’s aid program through its Asia Sports Partnerships (ASP) initiative, which was established to foster links between Australia and Asia that promote community health, disability inclusion, gender equality and social cohesion. 

“ChildFund’s Pass it Back program was set up for disadvantaged children living in communities across Asia, who face significant challenges around poverty and inequality,” said ChildFund Australia CEO Nigel Spence. 

“As the program develops, it is wonderful to deepen our relationship with the PRFU to further build the knowledge and skills of players and coaches, and to inspire them to be strong leaders and role models within their communities.” 

“The PRFU is excited to continue our collaboration with ChildFund and to add another string to our bow by integrating our existing rugby development work with life skills education,” said PRFU Secretary General Ada Milby. “We are particularly excited to build on Pass It Back’s successes to date by getting more girls and young women playing rugby in the Philippines.” 

ChildFund Japan Philippine Office Country Director, Rina Munsayac, said “This partnership with the PRFU is an exciting step in our work in the Philippines to use sport as a tool to ensure that every child has the opportunity to develop to their full potential.” Pass It Back activities during this initial collaboration will run from February to August 2017. Photos and footage available upon request. 


About Pass it Back 
Pass It Back is an innovative Sport for Development program led by ChildFund in partnership with World Rugby, Asia Rugby and Women Win. The program aims to equip children and young people in Asia to overcome challenges, inspire positive social change and ‘pass it back’ to their communities. Using Get Into Rugby, a World Rugby program to grow the Game globally, the program gets children and youth to Try, Play and Stay in the Game. It is a part of the Impact Beyond Rugby World Cup 2019 programme (‘Impact Beyond 2019’), which will increase awareness and sustainable growth of rugby in Asia. Pass It Back delivers an integrated rugby and life-skills curriculum in a safe environment that promotes the values of the Game and builds a new generation of leaders in disadvantaged communities across Asia. 

About ChildFund 
ChildFund Australia is an independent and non-religious international development organisation that works to reduce poverty for children in the developing world. We work in partnership with children and their communities to create lasting change by supporting long-term community development, responding to humanitarian emergencies and promoting children’s rights. ChildFund Australia is a member of the ChildFund Alliance – a global network of 11 organisations which assists more than 14 million children and families in 63 countries – and is also a registered charity, a member of the Australian Council for International Development, and fully accredited by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade which manages the Australian Government’s overseas aid program. ChildFund Australia is the Alliance lead for the Pass It Back program and is working closely with ChildFund Japan in the Philippines. 

About the Philippine Rugby Football Union
The Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU) is the official governing body of the sport of Rugby Union in the Philippines. The PRFU was founded in 1999 and was granted full World Rugby membership in 2008. The PRFU is a non-profit national sports association registered with Philippines Security and Exchange Commission and is focused on growing and developing the sport of Rugby Union in the Philippines. The PRFU is a registered and accredited member of both World Rugby and Asia Rugby, as well as being recognised by the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission.