The ICC Rehabilitation Programme

As part of its ‘Cricket for Children’ initiative, the International Cricket Council trained 24 children, ‘including child soldiers, aged 16-18’ for a week. Of the group, 18 were child soldiers.

As part of its ‘Cricket for Children’ initiative, the International Cricket Council trained 24 children, ‘including child soldiers, aged 16-18’ for a week. Of the group, 18 were child soldiers. The press release made no mention of the LTTE, but the programme was in partnership with Unicef and the Bureau of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation in Sri Lanka. A Reuters report said the week-long camp was ‘hoping to… teach them values like teamwork and restore them to normal lives’. One 15-year-old, Dharmarathnam, told the news agency, “I like this. Now we have the freedom and time to engage in sports and education.” He used to repair diesel engines for the LTTE. The ICC said it plans similar projects in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

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