This is the story of how Little Sports Organisation stepped in to help Shanim when personal circumstances became desperate, offering unwavering support, mentorship, and providing an opportunity to change her life’s trajectory.
When Shanim first arrived at our local partner, Little Sports Organisation, in 2023, she was quiet and reserved, yet observant and quick to learn. Coaches quickly noticed her intelligence and calm determination behind her shy smile. She became loved by everyone around her.
But after only a short time, Shanim disappeared.
The team later discovered she had joined a local girls’ football team, but when she eventually returned to LSO training sessions at the beach in late 2024, it became clear that something deeper was happening behind the scenes. Shamim’s attendance was inconsistent. Concerned for her wellbeing, the LSO team began asking questions about her life at home. What they uncovered was heartbreaking.
Shamim was missing training because her father demanded she stay home to care for her three-year-old brother. Still a child herself, she had been pushed into the role of parent and protector. At the same time, her mother left her father due to his unemployment and unwillingness to care for either of the children, leaving Shamim trapped between responsibility, abandonment, and poverty.
The emotional burden on her was immense.
Once the team at LSO understood the reality of Shamim’s situation, they stepped in immediately. They welcomed both Shamim and her younger brother into training sessions so she would no longer have to choose between caring for him and pursuing her future. They ensured the children received hot, nutritious meals during training and sent food home whenever possible. Donated clothing was shared with Shamim so she could have essentials that many children take for granted. What could have been a place simply for rugby became something far more important: a lifeline. For Shamim, LSO became the one place where she felt safe, seen, and cared for.
The family’s struggles did not end there.
In desperation to support her children, Shamim’s mother borrowed money to pay fees for domestic worker training that would transfer her to Saudi Arabia for work. It was a decision driven not by opportunity, but by necessity, despite widespread stories of exploitation, abuse, and dangerous working conditions faced by migrant domestic workers. She understood the risks. But she also understood the hopelessness of her situation.
While her mother was away training, Shamim’s pain became impossible to hide. In a matter of months, both parents had disappeared from her daily life. Rugby became her therapy, and the coaches and teammates became her support system.
Concerned for Shamim’s safety and well-being in the difficult conditions of the urban village where she lived, LSO offered her a chance to attend boarding school. Her response was immediate relief. Recognising both her vulnerability and her potential, LSO accelerated her place within the organisation’s development pathway. Today, Shamim is living safely in a quality boarding school alongside four other girls from the programme.
She now has stability, education, structure, and hope for a future that once seemed impossible.
Shanim is one of hundreds of talented and hard-working children who have been lifted into LSO’s Pathways Development Programme. They receive coaching, healthy meals, clean water, school support & a chance to earn scholarships to schools their parents cannot afford. This powerful model is breaking the inter-generational cycle.
Through rugby, education, health, and inclusion opportunities, LSO is helping children break free from the cycle of deprivation that has trapped generations before them.
