(Featured image from Bridging the Gaps)Дрозды

With the recent horrific disaster in Nepal, many of you may have reached your giving limit or are planning on spending your extra money on giving to those affected by the earthquake. If that is the case, you’re awesome. Those who have given their limit can go ahead and read the rest of this post knowing that you have done your part to make the world better for people currently suffering. If you want to give to Nepal and don’t know where to give, may I suggest the Helambu Project. My buddy Chris (Ultimate player from Madison, Wisconsin, USA), has been in rural Nepal and has been working mostly in education, but now is focussed on providing basic needs for rural peoples in this time of great need. If you are interested in donating to helping Chris and the rest of his team there check out their website or you can drop him a line directly for more information at chris@helambuproject.org.

If you are looking to give to Ultimate Frisbee causes in Asia, a few great options have recently come across my desk:

Of course I was going to start with my hometown boys.

If you haven’t yet seen Swa, Cambodia’s youth ultimate team, you’re missing out. They run hard, jump high, and love to get dirty. Their skills are improving daily (seriously, they are much better than at Zone in december. Watch out), mostly because of the hard work they put in. How many days a week do you start throwing practice at 5:30 am (seven for them)? They’re a great bunch of kids who I have gotten to see grow both as ultimate players, and as confident young men.

At the end of June, they will be headed to compete at Zone Cup in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, for a second time. This time they are bringing more players and are ready to leave it all on the field. They will be assisted by some international women (and one washed-up American guy), but all eyes will be on the Swa phenomenon. How were they at Zone last time? Ask anyone who went. Please do. Now, they’re better players, taking more of a leadership roll, and expecting success.

What they don’t have is money. Many come from some rough circumstances, making funding for this trip very hard to come by. It would be a short trip for us, but for these players, this is a trip of a lifetime. You can help them head to Ho Chi Minh City by giving at their crowdfunding site. And learn more about the team at their website.

If you don’t know yet, I’m a big fan of India Ultimate. They are growing the game on all levels. They are sending teams to world championships and spreading the game to rural areas. The award-winning film 175 Grams tells one story about the growth of the game in one area, but that is only one of many stories about the Indian Ultimate community (but it is a good story, do watch it if you haven’t already). Here are two great ultimate causes in India that you might want to consider helping out.

The Indian teams at the World Championships of Beach Ultimate in Dubai were fun to watch. I can only imagine what their Under-23 team is going to look like. This year, India’s U23 mixed team will be headed to the UK for the U23 World Championships in London. This is an ambitious trip, but one the players, coaches and supporters have been working hard to make happen.

The 20 players come from seven different cities and they represent a mix of religions, languages and genders making what one coach calls a “truly national team.”

To help these talented, dedicated players make this dream come true, you can give at their Ketto site.

Meanwhile in India… this month brings us the third Bridging the Gaps Youth Camp, this time in Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat. Bridging the Gaps works to “inspire a generation of Indian youth to bridge the gaps created by poverty, gender, and caste through a uniquely designed sport-art camp.”

This five-day overnight camp brings teenagers, to participate, and college-aged men and women, to coach, together from across India. At Bridging the Gaps, the campers and coaches engage in a curriculum of visual and performing arts as well as sport to bring participants from a variety of backgrounds together. In doing so, the campers and coaches learn to “understand and disregard stereotypes, respect others’ differences and build a natural curiosity towards other cultures and traditions.”

And what other sport would you use to achieve this than Ultimate Frisbee. Ultimate’s co-ed play, self-officiation, and spirit circles are used to create community and gain murual understanding where it may not have existed before.

To help out Bridging the Gaps, they have both Rupee and US Dollar donation sites.

You make a donation yet? Who are you giving to and why? Are there any other great Ultimate causes I missed?

Check out the Asian Ultimate Life Facebook page and follow us on twitter @asianultyblog to keep in touch with what’s going on in Asian Ultimate.