This week Newtown Swans hosted a group of Colombian girls aged 13-16 and their coach who were on a two-week trip to Australia.

The girls are from a small town in Colombia and made the trip as part of a program called “Experiences that Change Lives”.

The aim of the program is to expose talented kids from areas of the country where there is a risk of being recruited into armed conflict or transnational crime to a positive pathway through sport and culture. 

It’s the first time the program has focused on Australian Football but given the growth of the game in Colombia – particularly among vulnerable and disadvantaged populations – the organisers saw this as a good opportunity to introduce the game to the girls, who play volleyball and football at home.

The girls trained with Sydney Swans player – and Newtown coach – Lauren Szigeti on Tuesday and joined a group of Newtown girls for a training session on Wednesday.

Despite the lack of a shared language, the girls definitely shared a love of sport and every drill –particularly but unsurprisingly, kick tennis – was fiercely contested.

For Newtown President, Megan McInnes, this was an invaluable opportunity for both sets of girls.

“As the mother of a 15-year-old in a very different position, I recognise the job of these girls: they will return to Colombia and be leaders, taking their learning back to their communities. I was really grateful that we were given this opportunity as a club, and for our girls” she said.

“It demonstrated the power of sport to bring people together, despite language barriers. It was also a great reminder that you don’t need to have played Australian Football before to enjoy it and have fun. Given the opportunity, we’d love to do this sort of thing again”.

The girls also visited Melbourne, training with the Darebin Falcons, and will observe the Sydney Swans and GWS Giants AFLW teams train.

The program is part of the work of Fundación Colombianitos and was supported by the Colombian Embassy and the Australian Government.