By Marianne Meadahl

All kids should have the chance to kick around a soccer ball—including young girls in India, says Ish Jhaj.

That’s why the SFU kinesiology undergrad raised some $3,600, packed her suitcases full of donated jerseys, deflated balls and other equipment and left April 28 bound for India’s northwestern Punjab region.

Her travel plans mean Jhaj will miss spring convocation—she returns in late June—but her family will still attend the ceremony to celebrate the milestone with her brother, Tarnvir, an economics student who is also graduating.

Jhaj’s Punjab mission—and that of her newly created non-profit Shooting for Hope—is to give young underprivileged girls in rural areas the opportunity to build self-esteem, learn to set goals, and enrich their lives through the world’s “beautiful game.”

“Soccer is my passion,” says Jhaj, a B.C. Premier League player and Royal City Youth Soccer Club coach, “and I believe that all girls should get the chance to play. It’s universal. It makes everyone feel good.”

Jhaj will lead a four-week soccer camp for 25 girls aged 10-16 in the rural village of Rurka Kalan, her parents’ birthplace. Her mother Rajinder went with her for support and she arranged to work with a local group there called the Youth Football Club.

“It will be challenging – there’s not even a physical education program in the school, so we’ll have to start with fitness basics,” says Jhaj, who is planning a career in orthotics.

While her courses have largely been at the Burnaby campus the New Westminster resident enjoys the change of environment at SFU Surrey where she often studies.

Jhaj’s work ethic is something she has already passed on to the young charges she coaches twice weekly.

“My coaching skills help me to get the message out, not just about reaching for goals on the field, but pushing yourself in everything you do,” she says.

“That’s my philosophy, (and) I hope the girls will see the point in embracing it too.”