Building New Lives through Table Tennis: Naulo Ghumti Nepal's Dream Building Fund Journey

While no sport exists independently as a silver bullet to tackle social challenges on its own, table tennis possesses the unique capacity to intervene as an entry point to transformation in all types of environments. It is an inclusive sport and physical activity that does not yield to borders, does not discriminate against groups or individuals and can grapple with the specific multi-layered development issues embedded within communities across the globe.

The Dream Building Fund (DBF) celebrates this comprehensive nature of table tennis as a mechanism to improve health and well-being for people from all walks of life. From April 2022 to August 2025, the Table Tennis for New Life (TTNL) project, implemented by the non-governmental organisation Naulo Ghumti Nepal, was given the resources and strategic support to carry out a sport-based therapy to engage individuals recovering from substance abuse disorders within a local Drug Rehabilitation Center in Pokhara, Nepal. In this context, table tennis proved to be low-cost, accessible and effective instrument to improve the physical health, emotional stability and social capital for the 166 men and women going through the addiction rehabilitation process.

Substance Abuse in Nepal

The TTNL project was initiated as a sports-based approach to addiction recovery to complement existing counseling and medication treatments and ultimately create a holistic therapeutic design. Individuals recovering from substance abuse disorders are confronted with a variety of challenges related to declining physical health, low motivation, unstructured lifestyles and difficulties with social reintegration, and therefore a multi-faceted set of solutions is required to ensure each of these unique barriers to overall health and well-being are addressed.

Beyond being a low-cost, compact footprint, inclusive, and emotionally and physically beneficial sport, Naulo Ghumti Nepal chose table tennis because the innate features of the sport contribute directly to long-term addiction recovery by improving social cohesion, fostering confidence and rebuilding discipline.

More than a Sport: Table Tennis Programming

A total of 166 people participated in the structured table tennis sessions, competitive games, peer-support practices and personal skill-building exercises throughout the three-year DBF cycle of the TTNL Project.

Key Learnings

A primary indicator of success is that by the end of the project in May 2025, 81 individuals (48.8%) reported living sober. Furthermore, two of the participants transitioned into leadership roles within the Naulo Ghumti Nepal organisation, demonstrating the effectiveness of table tennis in instilling confidence, responsibility and agency within participating clients.

Client Survey – June 2025

A survey was conducted prior to the end of the project with 99 participants (22 female & 77 male) who had completed their treatment and been discharged for at least six months, to measure the overall impact and efficacy of the rehabilitation process. While there were mixed outcomes because of relapse cases and the number of individuals who were not reachable, the overall results showcased that more than half of the individuals maintained sobriety after being discharged from the programme. Specifically, participants showed increased changes in three main impact areas:

• Physical and mental health: Improved physical health and stamina, emotional regulation, cognitive focus and daily routine development are essential in creating healthy lifestyle habits and a structured way of living.

• Social interaction and community building: Table tennis programming fostered an accepting social environment that enabled healthy interactions and increased communications, leading the clients to become more valued and motivated after participation.

• Self-discipline and personal growth: Additionally, the introduction of structured sports activities emphasised the importance of time management, developing goal setting beahviours and the sense of achievement through skill development, which are essential foundational habits to possess when entering the workforce and setting up responsible lifestyles.

Acknowledging Shortcomings: How to Improve Programme Effectiveness

To build on the success and momentum from the initial three-year programme, the Naulo Ghumti Nepal team acknowledged that these key areas would help strengthen the existing addiction recovery programming: a more diligent post-rehabilitation system with regular check-ins and digital tracking, an expanded TTNL project with more table tennis sessions and activities, peer mentorship with graduated participants to guide newcomers, supplementary life-skills and employment training, and gender-responsive programming.

Table Tennis as a Versatile Tool for Reintegration

The work of the TTNL project in Pokhara, Nepal, demonstrates the capacity of purposeful table tennis programming as a complementary tool for addiction recovery and long-term social rehabilitation. Table Tennis is not a magic bullet that can resolve issues entirely on its own, but TTNL demonstrated that when integrated properly, table tennis can play a role in improving overall health and well-being by creating safe spaces for communication and social interaction, while fostering the self-confidence and belief for individuals to build agency in their own lives.

Although their DBF cycle has concluded, we are excited to continue working with Naulo Ghumti Nepal and support them in the evolution of the TTNL project, including the implementation of solutions for their acknowledged programme shortcomings to create a better pathway forward for their project participants. Thank you to Project Leader Anesh Gurung and the entire team at Naulo Ghumti Nepal for their commitment to serving their community through table tennis and collaborative spirit throughout this journey.

For more information about the TTNL project, please visit the project page.

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