Let’s bring change through sport – Discover 365 Project – Day 85

By Ashish Gupta, Magic Bus volunteer photographer

Magic Bus IDSDP – Discover365 Project – Day85

What is Magic Bus?

Magic Bus is a non-profit working with 250,000 children, in 17 states, with some of India’s most marginalised neighbourhoods, using sport as a mechanism to institute behavioural change. It steers children towards a better life with better awareness, better life skills, and better opportunities, in the journey from childhood to livelihood.

Find more about Magic Bus here: www.magicbus.org

What is International Day of Sports for Development and Peace?

“Due to its vast reach and unparalleled popularity, sport is ideally positioned to contribute towards the United Nations’ objectives for development and peace. To raise awareness of this potential, 6 April has been declared as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) by the UN General Assembly.” Find more about IDSDP here : april6.org

The Magic Bus programme involves the delivery of weekly sports for development sessions to spread awareness about education, gender ,health, leadership and livelihood.

The Magic Bus Football Team is a specialised programme that selects children from the overall pool and trains them in football. Apart from training the players in football, Magic Bus Football Team also helps the kids build personal, social and team building skills.

What do you think is the powerful tool nowadays for learning and awareness? 

Internet. It has become so much a part of how we live that few recall what life was like without it. News? Learning? Online Training? Locations? You name it. The Magic Bus Football Team Bangalore, conducted an online training session to make players aware of the knowledge and power of internet, content on Youtube, blogging and sharing their vision through it. The players were fascinated when they came to know how a small document shared by someone can touch so many lives.

How often do we get to share our life’s vision? How often do we change our life’s goals? How many of us truly follow our interests and do what we love rather than doing what we are forced to do. Magic Bus conducted a session on ‘My Dreams, My Future’. Every mentor shared how their life has changed from childhood to livelihood and how they are chasing their dreams. It was fascinating to hear when the players share what they wanted to be in the future. Magic Bus, through their mentorship program helps these children in shaping their future.

On the event of International Day of Sports for Development and Peace, Magic Bus conducted an online training session on April 6th. This photo story is a small attempt in supporting their cause.

The Day started with the ‘Introductions’. Each player and mentor introduced themselves with their favourite football move.

Magic Bus IDSDP – Discover365 Project – Day85

Mentors then shared a video to start the day.

Magic Bus IDSDP – Discover365 Project – Day85

Magic Bus IDSDP – Discover365 Project – Day85

Mentors explained the strategy and tactics, mannerisms, techniques, formations, styles of other practicing and professional footballers.

Magic Bus IDSDP – Discover365 Project – Day85

Magic Bus IDSDP – Discover365 Project – Day85

The players and mentors surfed the web collaboratively to come up with a video on a chosen theme. It also helped them understand the importance of working as a team.

Magic Bus IDSDP – Discover365 Project – Day85

Magic Bus IDSDP – Discover365 Project – Day85

The Players then explained what they learned from the drill in front of their peers and mentors.

Magic Bus IDSDP – Discover365 Project – Day85

Magic Bus IDSDP – Discover365 Project – Day85

After having lunch and dancing to some good music, mentors and the players discussed the topic “My Dreams, My Future”. The mentors shared how sport can provide so many employment opportunities. The Kids then shared their vision. We spoke face to face with future soldiers, doctors, musicians, football players, archaeologists etc.

Magic Bus IDSDP – Discover365 Project – Day85

The Players then laid out their dream by designing a poster of their vision.

Magic Bus IDSDP – Discover365 Project – Day85

Magic Bus IDSDP – Discover365 Project – Day85

The Dreams laid out. We had some really beautiful posters. We sure had some artists and painters.

Magic Bus IDSDP – Discover365 Project – Day85

The Pilelo-Ho Shout-Out

Magic Bus IDSDP – Discover365 Project – Day85

The Magic Bus Football Team, Bangalore

Magic Bus IDSDP – Discover365 Project – Day85

Change !! Change is needed. Within us, within the people around us. Magic Bus is doing an excellent job in bringing a change through sport.

Magic Bus IDSDP – Discover365 Project – Day85

I have been working with Magic Bus as a volunteer photographer since October 2013. It has been an eye opener for me. It helped me understand how sport can help change so many lives.

Special thanks to the mentors for sharing their knowledge on football,and its role in development:

- Mithran Sudhir, MBFT volunteer football coach
- Amal Jeevan
- Vikram Philip Rajkumar
- Prashant Abhishek
- Vivek Chockalingam
- Pritha Chakravarti
- Abhijit Sinha
- Sushil Chandekar
- Manoj Kumar
- Shaona Sen, MBFT Manager, facilitator

Article Source: Photo essay by Ashish Gupta, Volunteer at Magic Bus.
Original Article:  http://bit.ly/discover365
Photos by: Ashish Gupta
http://bit.ly/discover365 

http://bit.ly/discover365

Case Story: Salman Baig - Asian Football Development Project (AFDP) & Magic Bus Partnership

The Magic Bus’ Bangalore programme started in Doddananagar Slum Community in November 2011. For community inhabitants livelihood sources include tile making, agarbathi (incense stick) making, beedi (Indian cigarette) rolling, garlic peeling, carpentry, domestic serving and garment making. As you walk down one of Doddanagar’s main roads, you will be greeted with the sound of prayer calls at a Masjid (Mosque), the sight of a small white, spotlessly clean Mother Mary shrine with scattered heaps of trash just a few feet away, the pungent smell of Bangalore’s snake-like open storm drain, and a wooden cart full of fresh fruits and vegetables in front of Murugan temple, all at once.

The Doddananagar community contains a mix of religious backgrounds with a large population of conservative Muslims. Languages spoken include mainly Kannada, Tamil and Urdu. You’ll certainly walk with chickens, dogs, goats and cows alike through the narrow roads which are home to parked auto rickshaws, smiling footwear-less children and a concentrated range of 12ft x 12ft colorful cement homes making up a low skyline. Some homes stack up to three stories high, just like Salman Baig’s home on the second floor of a compact, narrow, staircase building in Block E.

Salman is an ambitious fourteen year old boy attending Amma A. High School. Salman lives with his mother, his father and three sisters. Salman’s mother, Nagina, currently stays at home and watches over the family. Salman’s father is an Electrician, a symbol of pride for Nagina given this job provides a higher income compared to the average.

Currently, 2022 children take part in our sport for development sessions throughout 8 of Doddananagar's neighbourhoods.  Twenty four of these children, 12 girls and 12 boys, train for two hours every weekend for the Magic Bus Football Team (MBFT). MBFT is a specialised football programme in which athletically inclined and interested children from our main sport for development sessions are identified and chosen after a selection process. Salman is the Captain of the first MBFT team in North Bangalore. Appointed Captain in June 2013, three months after joining the MBFT programme, Salman is a natural leader filled with curiosity.

The Magic Bus Football Team (MBFT), supported by the Asian Football Development Project (AFDP), has given Salman the opportunity to build his football and leadership skills, and practice English. Girls and boys from the team train together and often time play mixed matches. Salman supports Magic Bus' push for gender equality - both boys and girls look up to him as a role model.

Salman’s football talent and leadership skills have led him to be selected to participate in a '1,000 Cranes Project Recycled Art and Football workshop' in Bangalore. He also recently traveled to Mysore for the first time for a MBFT Karnataka Exchange Day. He took part in a day of training, friendly matches and a visit to Mysore Palace touring with 25 other selected MBFT Mysore players. He was also one of twelve players participating in the Sunfeast Roots Football League, a two-month football talent tournament across Bangalore.

Salman wants to grow up to be a Chartered Accountant and Footballer. MBFT Bangalore olunteer mentors are diverse in age, gender and occupation - they work or attend college full-time whilst actively playing football. The MBFT Coach encourages balancing football with another profession. One of our MBFT volunteers has a background in Accounting within a global corporate finance company, and Salman has found a mentor in him, so he regularly interacts with him on and off the field.

MBFT Bangalore players had the opportunity to meet local Footballer Amoolya, a national and international level Footballer, and Physical Education Teacher. Salman confidently shared his own bio and favorite football move with Amoolya, Chitra (Former National Goalkeeper) and Kamal (former State Level Footballer). Exposures like this have sparked Salman’s ambition as his confidence in playing and interaction skills strengthen. Our Youth Mentors and Training & Monitoring Officers often assign him the task of assembling the team before practice.

Nagina, Salman’s mother, explained that the Magic Bus Football Team has brought about positive changes in Salman. Seeing how her son has excelled in the past year, Nagina is keen on her daughter joining MBFT someday. With Magic Bus' and family support, Salman’s mother and grandmother strongly feel he will achieve his future goals.

To find out more about Magic Bus, visit www.magicbus.org.
To find out more about the Asian Football Development Project (AFDP), visit www.the-afdp.org