A historic time for sport for development in India

From the desk of Magic Bus CEO, Pratik Kumar

I am very happy to share that Magic Bus has been awarded the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar (National Sports Promotion Award), by the President of India, Hon. Sri Pranab Mukherjee, at his official residence, the Rashtrapati Bhawan, on 29th August 2014. The award recognises corporate entities, institutions and individuals who have played a significant role in the area of sports promotion and development. It is the first time that an award has gone to an NGO for promoting Sports for All and using sports as a tool for achieving serious development goals.

We believe that this award is a strong endorsement of our internationally recognised curriculum and methodology of using sports as a tool for bringing about social development. It is a recognition of our tried and tested 15-year old approach where we train local young volunteers to deliver our unique activity-based programme to children by becoming role models and mentors to them. Sports acts as the perfect hook to keep children and communities engaged in our programme as we embark on a long journey of bringing about changes in behaviours and practices in the areas of education, health, gender, nutrition, sanitation, leadership all the way to livelihood.

President of India, Hon. Sri Pranab Mukherjee, presenting the Award to Pratik Kumar, CEO, Magic Bus

The national award comes within months of Magic Bus winning the prestigious international Laureus Sport for Good Award, the first Indian entity to win this global recognition.

I believe that this national recognition will be a turning point in our history as we poise to take the next big leap in our endeavour to make a positive difference to the lives of a million children and youth in India and across the globe.

We are very grateful to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, for their recognition of our work and approach, which is today changing more than 260,000 lives in 19 States across India. We are also indebted to all our supporters and partners who have believed in us and been a part of this wonderful journey.

Find out more about our work at www.magicbus.org.

Pratik Kumar, CEO, Magic Bus

Magic Bus breaking the cycle of poverty, one child at a time

By Nidhi Singh, Guest Author at YourStory

The true potential of mankind is an unimaginable force that can do wonders if harnessed. As rightly said by the first African American President of the USA, “It’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself, that you realize your true potential.” And that is what Magic Bus is all about. It is about breaking the poverty cycle, one child at a time, and helping children transform the world around them. It is about catalysing change in communities and children. It is about creating ‘magic,’ as the name suggests, all across the nation.

How it all started 

A young player from India’s National Rugby Team, Matthew Spacie, used to practice daily opposite Mumbai’s famous Fashion Street, a hub for street children. Being the warm-hearted man that he was, he couldn't resist inviting the Fashion Street boys over for a game. As time passed by, Matthew began to notice positive behavioural changes in the boys — a direct result of being part of a team and overcoming challenges together. These boys, who had grown up on the streets, became more goal-oriented and wanted to improve themselves and their attitudes towards others.

Matthew discovered that the growing influence of this approach not only helped them transform their attitude towards life, but also taught them how to challenge their current realities and overturn their obstacles into a route towards well-being and success. Over a period of the next 10 years, this crystallized into a formal pedagogy that is now known as the Magic Bus Sport for Development curriculum. An approach that would go on to redefine the lives and destinies of many.

How it works

Magic Bus started in the year 1999 and has now expanded to 250,000 children as well as 8000 youth in 19 different states across the country. Supported by Cox and Kings and Cleartrip enabled an academically grounded ‘sport for development’ curriculum to be established.

By training local, community-based young people to deliver long-term programmes that focus on education, health and gender equity, Magic Bus enables children to have more choice and control in their lives to bring themselves out of poverty.  A comprehensive curriculum that uses activities and sport and a long term-engagement are delivered through a child-friendly mentoring approach. At periodic intervals, the mentor provides constant feedback, and monitors the child’s behaviour to bring about proven behavioural changes.

When the child grows up, she or he has the choice of joining Connect, a supplementary programme that links young people to higher education or job opportunities. As a result of this marvellous work, more than 250,000 children and youth have access to better education and improved health as they work towards strong livelihood options for themselves as adults.

Magic Bus uses its concept to not only pull children out of poverty but also to change the mindset of their parents and families. For this reason, the World Bank Development Marketplace Award was presented to the NGO during its formative years.

How obstacles are tackled

Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. When a stranger enters a community where all is unknown and throws a ball in the air, everyone gravitates towards the ball. That’s the power and attraction of play. Despite this, the attitude towards girls remains a hurdle across geographies and regions. Getting girls out of their domestic duties and into the public sphere is a hurdle. To avert this in the best possible way, Magic Bus makes use of advocacy tools and tactics, including parents’ meetings, door-to-door campaigns and community-level tournaments to gain support for the intervention, and bring all stakeholders together to build a community that is gender-equal and child-friendly.

I left my old perception to think afresh and hopefully I can do a thousandth of what Magic Bus does to change my Motherland, my home — the nation of many with all hearts beating as one — India.

Original Article by Nidhi Singh at Your Story. Edited for this blog by the Magic Bus Communications Team.

"Nidhi Singh is a Computer Engineering student at NTU Singapore & a Global Evangelist at YourStory.com. She has a passion for cars, non-fiction reads and music. Her hope is to create a dent in the universe, in her own way, some day. When she is not trying to find more opportunities to lay her hands on, you can find her writing, traveling or gorging on chocolate and cheese. ... read more on social.yourstory.com."

Magic Bus Children attend 'Know Your Museum' Workshop

National Museum, New Delhi, India's largest museum, became a learning hub this summer. 360 Magic Bus children along with a group of our Community Youth Leaders (CYLs) and Youth Mentors (YMs) got the opportunity to participate in 'Know Your Museum', a workshop for children aged 11-16.

The workshop focused on developing children's critical thinking abilities and creative expression through art and craft. They learnt through activities such as clay modelling which require brain storming, and other creative group work to build self-confidence and a positive attitude.

The main objectives of the various workshop were:

• To acquaint children with India's rich cultural heritage
• To create awareness among children about various traditional arts and crafts
• To motivate children to preserve and conserve their heritage and join hands in restoring some of the dying arts and crafts of the country

At the workshop, children were divided into 3 groups to participate in 3 different activities:

• Clay Modelling
• Paper Toys/Mask Making
• Madhubani Painting

The workshop began with an introduction and captivating guided tour around the Museum. Children learned about the various collections of the National Museum such as Sculptures in Stone, Bronze and Terracota, Arms, Armour, Decorative Arts, Jewellery, Manuscripts, Miniatures and Tanjore Paintings, Textiles, Numismatics, Epigraphy, Central Asian Antiquities, Pre-Columbian American and Western Art Collections. Gasps and moments of awe were heard coming from the children as they appreciated the work in front of them.

After the tour the children were taken to the Creative Work Gallery where they were divided into three groups for a skill building workshop. The primary goal of the workshop was to inspire interest in archaeological artifacts and Indian history. They were introduced to exploring, experimenting and expressing themselves in the form of art and craft, and constantly guided and helped during the workshop.

At the end of the workshop children thanked the National Museum workshop staff. They left with significantly greater knowledge about the importance of Indian history, arts and culture. Just like in their sport for development sessions, this experiential learning workshop has given them a platform to build capabilities in active engagement, motivation and depth of learning.

To find out more about Magic Bus, please visit www.magicbus.org

Mentoring India's Next Generation to Move Out of Poverty

Pratik Kumar is the CEO of Magic Bus, a TOMS Giving Partner distributing new, locally produced 
shoes to children in need in India. At TOMS, we’re proud to support partners like Magic Bus and their incredible programming, where shoes are just a small part of a much larger development program. We’ve invited Pratik to share some stories from the field in honor of One Day Without Shoes. Take it away, Pratik…

In just over a decade, 250 million youth will enter the Indian workforce. That’s the equivalent of the entire working population of the United States , all adding to India’s current labor pool by 2030 and all looking for employment.

When we started Magic Bus in 1999 in Mumbai, we started with one question: are these young people job-ready? Only 20 percent of Indian youth finish high school , with many dropping out because the basics are out of reach: food, supplies and clothes, including shoes. We all know that without education, it’s very tough for the poor to move out of poverty.

A very large number are extremely poor: 33 percent of Indians earn just $1.25 per day. Our solution to make them job-ready was simple, to work from within and change their behavior, arming them with an attitude that is set for success. Behavior change does not happen overnight, though, so we invest early and for the long-term.

To make this happen, we employ the Magic Bus “Childhood to Livelihood” model, bringing in partners whose core competencies fill a dire need in the lives of these marginalized children and youth on their 10-year journey with Magic Bus.

Consider shoes. In India, shoes are a clear marker of where you are on the economic ladder. At the bottom of the pyramid, chances are you are only able to afford second-hand flip-flops. Walking to school, walking to explore, walking to playgrounds — all of these basic activities become a challenge for children without shoes.

This is where the TOMS and Magic Bus story begins. We work with 250,000 children, and our strategic partnership with TOMS enables these children to have the one basic article of clothing that literally takes them places. The TOMS Shoes fill a crucial programmatic gap, giving children the safety, dignity and confidence to step out of the home and participate in the Magic Bus engagement model.

This holistic approach works to empowering individuals and entire communities to make better
decisions in the areas of education, health and hygiene practices, gender equity, leadership and
livelihoods. A shining example of that empowerment is Gulafsha Ansari who went from
being a school dropout to joining Magic Bus and returning to school and being a youth leader in
her community. In 2012, she told her story as a Huffington Post blogger, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gulafsha-kumrulhoda-ansari/

Others, like Shanti from Hyderabad Old City, are taking their first steps. Shanti wears her TOMS
Shoes to school and whenever she steps out of her modest home in one of India’s largest slums. Her
Magic Bus journey began when she was just 10 years old and already a school dropout. We created local role models who encouraged her to join the program. She was attracted to our dynamic activity-based curriculum, which utilizes sport and play as the engagement catalyst. These sessions are designed to recreate real-life situations and challenges that Shanti can relate to.

Off the field, Magic Bus worked directly with Shanti’s parents and community to support them in
building a child-friendly ecosystem that takes care of every basic need, from health and hygiene to leadership and livelihood. TOMS will continue to give Shanti a pair of shoes every year, supporting her as she continues to battle the next challenges in her life, primarily fending off child marriage and completing her education.

The best part is that all of the shoes that Magic Bus receives from TOMS are locally manufactured
in India, continuing the cycle of community-centered development.

Over the last 15 years, Magic Bus’ unique ability to localize programming and help every child
reach his or her full potential has garnered the support of many strategic partners just like TOMS. Just last month, Magic Bus was proud to win the Laureus Sport for Good Award, bringing the award to India for the first time in history.

The task ahead remains difficult. The impact of a youth bulge in the population can be either beneficial or harmful, depending on how prepared they are and how we as a society respond. If we succeed, a larger number of educated, healthy young people will enter the workforce and will deliver major economic benefits to themselves and society as a whole. Strategic partners like TOMS help us break down our goal into achievable targets, which in Shanti’s case, means helping her go to school and reach her Magic Bus sessions
every day.

This year, we’ll be joining TOMS on One Day Without Shoes – the company’s annual day to raise
global awareness for children’s health and education. Like TOMS, we believe that with the complex issues surrounding poverty, there is not one solution, but many working together. We hope you’ll take off your shoes and join us.

For more information, visit www.toms.com/onedaywithoutshoes.

Pratik Kumar is the CEO of Magic Bus, Asia’s largest mentoring charity, working with 250,000
children and 8,000 youth mentors every week. Magic Bus USA is a 501(c)3
charity and focuses on building and developing partnerships in the USA for global program growth.

Original Article by TOMS.

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