A consultation on Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health with the Government of Bihar and Development Partners

Magic Bus organised a two-day State Consultation on Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health with the Government of Bihar and other NGOs at Patna in Bihar on the 6th and 7th of June, 2013. The Consultation was part of a planning grant provided by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation to Magic Bus.

“We started this as an earnest attempt to initiate an innovative programme focusing on adolescents and youth of Bihar using the unique Sport for Development approach,” said Yuveka Singh, who manages the programme from Magic Bus. “Over the two days, however, we saw this transform into a rich dialogue among representatives from the Government including the State Health Department, Women and Child Development, international donor agencies like UNFPA and UNICEF, and a range of NGOs who have been working for years in Bihar on the topic.”

The main objectives of the Consultation included:

• Laying the foundation for building new partnerships to meet the needs of adolescents in Bihar and create a better tomorrow
• Becoming aware of the Government of Bihar perspective on adolescent health and development- Policies, Programmes, Schemes and Vision for the future
• Reviewing the situation of adolescents in Bihar – their issues, needs and concerns; their reproductive and sexual health needs and the need to have adolescent-friendly policies, programmes and strategies
• Sharing experiences of NGOs working with adolescents in Bihar
• Creating a shared vision for working with adolescents in Bihar
• Outlining possible programme strategies to collaboratively work towards developing an adolescent-friendly programme model that builds the self-confidence, knowledge and skills of young people and empowers them to begin to shape their own sexual and reproductive health outcomes and well-being

Six adolescents spoke about themselves to set the tone for planners and project implementers to better understand what’s going on in the lives of those for whom such work is planned.

The highlight of the consultation however, came in the form of the clear voices of 12 adolescents from significant intervention programmes in Bihar. As individuals and as a collective representation of the voice of 10-to-19-year-olds, they expressed their hopes, aspirations and their challenges, exhibiting a combination of insight and candour that was a tremendous motivation for the other attendees.

This session was called Hear Our Voice and was moderated by Binod Bihari Singh, Project Leader, PRACHAR, Prachar, Pathfinder International. Main observations of this session were:

• Adolescents are interested and capable of being peer leaders and change makers on a range of issues related to the lives of those between the ages of 10 and 19
• They are able to rationalize and have a thoughtful discussion on complex issues pertaining to reproductive and sexual health, when they are mentored and invested in systematically
• They are willing to make changes in the ways they think about sex, marriage and gender relationships, and are able to explain the journey that enabled this change
• They can be reflective and are able to articulate their feelings. Sometimes they need help to understand why they feel a certain way
• While technically, there is some amount of education regarding the body and emotional issues during adolescence in school, little of this is actually explained or discussed in the classroom. So sources of information remain peers and youth, who do not always have access to complete information
• They all wanted to learn more, and expressed an enthusiasm to do so through play, rather than through classroom learning

Chaired by Dr Veena Pandey, Ex State Health Education Officer, Government of Bihar, the next session aimed to understand the Government of Bihar’s perspective in view of policies, programmes and schemes for adolescents as well as its vision.

“At Daily Yuva Clinic at Patna Medical College youth were counselled and also provided with medical advice when required. However, there is a lack of trained counselors for Yuva clinics and there exists a clear need for the same,” said Dr Devendra Prasad, Assistant Clinical Pathologist, Patna Medical College and Hospital. Dr Prasad also highlighted the importance of counselors in medical institutions, as often this gap has to be filled in by the doctor.

Dr MP Sharma, State Programme Officer, State Health Society Bihar shed light upon the four components of the Adolescent Health Programme in accordance with the Government of India provisions. “Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health, Rashtriya Bal Suraksha Yojna, Menstrual Hygiene and Weekly IFA supplementation form the four components of the programme,” he said. He emphasised on the substantial role that Magic Bus’ Sport for Development model could play in identifying and training peer educators for Yuva Clinic, a potential innovation in ARSH programme. “24% of the total population in Bihar comprises of adolescents in the age group of 10-19 years. Adolescent Department of Health and Family Welfare has taken the initiative to improve the health of adolescents in Bihar,” Dr Sharma explained.

Dr MP Sharma deliberates on the State Health Society’s initiative in the field of ARSH in Bihar

“There is an immediate need to create many more platforms where the adolescents can discuss their issues and problems freely,” pointed out Radheshyam Ram, Manager, Capacity Building, WDC, while sharing his experience on adolescents programme.

The next session sought to share experiences from the field from the NGOs’ Perspective. Models, best practices, lessons learned and impact of working with adolescents in Bihar were discussed and deliberated upon.

Malay Kumar, Programme Manager, BVHA apprised the participants of his organisation’s efforts towards spreading knowledge around ARSH and shared the status of health indicators of Bihar. “Early marriage is followed by early pregnancy. Most girls were married by the age of 16-18 years, and one of them even had a son. Married adolescents are less aware about contraceptives and also have family pressure to conceive early,” said Mr Kumar.

“The main characteristic of the PRACHAR project was community approach. To bring about a significant change in the life of the adolescents everything cannot suit everybody. What needs to be checked is that we promote age-appropriate, need-based and life-stage specific messages and skills,” said Binod Bihari Singh, Project Leader, PRACHAR, Pathfinder International.

M K Verma, Director, IDF shared his experiences of working on ARSH in 2001. He emphasized on the approach: “A focused approach is needed to work with the adolescents. We need to segregate the groups for specific messages. In the age group 10-19 years there is a segment of married and unmarried adolescents, school going and non-school going, having one child and no child etc. Their curriculum should address the needs of all these various groups,” he said.

Pravind Kumar Praveen shares Oxfam India’s approach towards ARSH

Arpan, State Coordinator, CEDPA said, “As part of the Tarang project which operates in 9 districts and 809 secondary and senior-secondary schools and is incorporated in class IX and X curriculum, teachers are trained and the parents, media and the civil society are sensitized. Consequently, an Adolescent Education Cell has been established at SCERT with a Nodal officer in charge.”

Pravind Kumar Praveen, Regional Manager, Oxfam India said, “Even if we want to do the 100% delivery in the institution it’s not possible as the state is not sufficiently equipped to handle the same. There are some societies which are excluded from the mainstream in every aspect. In these situations, a more holistic approach needs to be followed aiming to uplift these types of communities.”

The session was followed by some real-life stories by young people from the Magic Bus programme.

Rameshwar, a 17-year old local youth volunteer at Magic Bus shares his experience

Disha from Magic Bus shares her story of change 

Rameshwar, a 17-year old local youth volunteer at Magic Bus from North Delhi said while sharing his experience, “My outlook towards women and specially girls has changed significantly since I joined Magic Bus over three years ago.” Disha, also a 17-year old local youth volunteer shared that she has gained immense confidence in the last two years, since she joined Magic Bus. “My awareness about sexual health helped me to prevent one of my friends from getting married at the age of 17,” said Disha.

While discussing the global perspective on working with young people, Rupali Tripathi, Consultant, UNFPA presented the UNFPA Global Adolescent and Youth strategy, which includes:

• Evidence-Based Advocacy, Policy Development and Accountability
• SRH Services
• Comprehensive Sexuality Education
• Adolescent and Youth Leadership
•  Innovative Initiatives to Increase Inclusion

She also shared some of the strategies for implementation, which include establishing management structure for programme implementation and supportive supervision; capacity building of service providers to deliver quality adolescent friendly health services; awareness creation and generation of demand for services; making available quality and accessible adolescent reproductive and sexual health services; and establishing efficient monitoring system.

Day 2: Participants penning down their vision for an ARSH programme in Bihar  

“Peer educators, ASHA orientation, incentive for ASHA, ANMs (Auxiliary Nurse Midwife) and Adolescent Health Day are some of the innovations in the context of Bihar,” Rupali said. The concluding day comprised of a workshop with participants divided into groups to discuss:

• Areas in which interventions for adolescents exist in Bihar and possibilities for further work
• Their vision for an adolescent programme in Bihar
• Action plan for the same

The day began with a warm up game and a guided visualization exercise that enabled participants to tap into their own memories and experience as adolescents. This helped ensure that the perspective for the day was firmly through the lens of adolescence, rather than adulthood.

This was evident in the kind of visioning statements that the groups came up with. Each statement included the sentiment of ‘empowerment’; each one saw the adolescent as part of a larger context that must be engaged with in order to ensure change.

Each organisation then participated in a quick activity, putting colour coded bindis/stickers on a huge map of Bihar – thus enabling the group to know where interventions currently exist, and where they’ve existed in the past as well. This exercise revealed clearly that there are some districts which are heavily invested in (Patna, Vaishali, Gaya, Nawada, Jahanabad) while in others there is negligible NGO intervention (Rohtas, Saran, Bhabua, Shivhar).

Dr Arundhati Misra facilitated the session on adopting an adolescent-friendly lens 

Magic Bus received an encouraging stream of positive feedback from participants on the Sport for Development approach. Many found the workshop participatory and freeing, enabling all to delve upon the topic. The strong adolescent-centered focus was appreciated, as was the extent to which Magic Bus heard and encouraged the sharing of on-ground experiences and challenges.

Akash Verma – Magic Bus’ Youngest Volunteer

Akash with the children he teaches tennis

It’s Sunday morning. I’m in Laxmi Narayan Park in the posh Vasant Vihar area of Delhi. A young boy walks into the park carrying two bulky bags on each side. An excited group of children, aged between 8 and 12, come huddling in from a nearby Bhanvar Singh Camp, one of the many slum settlements in the city. The young boy hands over the bags to them, upon which they reach a spot and swiftly assemble two nets, grab the tennis rackets and eagerly wait for their trainer Akash to teach them a new tennis skill.

The Bhanvar Singh Camp community largely comprises of migrants from Rajasthan and the remoter parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. They live in small huts with roofs made up of cemented slabs and plastic sheets. Men are mostly engaged in daily waged labour work or are cooks, sweepers, drivers and helpers.

Akash’s mother, Monica Logani got in touch with Magic Bus in September 2012 when she was looking forward to getting her three children, 13-year old Akash, 11-year old Priya and 8-year old Shailen into Magic Bus’ volunteer programme.  “I heard about Magic Bus from my sister who was there in New York for a Fundraiser and it’s always been at the back of my mind. She told me how Magic Bus works with marginalised children and youth at such a grassroots level teaching them important lessons through sport. When we shifted here, my son Akash was moved by the poverty he saw around him. He told me that he wanted to help less-privileged children. This innocent desire of my young son prompted me to get in touch with Magic Bus. Soon after, Akash became a volunteer at Magic Bus and started out with weekly tennis training for the Magic Bus children,” shared Monica enthusiastically.

Akash teaching one of the young boys how to get a good grip of the racket

Akash Verma has been an avid tennis player from a very young age. He has been trained by one of the top tennis coaches on the East Coast of the U.S. and has frequently been cited for his solid fundamental strokes and footwork. He has competed in United States Tennis Association Tournaments for the last few years. In 2012 he was ranked #2 in the State of New Jersey for boys aged 12 and under. Last year, he stood 2^nd in the U.S. National Grass Tennis Tournament.

Since moving to New Delhi last summer, Akash was admitted into the very prestigious Tennis Academy at Siri Fort, which prepares young tennis stars for the Davis Cup.  From there he came up with an idea and told his mother, “Hey Mom, what if I was able to take a bunch of kids and teach them how to play tennis, teach them a new sport and how great sports is and the important lessons you learn through sports like hard work, team spirit and being able to relate to each other?”

Tennis training in progress

“It’s been a beautiful and adventurous journey for me since then - meeting these enthusiastic children who have so much potential. I have had a great experience and have learned many things. Before I came here I didn’t know the face of poverty and what these children looked like and I thought that they would be very different. But the children are so enthusiastic. They are very kind, they always want to help one another. You can tell that great values have been instilled in them like they always let the girls go first,” shared Akash quite excitedly.

Akash continued, “most of them have great athletic ability, probably better than some kids in the U.S. being trained by some of the greatest tennis players.”

The raw athletic ability and the enthusiasm being displayed by the children coming forward to learn the new sport are immense and surprising. “It’s very overwhelming to me and it makes me also so excited to come here every Sunday and spend time with them, to get to know them better. I am aware that I am having an impact on these children but in return I am being impacted by them too. They are helping me to believe that I am able to do something good, and in turn I can see that these kids just need somebody to believe in them and they can soar the skies,” shared Akash.

By Harshita Arvind, Communications, Magic Bus

Incredible Stories on Empowerment - Parvati Pujari

"I, Parvati Pujari, am a National Junior Trainer with Magic Bus in Mumbai. My struggle to reach where I am today is a story worth sharing.

I was born on 16^th August 1990 at Bhabha Hospital in Mumbai. This was a first for my mother – her three first children, my elder sisters, had all been born in the shanties she lived in at the time. I was the first one to be born in a hospital.

My father worked on a construction site as a mason, and my mother looked after me and my six siblings. We didn’t have a home to call of our own. Mostly we stayed in shanty housing in the different construction sites where my father would be employed. After my youngest sister was born, we were nine members in the family and it was getting impossible for us to survive on just one income. So my mother also started working for a living. During that time my father was a construction labourer in a huge upcoming complex named Phoenix Mills in Lower Parel. My eldest sister never went to school, she was in charge while my parents worked. 

Parvati with the prizes she has won over the years

My parents did not really think education was important, not when getting the next meal was of topmost priority, so none of my elder sisters went to school. A small NGO named Sunbeam taught me basics like alphabets and numbers in Hindi. We loved the teachers there because unlike at school, these volunteer teachers paid a lot of personal attention to each child and ensured that their concepts were clear. My curiosity and enthusiasm made me continue attending the classes. My younger sisters used to tag along too.

My eldest sister was married off at an early age of 12. If only she had been educated or received proper guidance as I did later in my life, she could have been saved from the clutches of this child marriage.

One day, Sunbeam took us on a three-day excursion organised by Magic Bus. It was a unique experience for me – I had never been on a picnic before. Those three days I still remember as absolute magic playing and learning with friends in a safe environment. It was here that I understood the meaning of bonding, of what it means to have friends.

Later, Sunbeam helped me get an admission in the Lower Parel Municipal School where I completed my 3^rd and 4^th grades. I realised I could be an athlete when I received my first prize money of Rs. 21 in the annual sports day held in the school.

Parvati on the training field

I was 9 years old when I started attending the Magic Bus weekly sessions, on Wednesdays. The sessions at Magic Bus made me relive the magic of the three-day excursion – we were all playing, learning, sharing and caring. Over the years, we learnt complex things like communication skills and teamwork, and also simple things like hand-washing, which keeps germs away.

Because of my skills I was given specialised training. I was just 10 then. I used to travel alone from lower Parel to the park in buses. This training helped me enhance my skills in sports later. By then I was also becoming an avid footballer.

When I was in 9^th grade, my parents refused to let me pursue my studies any further. They felt it was my age to be married. My elder sisters had been married at the age of 12, 13 and 17 respectively. After marriage all three of them settled in different villages. I did not want to end up like them, bound to the home  in a village, so I decided to fight for what I believed in. My father complained of the burden that my education had caused him; he said because of the expenditure on my education, he did not have enough money to feed my younger sisters. After a whole two months of resistance, my parents let me continue my education.

I finished my 10^th grade and my family began to pressurize me for marriage again. My mentors from Magic Bus spoke to my parents and offered me the job with Magic Bus. Magic Bus gave me a fellowship and paid me a stipend of Rs. 2500 per month. I was 15 and I was thrilled beyond belief. I used my income to pay for my college tuition and support my family. I worked from 9 am to 5 pm and enrolled myself in a junior night college where I completed my 12^th grade.

I had done all my schooling in a Hindi medium school so when I joined college, it was a big challenge for me to cope with the English-language classes. Most of my friends would attend coaching classes but I did not have any time as I was working during the day.

I received my board results while I was at a refresher training camp with Magic Bus. I had managed to score a 59% in my Boards and I was satisfied. My parents were proud of me. By the time I came back from the camp, the admissions in all the colleges were closed. I decided to test my luck and visited Siddharth College where I got admission on the basis of sports quota for a Bachelors degree in Commerce. During the same time, I got selected as a National level Rugby player.

Interview with India's famous talk show host and acclaimed Director, Karan Johar, at a fundraising dinner organised for Magic Bus.

Also, I started playing football for various clubs like Magic Bus Football Club and Body Line Club. I stood first in an essay writing competition held by Laadli, an organisation that worked for the welfare of women. 

While I was in my second year of under graduation, I was awarded with the “Active Woman in Sports” award with prize money of Rs. 15,000 from my college. Magic Bus promoted me to the Training and Accreditation team. In my 3 years of college, not once has the championship cup gone to any other college in inter-collegiate sports tournaments.

It was during this time that I made my first trip abroad to London with Matthew Sir, the founder of Magic Bus for a fundraising program. It was a memorable experience, telling everyone how I had missed the life of a poverty-stricken woman by a whisper, and how their support can make sure girls like me don’t grow up to be uneducated mothers. I also got the opportunity to attend the Julie Foudy Leadership program for football training during the same time.

Right now, I am awaiting my final semester results. I am considering doing a sports management degree . My parents are still coaxing me to get married while I work relentlessly to fulfill my goals. For me, accepting responsibility for my life, knowing it is only me who can get me where I want to be has helped overcome my challenges."

Buy One - Give Light Program

Help MPOWERD tackle Energy Poverty and purchase a Luci light for someone in need through Magic Bus.

MPOWERD is committed to giving light to the people who need it most. They do this by encouraging customers to purchase a Luci light at a discounted rate and choose an NGO Partner to distribute it to communities in need. Magic Bus is one of these NGO Partners.

The lanterns, named Luci, provide a unique renewable-energy solution for the nearly 1.6 billion people living in energy poverty around the world. For those living off the grid, everyday challenges can have devastating consequences. Women spend precious time collecting fuel when they could be earning an income. Children cannot study inside after the sun goes down, and indoor air pollution from burning fuel substantially increases the incidence of cancer, tuberculosis and pneumonia.

Luci can provide these families with safe, clean and reliable lighting for up to 12 hours after just 5-6 hours of charging in the sun.



Making a difference to communities in India that suffer from energy poverty is easy.
Visit http://bit.ly/giveluci
1. Click on Add to Cart and select the number of lanterns
2. Choose Magic Bus from the drop down menu
3. Complete your purchase and Give Light!

“Energy is the thread that connects economic growth, increased social equity and sustainability. But, widespread energy poverty still condemns billions to darkness, ill health and missed opportunities for education and prosperity.” – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

Back to school with Farhan Sharif
Mysore, Karnataka

Farhan Sharif at home in

 Haleem Nagar, Mysore

It was over 15 months ago that Magic Bus mentor Shahbaz Pasha, in his constant endeavour to reach out to more and more children in the Haleem Nagar community, approached Farhan and his family to enrol him into the Magic Bus programme. Farhan’s parents readily agreed. “Pasha is a local boy and when he said why don’t you send Farhan for this new initiative, we thought it was a great idea. We knew Pasha beforehand and trusted our son with him,” said Tajuiinisa Sharif, Farhan’s mother.

However, Farhan’s participation soon met with the realities of his life situation. Around November 2012, just a few weeks into the Magic Bus sessions, Farhan’s school closed for vacations. This seemed a good opportunity to make some pocket money as well as add to the family income, and so, for a sum of Rs.50 per month, he started assisting at a Mobile Repair shop at the local market. By the time his school re-opened, Farhan found the extra money was needed at home – he couldn’t very well stop bringing in that extra bit. He decided to drop out of school.

When his mentor Pasha found out about this, he organised a few special sessions in the field where everyone discussed the importance of education in their lives. Magic Bus community volunteers shared the day-to-day problems they faced in their work life due to a lack of proper education. “A Magic Bus Community Youth Leader (CYL) revealed that he encountered extremely difficult situations at work as he could not even write his own signature. He had to depend on others and hence, would consume more time than necessary to complete his tasks, always lagging behind,” said Pasha.

Over a period of a couple of months, Farhan not only evolved into a sincere, well-behaved boy himself, but he now also tries his best to help his friends with their studies. He’s now a favourite amongst them.

Farhan with his friends and Magic Bus Mentor Pasha

Farhan with his mother

His parents, too, see visible and considerable improvement in their son. “He never used to listen to me. He would run away if I called after him. But now, after being with Magic Bus, he has become responsible and obedient. He helps me with daily household chores such as cleaning, buying groceries, etc. In his spare time, he also helps his father in his daily work. I’m very happy with this transformation and have no complaints,” Tajuiinisa shared with a smile. “There’s visible improvement in him. He has a better sense of cleanliness and hygiene now, much more than earlier,” added Tajuiinisa.

Farhan inspired his older sister Ruksana to join the Magic Bus programme as well and continues to share what he is learning with other children.

If you would like to help children like Farhan, open up their chances in life, please visit http://www.magicbus.org/donate

By Ritika Sen, Communications, Magic Bus

Moving forward with Magic Bus in incredible India

Blog post source: http://www.cricketforchange.org.uk/ written by Alasdair Ramsay

Earlier this year (March), a trio of Cricket for Change (C4C) staff headed out to India to continue the development work on a 3-year programme in partnership with Magic Bus India (the programme is supported by Barclays Spaces for Sports).

The C4C trio on this short but productive trip included experienced and talented coaches, Danny Baker and Beth Evans along with overseas development trip debutant, Alasdair Ramsay. The trip was split into two parts with the first being in India's capital, New Delhi and the second involving a visit to Bangalore.

In Delhi, the C4C team ran a two day 'workshop' in the Noida area of the city, with a fantastic group of 18 Magic Bus Youth Mentors and 5 Training and Monitoring Officers. The two days involved some classroom work along with plenty of outdoor led sessions and activities. Over the two days there were numerous discussions about how to further engage with the young people they have in their sessions as well as learning about the experiences of the volunteers and mentors, and how they feel best to take things forward.

C4C have the skills and experience to facilitate programme growth and development but ultimately it is the people on the ground (in a particular country) that have to deliver and it must be right for them.


(Click on the image to see more pictures from the trip)

For the outdoor activities, space was limited but it was a good example of the sort of areas that most, if not all, of the Magic Bus community sessions take place within. The two days in Delhi also included visits to two community based sessions, where the C4C staff had the chance to see the Magic Bus mentors in action (and make use of some of the new skills they had learned over the 2 days). Each event was well attended by very excited, welcoming and happy children.

At the end of second community visit in East Delhi, the C4C trio were invited to have some 'chai' tea at the home of one of the Magic Bus volunteers near to the community session they run. The C4C team were naturally very warmly welcomed into their homes and had a great time along with having the best 'chai' in India!

After leaving Delhi, the C4C team made the short flight down to Bengaluru in southern India. The team weren't running any sessions here but had the chance to meet the Magic Bus Bangalore team in their new offices and discuss the possibilities of developing a programme looking to increase female participation amongst and in the community sessions run in parts of Bangalore.

The C4C guys visited a couple of volunteer run community sessions in Banglore, which included a visit to a school where regular sessions are organised. This visit in particular highlighted the desire of local schools to want to be involved but that there needed to be long term plan and objective that gave the children a positive activity led hook to want to return week after week.


(Click on the image to see more pictures from the trip)

The three C4C staff were also shown the homes and community of a two of the Magic Bus volunteers in which again they were warmly welcomed into.

As is always the case, C4C had a very positive time in India and are extremely proud to be partners with such a progressive and groundbreaking charity in Magic Bus along with the family of friendly and energetic staff and volunteers. The programme promises to go from strength to strength, including looking at a UK/India Coaches exchange programme, more sharing of best practices and youth work and engagement games and plans for greater inclusion of girls and disability cricket activities.

Footnote by Alasdair Ramsay
The excitement of being a part of a development trip to a country that I have always wanted to visit can sometimes overshadow the true nature of why C4C are working on development programmes such as the one with Magic Bus India. There can sometimes be more of a focus on the after trip report or write up and the person doing the report than the importance of the work. That's not a bad thing as exposure to different places and their people can have a profound and positive impact upon one's life.

However, with this in mind, whilst I was there, I wrote a number of blogs that detailed my thoughts and activity from each day we spent working with and getting to know wonderful people, their activities and communities.

I will leave it up to you to view each one by clicking on the following links:
(1) Should I take my Hoody?    (2) Same but Different   (3) The Pride of Delhi  (4) New Beginnings in Bengaluru (5) Incredible India


(Click on the image to see more pictures from the trip)

My “World of Difference” Journey

by Sreekrishnan Manjeri, Vodafone India Foundation

50 days ago – I set out on my journey, with trepidation.  A journey into the unknown, a journey full of challenges, more internal than external, a journey into the ‘World of Difference’.

My assigned NGO partner was Magic Bus and I was to be stationed at their Vishakhapatnam (also known as Vizag) district office in Andhra Pradesh, which turned out to be my home away from home until the end of February.

Being a sports aficionado, my joy knew no bounds when in my very first interaction with Sandhya, the State Head of Magic Bus at Andhra Pradesh, she explained the Sports for Development programme to me and how Magic Bus uses sports as a medium to impart life skills to marginalised children and young adults. This vital input made me pack my football shoes as well!

Sports is a universal favourite with kids and at every Magic Bus session that I attended (I must have attended at least about 30 of them) it worked like a magnet. The children would arrive well before the Magic Bus Community Youth Leader (CYL) to start the session. One could not have found a better medium to connect with children.

What I found very interesting is the concept of CYLs devised by Magic Bus. These are volunteers who administer the sessions in the field and hail from the local communities where Magic Bus conducts its programme. With about 3000 CYLs in Andhra Pradesh and still growing, I was extremely curious to understand as to what attracted these young volunteers to Magic Bus.

I found the answer when I attended a local sports event that was being conducted by the Magic Bus team at a Government School in Islampet, about 35 kms from Vizag. This entire programme was devised, coordinated and executed by the CYLs under the close supervision and monitoring by the Magic Bus team. Speaking to a few of them was a revelation. They told me that being a CYL gives them a higher “social standing” within their community am among peers. When their friends are whiling away their time, these mentors keep the Magic Bus children engaged and teach them about life skills. This is a huge success among the parents who look upon the mentors as responsible individuals. Some of them also shared that being a CYL has opened the doors to a work opportunity with local corporations, the school Head Master and the community decision-makers, which would not have happened if they were not associated with Magic Bus.

However, the common thread that all the CYLs had was the opportunity that Magic Bus was creating for them to give it back to their society.

Another fascinating feature that I discovered in the Magic Bus sessions was the use of ‘cheap & cheerful’ games. I had never imagined that a regular game of dodge-ball or KhoKho or Football could be modified so beautifully that the children could play and learn with ease. Experiential Learning as it is called in Magic Bus. This is perhaps one of the key reasons that the programme cost of Magic Bus is so low-as low as Rs. 1200 per child per annum.

The de-briefing sessions that the CYLs conduct with the Magic Bus children after the games are over is a well laid out process. By connecting the games with life skill messages and again linking them to instances back at their home, Magic Bus has ensured that the intended message is delivered- straight and simple.

The ‘Corporate like’ organisational hierarchy in the Magic Bus programme team starting with a State Head, District Head & all the way till the CYL is probably the reason why their operations on the ground are sowell structured, delivered and monitored. This hierarchy has ensured that decision making is decentralized but yet accountable without slowing down the programme implementation.

Of the many communities that I visited, the one that will stay etched in my memory for a long time to come was the visit to the ‘old city’ in Hyderabad. Given the political, religious and other local challenges here, I was astonished to see the way Magic Bus has been accepted by the community.

House to house, parent to parent, the Magic Bus team went convincing them of what the Magic Bus mission was and asking for permission to allow their children to participate in the sessions and more importantly, permit their daughters to become Magic Bus volunteers.  Fighting prejudice with optimism of change, fighting social barriers with the hope of breaking through, street by street this Magic Bus community has been built. If ever there was a prize for fortitude and perseverance, the Magic Bus team would win it hands down.

The World of Difference journey for me has been a Journey of Discovery.

Discovering that a game of dodgeball or kho-khoor relay or football can be more interesting and engaging than Angry Birds or Temple Run for so many children.

Discovering that pain and distress, dreams and aspirations speak the same language. They make no distinction based on gender or geography.

Discovering joy, hope, positivity, contentment in such unimaginable difficult environment.

Discovering the amazing world of Magic Bus that is touching the lives of children in such a wonderful manner and helping them take on the world with confidence.

To find out more about the award winning Magic Bus' mentoring programme, visit www.magicbus.org. To support Magic Bus programmes, visit www.magicbus.org/donate