10-year-old Raju lives in Chevella village, Alladurg mandal. He is studying in grade 5 in a small private school in another village which is 12 kms from his native place. When Magic Bus started the programme in the village facilitated by the community volunteer Sathyanarayana, Raju said “Anna (bhaiya) the games are regular games that we play in our school daily” and did not participate actively.

But the community sports coach told him that soon they would be playing the same games but with proper sports equipment like footballs, colorful markers and cones. Raju was interested and started turning up for the sessions. Your donation, Lucus, enabled Magic Bus to provide the local community sports coach with a full set of sports equipment. Now the sessions have become a lot of fun, and Raju now says, “Anna (bhaiya) I am lucky that I am getting an opportunity to play football. Even elders of our village do not get this opportunity. I feel proud to learn techniques and other intricacies about world’s most popular game football and I want to play tournaments in future”.

He actively participates in the sessions and even assists the sports volunteer in marking ground with cones and markers. Thank you, Lucus, for enabling 50 children from one of the most poverty stricken parts of India play games, and learn social and personality development skills through the medium of sports.

Mahender is a 23 year old youth hailing from a poor family of agriculture labourers. He lives in an interior and remote village, Gottimukula village in Shankarampet mandal.

He is pursuing intermediate in a college, located in a town which is 6 kms from his village. To sustain his family and studies – he works as a helper in a petrol bunk. When Magic Bus youth mentor visited the village for identifying sports coach, majority of the community people suggested his name.

Mahender was trained for taking the sessions as a Community Sports Coach (CSC).  He says “In the beginning very few children came for the sessions and there was not a single girl child”. Mahender along with the youth mentor talked to the community leaders about the non participation of the girls in the sessions. The community leaders helped them to organise a meeting with families in the village. In that meeting, Mahender informed the parents how important it was to play and that every child, irrespective of their gender, has a right to play. He also showed them Magic Bus’ videos from other areas where girls play with full zeal.

The screening of videos and encouraging words by Mahender inspired the people. Mahender reflects “after two to three weeks, we could get few girls and slowly it improved. He proudly reminisces “out of 23 children, 9 (39%) are girl children. I never thought I could have done anything like that. I am proud that I could bring about some positive change in my community.”

Thank you, George (8 months) and Henry (4 months), for coming together to provide a year long sponsorship for Mahender. Because of your generosity, he will continue inspiring young children in the community.

Sixteen year old, Komal, hails from the old city of Hyderabad. She belongs to a section of society where her parents work as daily-wage laborers to sustain their family. Apart from herself , Komal has two younger sisters Puja and Punam. While Komal and Puja left their studies due to the financial constraint, the family had to bear soon after the death of their elder brother, younger sister Punam managed to continue being regular at school.

Komal underwent seven days Community Sports Coach (CSC) training at Magic Bus. She takes sports for Development Sessions with 27 kids on every Sunday. In addition to household chores, now she has something extra and interesting to do. Though her being a volunteer doesn’t contribute to her family’s finances, she has a new found interest in sports and play, something that she missed during her childhood. Her sisters also attend the sessions regularly.

Komal says, “Magic Bus has brought back the joy of playing. It was long back that we sisters played happily. My confidence has increased and I feel I can become a good sports teacher. I want to work with Magic Bus”. She further says, “Puja and I will fully support our sister Punam in achieving her goal. We lost our brother to untimely diagnose and had to leave our studies due to inadequate income.”

Komal needs your support to fulfill her newly explored dream to become a good sports teacher. She seeks your support for further trainings.

Thanks to your generosity, Laurent (x4), UBS and Deborah, Komal has received uniforms and a sports kit to conduct sessions in her Community. Your support would also ensure that she gets ongoing mentorship from the trainers of Magic Bus so she can continue to conduct Sports for Development sessions that empower the children in her village.

Eleven year-old Heena studies in grade four. She comes to play at Bonamma Gudi ground in Manik nagar slum, Heena says, “After coming from school, I go to tuitions and by the time I return home it is 7pm. I used to play with my sister, Sameera and other girls near my house. On Sundays, my sister and I watch TV and do house hold chores. Being the elder child of the family, I was always told by my mother that I shouldn’t play with boys and even at our home among relatives, girls doesn’t play much with boys.”

It was with youth mentor, Basava Rajamma’s intervention with her family that Heena stepped into the ground with her sister. Coming from an orthodox back ground, Heena and Sameera never mingled in the activities as there were boys around and the Community Sports Coaches were also boys. Heena said, “I too wanted to touch and play with balls and colorful markers when I saw boys playing with them, but, never did it as I felt shy. When I told about this to didi she urged me to join the line and play, but I didn’t. Once, out of excitement, Sameera joined the line. When she held the ball and placed it on the marker… she looked at me and said, ‘Didi, it’s nice, come and play once’. By looking at her enthusiasm I joined the line only to touch the ball and place it on the marker. At first, I failed to hit the marker with the ball but in my second attempt I scored.”

Since then Heena and Sameera gained confidence and love to play with the football.  They further add, “We have never played with handball or football before. We help in marking the ground with colorful cones and markers.”

A sports kit has made difference in the two sisters’ lives.  They are now confident and boast about playing with special sports equipments.

The sports kit will be used to provide sports sessions for 50 more children like Heena and Sameera.

Thank you, Laurent, for putting your faith in Magic Bus. Your support will go a long way in helping disadvantaged children learn and develop through play and shed their inhibitions and stereotypes that exist in their immediate society!

Pawan (l) and Bunty (r) leading their respective teams

Dear Laurent,

Your generous donation enabled Magic Bus to provide a Sports Kit  including two handballs, two footballs, 20 bibs, six markers and two cones to Praveen, the Community Sports Coach who conducts sports sessions for children in a ground in Lalithabaug, a slum community in Old Hyderabad, India. Bunty and Pawan are two of the 50 children who attend the sessions conducted by Praveen.

Eight year old Bunty loves playing with other kids, in the playground. Kicking the football and throwing hand ball was something he had never done before. He says “my mother had never let me play in this playground because it was always occupied with older children. It is only when Praveen bhaiya [brother] came and spoke to my mother, that she let me come here.’”

Twelve year old Pawan shares that prior to Magic Bus sessions, no girl would play with the boys, neither in the ground nor in the school. He adds “I’m really thankful to Magic Bus anna (brother) for starting a new culture in our area by bringing boys and girls to play together equally without any discrimination. I will continue to support Magic Bus in this gender issue.”

Pawan is very excited about the equipments he gets to play with. He says ‘while watching sports news I used to think, football is a foreigners’ game because I never saw Indians playing football on television. Now I feel proud that I am playing a new game which I used to think is very difficult to play.”

Both Bunty and Pawan are thrilled to learn a new sport through the Magic Bus initiatives.

The sports kit will be used to provide sports sessions for 50 more children like Bunty and Pawan in Lalithabaug, Old Hyderabad.

Thank you, Laurent, for putting your faith in Magic Bus. Your support will go a long way in helping disadvantaged children learn and develop through play and shed their inhibitions and stereotypes that exist in their immediate society!

Twelve year old Sangeetha comes from a Dalit (Untouchables) family residing in the slum community of Uppuguda in Old Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Born and bought up in a family of illiterate rag pickers, she has never been to school and spends her day collecting plastic and metal items. Her daily schedule comprises of taking care of her younger brother, selling the scrap and performing other household chores.

Initially, she was a bit hesitant about attending the Sports for Development sessions being conducted by Magic Bus in her community. “I was thrilled and scared”, she says. “…  an inner me was stopping me from joining them… as there were other children who come in good dresses and also go to school and I neither have good clothes nor do I go to school, as we are very poor …but when Arun bhaiya stood next to me in a circle and played name game… I felt happy and since then I had been coming to play”.

The Sports for Development sessions are helping her understand the importance of keeping herself clean and tidy, and is empowering her to be more aware of her health. Despite not having any aims and aspirations in the past, Sangeetha now dreams of becoming a Community Sports Coach at Magic Bus.

Your donation, Mark and Lisbet, would enable Magic Bus to provide a year of Sports for Development sessions to Sangetha, and help her make new friends and become more ambitious with her life. Thank you!

Thirteen year old Anitha lives in the remote village of Rukmapur in Medak district of Andhra Pradesh. She hails from a poor landless agricultural family. Her parents works as daily wage labourers and earns approximately Rs. 3,500 ($78) per month. Anita goes to school with her two elder sisters, Laxmi and Rajni and aspires to become a doctor. She regularly attends sports for development sessions conducted by Magic Bus, after school and loves to play with other children.

She says with pride “we have balls, markers and cones and we start the session by singing a song…. I am fond of running and like the activity Kawwa aur Koel (crow and nightingale)…the sessions should continue …… and we will have lots of fun and play”

Thanks to your support, Mary Ellen and Jim, Magic Bus can now provide a year of sports session for Anitha and impart valuable social and development skills through the medium of sport.

Dear Richard,

Ten year old Shwetha resides in a slum called Lalitabagh, in old Hyderabad city. She is studying in grade 5 at a school near her house. Her father is a rickshaw driver and her mother a house wife.  Swetha initially faced a lot of opposition from her family when she wanted to take part in the sports for development sessions because they did not like the idea of her playing in mixed groups with boys. However, the community sports coach of her area, Rajkumar, intervened and convinced her parents that they should send her to the sessions.

Shwetha says “Now I play for more than an hour, earlier I used to get very less time to play… the older boys did not allow us to play, I have made so many new friends who play with me and we have balls,  yellow cones and red markers”.

She enjoys playing kabaddi and the action song “Delhi se mora bhai“. She aspires to become a teacher.

Thanks to your generous donation, Richard, Magic Bus can now provide a year of sports sessions for Shwetha, and teach valuable lessons on gender equality to her family, and through them to the community at large.

Ten year old, Suraj stays with his family in a rented house at Lalitabagh slum of old Hyderabad city. He lost his father two years ago and ever since, his mother Kanta has been the sole bread-winner of the family. She works as a scavenger with the local municipality and earns a meager sum of Rs. 2,500 ($56) each month, which does not suffice to meet the needs of her family, comprising of Suraj and his four siblings. After paying the house rent, they are left with an amount that hardly sustains the family for a month.  At times, the family does not get enough food to eat and the children go hungry.

Through the intervention of Magic Bus, Suraj was enrolled in school and is currently studying in grade four. He attends the sports for development sessions regularly in his community, initiated by Magic Bus and does not like to miss any session. He says “I would like to learn and play football and our group has two footballs”. It’s his long cherished dream to become a police officer when he grows up and help his mother shoulder the responsibilities of the family.

Your kind donation, Gillian, will enable Magic Bus to provide a year of Sports sessions for Suraj and impart valuable social and developmental skills in him.