CB Bureau‘It is all about an idea that changed the environment, channelised the positive energy, and found a vent for the negative, and brought about an encouraging change in the lives of millions of underprivileged kids all across the country.’
It was on one of his regular work and play days when Matthew Spacie realised how sports and a congenial environment could change the lives of many aspiring, but underprivileged, children. Thus far, his realisation has already helped nearly 140,000 children in skill and social development, and with a strong support apparatus now, Matthew is aiming to reach out to over 600,000 kids by 2012.
It so happened that one fine day, a boy named Anwar, from Mumbai’s Cuffe Parade slum, approached Matthew whilst he was practising rugby with friends. Matthew invited him to join them. Within six months a rugby team was formed, which within a year started competing in national tournaments.
Unfolding in front of him, Matthew started seeing the dramatic behaviour changes in the team members. There was no formal development programme, but the intrinsic benefits of participation in sport began manifesting from the very beginning. Matthew then started working with a local NGO, Akansha, and formed a group of volunteers who took around 50 children camping in the countryside each month alongside the rugby sessions.
It soon became clear that taking a child away from the squalor of their immediate environment, to a mountain or sports pitch, meant a learning environment unparalleled in the child’s life. It was the thought of a vehicle picking children up and taking them on a fantastic journey that gave birth to the name Magic Bus. For the children, the place represented a new adventure that was somewhere safe and packed with fun.
Funders come onboard
After a year, the success of the Magic Bus programme attracted the attention of a social venture capitalist company, Impact Partners, which approached Magic Bus to provide organisation capacity building and crucial early-stage funding to broaden its work platform. The Magic Bus team grew to three – Matthew Spacie, Alka Shesha and Rinku Varde. Their vision was of developing a sport for development programme in Mumbai and reaching out to children living in slum communities across the city. They came together at a time when the concept of development through sports and outdoors was alien to India.
Sport and play were very low priorities and lay unrecognised as development tools for child- and youth-focussed NGOs in Mumbai, whose immediate requirement was to fulfil the formal education, shelter and protection needs of those in their care. The Magic Bus team saw many closed doors in those initial days and with every closing door, their conviction to sustain Magic Bus and promote the power of sport became even stronger.
Over time, Magic Bus grew as a team and in its outreach. Strong relationships were forged with the communities in which it worked and parents witnessed the change in their children who were participating in the Magic Bus programmes. From 50 children per year, Magic Bus moved to hundreds and then thousands – from Dharavi slum to Bombay Port Trust and Mankhurd. Magic Bus learnt and developed as it grew – from external consultants, staff and from the children themselves.
Beyond rugby ball
Today, the organisation reaches out to over 3,000 children per year, and is piloting its ‘sport for development’ programme across India.
In October 2006, Magic Bus completed phase-one construction of India’s first centre for outdoor experiential learning and sport for development. The Magic Bus Centre for Learning & Development has the capacity to offer programmes to over 10,000 children every year, and has residential capacity for over 100 children each day.
The centre provides a benchmark for experiential-learning child development programmes in India, and is home to some of the most sophisticated outdoor equipment in the country. It features India’s first international-standard challenge course, designed and built by Adventure Rope, including a high ropes course and an artificial rock climbing tower that includes a rappelling face.
The centre has a perennial river running along which facilitates water sports. The centre trains children to swim and, as they progress, kayaking and other water-based activities. An expansive football pitch at the centre is home to structured and unstructured games during the camps.
Environmental learning
The centre has been built keeping conservation and environmental protection in mind, and a key element of the camp programmes is learning about the flora and fauna as well as water conservation, vermiculture and natural remedies.
The Tamar Manoukian Butterfly Garden
A secluded spot has been dedicated to butterflies. Plants are being nurtured especially to entice butterflies and moths that can be observed by the children.
Trekking and offsite camping
The centre acts as a base camp for various exciting survival treks and expeditions. Children can set off with backpacks and tents from the centre and spend the night camping, pitching their own tents and cooking their own food.