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Magic Bus develops local community mentors who take children and youth living in poverty on the journey from childhood to livelihood. These volunteer mentors work with children and parents through a weekly curriculum that includes the use of sporting activities as metaphors to change behaviour in the areas of education, health, gender and livelihood. They give children the skills and confidence they need to move themselves, their families and their communities out of poverty. Magic Bus currently reaches 280,000 children and 8,000 young people across India.

Twenty-three-year old Parvati Pujari, a training and accreditation officer at Magic Bus in Mumbai, is the daughter of unskilled migrant construction workers and grew up playing in the dust and rubble of construction sites. She is the fourth of six girls - her three older sisters finished school after primary level and the two eldest were married at the age of 13. 

Joining Magic Bus at the age of nine broadened Parvati’s outlook and through sport she gained the necessary confidence to exercise choice. Parvati was mentored by young people from her community on the importance of education, gender equality, health and livelihood. Despite pressure from her parents to marry young, she resisted. 

Now a confident, articulate young woman, with a bachelor’s degree in commerce, Parvati is a passionate advocate for sport as a development tool and recognises the importance of engaging adolescent girls: “One girl can change her family, her community, her society and her village…even India.’’

21 year-old Gulfsha Khan lives in Bhalswa, a large resettlement colony located on the fringes of Delhi’s largest rubbish dump, in a one room dwelling with her parents and five siblings. When Magic Bus was expanding its programme in the area, Gulafsha was identified as someone keen to make a difference in her community and was selected to be trained as a community youth volunteer. 

The decision was not initially popular with community leaders who disapproved of Gulafsha’s family allowing her to take part in outdoor activities, something not seen as suitable for girls. However the Magic Bus team persuaded Gulafsha’s family to allow to her take part and Gulafsha soon became popular with the children in her sessions and seen as a role model in her community. 

Having completed secondary education, Gulafsha was keen to continue with her studies but her parents did not see the point in her doing so. The Magic Bus team spent a lot of time with her family explaining the importance of education and they eventually agreed to let her enrol in further education, the first girl from her community to do so.

Sixteen-year old Sonu lives in the Begumpur community in South Delhi. There are a number of health, hygiene and education issues affecting the community and most children do not go to school regularly. Sonu grew up spending most of her time with her two older brothers. She dropped out of school and used to hang around picking fights. Then she enrolled in Magic Bus sessions. 

The community youth leaders running the sessions spotted an interest for cricket in Sonu and helped her channel her energy into the activities and encouraging the other girls to take part. During one session on the importance of education Sonu realised that her attitude had changed – she’d stopped picking fights and was being kind and friendly towards the other children on the sessions. She has now re-enrolled in school and spends her evenings studying hard. The change in Sonu has inspired other children to join Magic Bus.