Childrens Charity, India
By Lucinda Sowerbutts, OSCAR India Ltd
In the heart of Mumbai, amid the tin roofs, narrow alleys and bustling energy of Ambedkar Nagar, a young boy lay awake on a corrugated iron roof, staring up at the night sky. Watching aeroplanes soar above the slum, he dreamt that one day he might travel in a plane.
That boy, Ashok Rathod, would grow up to become the founder of the OSCAR Foundation, an organisation that uses the power of football and sport to bring opportunity and education to thousands of children across India and through a unique partnership, to young people in the UK as well.
A Childhood Shaped by Hardship
Home for Ashok and 60,000 neighbours was a three-metre-square room with no running water, toilet or facilities, but filled with love, hope and determination. His father was a fisherman at Mumbai’s Sassoon Dock, while his mother spent hours peeling prawns before returning home to care for the family. His sister was married at 15. Life in Ambedkar Nagar was a daily struggle for survival.
Even amid hardship, Ashok’s parents insisted on one thing: education. Though they had never been to school, they were determined their son would learn. Ashok would run three kilometres home from school in the midday heat to fetch the daily water ration, then sprint back to class! Against the odds, he became one of the first from his community to graduate from university. An education and football would soon change not only his own life, but thousands of others.
A Football, a Dream and the Birth of OSCAR
At 18, Ashok could no longer watch children from his community drop out of school, destined to repeat the same cycle of poverty. He decided to act with nothing but a plastic bottle filled with sand to use as a football, a patch of ground and a handful of school dropouts.
He began by teaching them to kick and pass. But football quickly became something much bigger, a way to teach teamwork, discipline and hope. Between matches, Ashok would talk about school, hygiene, gender equality and the importance of education.
From those first 18 boys in 2006, the Organisation for Social Change, Awareness and Responsibility (OSCAR) was born. Officially registered in 2010, OSCAR has since become one of India’s most inspiring sports-for-development programmes, engaging over 35,000 children. Today, 19,000 children are enrolled across five Indian states in OSCAR’s football and life skills programmes, guided by 1,200 trained Community Young Leaders.
At its heart lies a simple rule: “No School, No Football.”
Empowering Girls, Breaking Barriers
One of OSCAR’s most powerful initiatives uses football to drive gender equality. In communities where girls often expected to marry illegally young or stay at home to do household work, OSCAR offers another option, one built on empowerment, leadership and self-belief.
On the pitch, OSCAR girls learn learn teamwork, confidence and how to speak out. They learn to challenge stereotypes and societal norms.
“They’re doing things differently,” says Ashok. “They’re becoming the change their communities have been waiting for, breaking barriers that once seemed immovable.”
My Chance Encounter That Sparked Global Collaboration
In 2015 while volunteering in India, I had the privilege of watching OSCAR’s football sessions and visiting Community Learning Centres, witnessing how sport united children, parents and the wider community.
I left determined to help support Ashok’s vision. From that encounter, OSCAR India (UK) was kicked into action, a UK registered charity working with the OSCAR Foundation in India. Together, we realised that sport could do more than raise funds, it could build bridges between young people from vastly different worlds.
The UK School Tours: Life-Changing Journeys
In 2017, we launched the first OSCAR UK School Tour, bringing 15 boys from Mumbai, none of whom owned a birth certificate or passport to visit schools and communities across Britain. The logistics were complex, but the results were extraordinary.
The tour gave young people who had never dared to dream of travelling abroad the chance to experience it and encouraged the host British pupils to see their life through a new lens. The BAFTA-winning CBBC documentary “My Life: Mumbai Street Strikers” captured the magic of this exchange, sparking a wave of new enthusiasm for the power of sport to change lives.
Since then, OSCAR International has organised five successful UK School Tours, a Young Leader Education Tour to the University of Edinburgh, a tour to the USA and celebrated victory at Denmark’s prestigious Dana Cup football tournament.
Every match, every interaction and every shared story reminds us that sport transcends barriers of language, class, religion and culture.
Transforming Lives on Both Sides of the World
The impact of OSCAR’s work runs in both directions. British schools that have hosted OSCAR teams now send students and volunteers to Mumbai to teach, coach and learn. Every year, school leavers, graduates, teachers and participants of the UK Government’s Turing Scheme spend weeks with the OSCAR community, mentoring, learning and sharing through the universal language of sport.
“They leave changed, more grateful, more compassionate, more connected.” Ashok
These experiences build empathy and mutual respect. Whether in Mumbai’s crowded streets or on a school sports field in rural England.
Two Charities, One Mission
Though the OSCAR Foundation (India) and OSCAR India (UK) are separate registered charities, they share one goal: to create life-changing opportunities through education, sport and community leadership under the expert guidance of OSCAR co-founder, Stuart Christie.
Together, we showcase the power of teamwork and shared humanity, promoting global citizenship, empathy and gratitude. Football is the tool, but the lessons go way beyond the pitch: resilience, respect, gender equality and the belief that every child deserves the chance to dream.
The Ripple Effect
Today, the once-small boy who dreamed beneath the Mumbai sky has helped thousands of children find their own wings. OSCAR’s model educating through sport and mentorship is now recognised globally as a blueprint for social transformation. Children who once played barefoot in Mumbai’s alleyways now study in universities. Girls who once feared early marriage now lead football teams. British students who once read about low income communities in textbooks now experience solidarity, compassion and cultural exchange first-hand.
In every sense, OSCAR’s impact is circular: India inspires the UK and the UK empowers India all through the power of sport.
“Our dream,” says Ashok, “is to create a world where equal opportunities, respect and optimism are abundant. Where every child, no matter their background, has the chance to shine.”
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