Royal Patron: HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh GCVO
Gap year volunteering with OSCAR in India by Anna Wateridge

Having heard so much – from the UK tours to my school – about the great work the OSCAR Foundation does, I was excited to be going out to see the work in person and to help out.

Arriving in Mumbai was quite a shock. I had been warned about the difference, advised of the sensory overload and both were true. Yet no one had talked to me of how interesting and stimulating that difference was – something unusual and exciting at each turn – and no one had mentioned the traffic. To say that the roads took a bit of getting used to was an understatement: the constant and confusing beeping horns, the lack of waiting, the disregard for pedestrians and the neglect of traffic lights. But it all was just the start of the amazing OSCAR adventure to come. 

No day in Mumbai was the same. From creating masterpieces out of posters to coaching in different sessions, from teaching children bulldog and splat to paying tactical games, from leading English lessons in the learning centres to meeting people in the communities, I always left anything I did with OSCAR with a smile on my face. 

Each session consisted of a warm up of fun games then some more tactical skills which provide life lessons and then a match. However, my favourite part of any session was always the match at the end. The children were always so happy to have me on their team despite my limited football skills. They were thrilled if, usually by chance or luck, I somehow managed to score a goal. Quite often though I retreated into playing goalie as it was not a sought after position, all the children always wanted to be striker and have the glory of scoring the goal. The excitement the children always had was amazing to see, and their eagerness to get involved in each session was so uplifting. How the children managed to keep going for two hours straight in each session baffled me, especially in the heat, and always with a smile.

That is one thing that I did really notice: everywhere we were met with smiles, from the office to training sessions to lessons in the learning centres. Everyone was always so welcoming and friendly, offering up chai tea lots of the time, which quickly became an obsession.

The football sessions took us all over Mumbai and in so doing showing us the far-reaching impact of OSCAR in Mumbai. I had to learn how to master the local trains, which, once I had done so, made me feel like a local, a local who was still struggling with the spicy food !

One of my favourite sessions was at Bombay’s Institute for the Deaf and Mute. With this being one of our first sessions, I was still getting used to how they run but it did not matter, not least as this session was obviously a bit different. More importantly, their ‘handicaps’ did not matter and certainly did not diminish the boys’ happiness to get involved and giving it their all. Their excitement was infectious, so too their smiles. They were such a happy and keen group of boys who kept going right till the end, even the younger boys didn’t hold back against the older boys. 

While in Mumbai, the Mumbai marathon took place. This was such a fun event to be a part of. I took part in cheering along the 10k, seniors, and dream run categories in the charity corridor—a stretch where lots of charities gathered holding signs about their charity and motivating and cheering everyone along. Then, in the motivational zone, an area with lots of stages for charities to get the dream runners involved in dancing and games, I had a great time dancing along to the music and getting runners to get involved in the various games. With music blaring, drums beating and various shouting and dancing I could have sat back and watched the event all day. The atmosphere was brilliant and made the early wake-up worth it.

The annual football festival was another highlight of mine in Mumbai. The children were so enthused and animated to be there; some were telling me how they had not been able to sleep the night before out of pure excitment. I ran a football scoring game made so much easier by the children’s enthusiasm – they were all so eager, tyring so hard and putting so much effort into everything they did. Each game was taken very seriously but with such enjoyment. The children’s spirits were kept high all day long and every match the children gave it their all. The best part was the prize-giving ceremony at the end. Each team coming up to collect their trophy was beaming with pride and joy and dancing about. The whole day was such a fun atmosphere and such a pleasure to be a part of.

The week I spent in Karnataka has to be my favourite. An overnight train journey – an experience in itself – took us into the beautiful and peaceful countryside of Karnataka, a contrast to the relentless metropolis of Mumbai. It was so much fun to explore this little visited region, especially with Karan and Govind, two of the brilliant OSCAR team. Karan’s tricks knew no limits, his ability to spin footballs on his fingers or poles balanced on his head was mesmerising. Trying to complete and learn the simple spin the ball on our finger kept us occupied for ages and despite his and our best efforts I’m only half way there to doing it! Check out Karan on Instagram here!

Whilst it was a pleasure to travel off the beaten track it was a privilege to spend time with the people. Especially Govind’s mother, who I was lucky enough to stay with. Her home was simple, but her kind-heartedness knew no bounds. She took such good care of us, always looking out for us and keeping us constantly full. And all despite not being able to speak English.

That was a hard bit of Karnataka; not many spoke English. We tried to learn some Hindi – key phrases being “I am full, thank you” and “no spice” – much to the amusement of the children, I have a feeling our accents were not quite right. But time, generosity and kindness transcend language barriers. Throughout we were always made to feel welcome, greeted into homes and spoiled with chai. We were even made to feel like celebrities with the countless selfies and photos we had to pose for. The warm welcome into Karan’s village for the women’s festival really demonstrated this. The women came out in colourful clothes dancing and beaming with pride that we were in their village and so happy to share it with us. 

One amazing moment that stuck out from my time in Karnataka was the giving out of bicycles to the young leaders. 37 bikes, which Jo Dunne had raised money for, were given to the young leaders to make it easier for them to travel between the different villages. All the young leaders were so delighted to receive their bikes, especially in front of their parents, their mothers in beautiful brightly coloured traditional clothing, who were there to celebrate with them. Some of the parents were moved to tears, a measure of the pride they felt. Their tears and pride touched me, really emphasised to me the effects OSCAR has. 

I have learned so much from my month with OSCAR, especially about confidence. All the children just give everything a go with a smile on their faces, something I hope that has rubbed off on me and I will endeavour to adopt more. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with OSCAR and want to say a huge thank you to the brilliant team who do such amazing work, who provide opportunity to so many.

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