Educating through sports
Ishika Sachdev of the Rotary Club of Madras (RCM) Next Gen, speaks about their recent project Kicking Ahead, a football training programme for children from low-income group and corporation schools, in association with Chennaiyin FC.
Chennai
How did the idea of Kicking Ahead come about?
When RCM Next Gen’s community service board sat together to think about what project we were going to effectively undertake this year, we were sure of only one thing – the project had to involve education. We believe sports can impart essential life skills. So Kicking Ahead was born, with the aim to transform education in low income schools by bringing football into children’s daily lives.
How was it executed?
We started with 1,821 students across 12 low-income schools and then narrowed it down to seven schools and delegated professional coaches to each of them. The training period spanned four months after which we conducted our first tournament recently — Kicking Ahead Cup 2016. Not only did everyone play, everyone learned at the end of the day.
What has been the best outcome of this programme?
The best reward for us has been the holistic development of the kids. Their classroom behaviour, social skills and engagement with one another has increased since the programme was implemented.
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