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All cities in India are loud, but nothing matches the 24/7 decibel level of Mumbai, where the traffic never stops and the horns always honk. Noise, however, is not a problem in Dharavi, the teeming slum of one million souls, where as many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre (0.4 hectares). By nightfall, deep inside the maze of lanes too narrow even for the putt-putt of auto rickshaws, the slum is as still as a verdant glade.
Dharavi is routinely called "the largest slum in Asia. First inhabitated by Koli fisherman in the late 19th century they were followed by the Kumbhars from Gujarat who came to establish a potters' colony. Tamils arrived from the south and opened tanneries. Thousands traveled from Uttar Pradesh to work in the booming textile industry. The result is the most diverse of slums, arguably the most diverse neighborhood in Mumbai, India's most diverse city.
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Today Magic Bus reaches out to over 3,000 children per year, and is imbedded in slum communities across Mumbai and are piloting sport for development programme across India.
Magic Bus operates several centres within Mumbai’s slums where volunteers counsel the children, offering them glimpse of other options and life beyond the drudgery of slum life.
In order to support this initiative Magic Bus completed phase one of India’s first world-class centre for outdoor experiential learning and sport for development, 75 km from central Mumbai in October 2006. The Centre provides a benchmark for experiential-learning child development programmes in India and is home to the most sophisticated outdoor equipment in the country. It features among many other activities a challenge course, designed and built by Adventure Rope which includes a high ropes course, artificial rock climbing tower which includes a rappelling face and a breathtakingly fast zipline.
An expansive football pitch stretches beneath the buildings and is home to structured and unstructured games during the camps, which can include a traditional game of football or cricket or a large scale game involving capturing zones and transporting water!
In an interesting move to make the approach through sports more holistic the centre was built keeping conservation and environmental protection in mind. A key element of the camp programmes is learning about the flora and fauna as well as interesting practices such as water conservation, vermiculture and natural remedies. A secluded area beneath the dining hall has been given over to the Tamar Manoukian Butterfly Garden. Plants are being nurtured specially to entice butterflies and moths that can be observed by the children from the dining hall balcony.
My earliest childhood memories are of my stepmother beating and burning me almost every day. Then my father died and she remarried. My next memories are of my stepfather sexually abusing me almost every night before marrying me off to a stranger. The marriage was a business deal as my stepfather sold me for Rs.10,000. The man I was married to was a pimp in Kamathipura (the red-light district in Mumbai) and he sold me to ‘Mai’. For days I cried and fought the torture but soon I got used to dancing and working in this trade. I lost all emotion. Whenever I closed my eyes, I only had recurring nightmares. During these three days with Magic Bus, for the first time in my life, I now have some memories that will make me smile. Smile with my heart. Now I have something that will be powerful in erasing my nightmares. For the first time I have danced because I was enjoying dancing. You cannot comprehend what it means to have a few, just a few, memories where you are truly happy, having fun with friends, dancing and playing like a child, where you and your feelings matter to some one. What I am taking with me today will be my most cherished memories that will help me rejuvenate each time I am in despair’ Sunita was put in an institution after her rescue and has trained herself to be a hairdresser. On one particular visit to her home, we learnt that she fills the lives of other girls in the institution with fun, games and joyful stories of her three days with Magic Bus.
Magic Bus is driven by its founder and CEO, Matthew Spacie, its COO Alka Shesha and Boards in India and the UK.
Information was taken from http://www.magicbusindia.org/History.html
