Pictured Above: (from left) Aarti and Nikita training in India
Students at Heathfield School, Ascot - an independent secondary boarding and day school for girls aged 11-18, rated ‘Excellent’ across all areas by the Independent Schools Inspectorate – have helped provide the trip of a lifetime for a team of underprivileged young footballers from India, taking part in the OSCAR Foundation’s UK School Tour 2023. Over the past year, Heathfield students raised £5000 towards sponsorship for the trip, and on October 8th, hosted the U16s team, organising a football masterclass and a friendly match with the visitors.
Commenting on the visit, Fr David Clues, Chaplain, said, ‘It was a pleasure to host this team of amazing young people. Sport is such a great leveller, and opportunities like this help develop understanding between young people from very different backgrounds and life experiences. Playing games like football, with a universal set of rules, removes any obstacles to interaction and enables young people to engage with each other, recognise commonalities and have great fun!’
Heathfield students raised funds to help make football dreams become a reality for the OSCAR beneficiaries. Head Girl, Theodora Kirby explained, ‘Our fundraising activities included a dance-a-thon, a colour-run, and our inaugural Caritas Ball.
‘Our first ball proved a great success and we were delighted to host Ellen Chiwenga, FIFA Football Match Agent, as our special guest. Ellen is such a passionate advocate for positive change, and her presence embodied the connection between our cause and football. Her inspiring journey and insights resonated with guests, and reminded us all of the transformative power of sport.’
The OSCAR Foundation utilises football as a tool for empowerment, a concept aptly referred to as Education with a kick. Although the 16 participating girls and boys face hardships at home, living in overcrowded low-income communities in Mumbai, and rural villages with little infrastructure, they are all vibrant, enthusiastic, football-crazy young people with a desire to change their lives through education, and give back to their communities.
OSCAR Founder, Ashok Rathod, grew up in the second largest slum in Mumbai; his mission is to teach children experiencing a similar childhood to his own, about the power of education. After identifying football as the tool to engage young people, he implemented one rule - No School, No Football! From humble beginnings, OSCAR currently has over 7,000 children regularly attending school and has positively impacted the lives of 14,000 children since 2010.
Commenting on the tour, Lucinda Sowerbutts, OSCAR Foundation, said, ‘The UK Schools Tour is at the heart of OSCAR’s work - creating opportunities, and inspiring and motivating underprivileged young people to value education. 700 hopeful children turned up for the 2023 trials! The tour clearly demonstrates children from vastly different socio-economic backgrounds learn valuable lessons from each other, and it is this shared learning which motivates the UK schools to continue to support the OSCAR Foundation.
‘Thanks to the schools, many OSCAR tour alumnae are pursuing university degrees, playing football for leading clubs, or are the first in their families to secure office jobs. The results continue to amaze us, not only with the many personal success stories but also the impact those individuals have on their community - learning and giving back.’
For more information about the OSCAR Foundation please visit: https://www.oscar-foundation.org/
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