Session
Magic Bus works with children and youth from vulnerable backgrounds such as urban slums, institutions and semi-urban as well as rural areas. We also engage parents and community members to build ownership and sustainability of the programme to make a wider and more sustainable difference.
Five pillars of Magic Bus: A typical weekly Magic Bus Sport for Development session conducted by a Community Sports Coach (CSC) lasts for 90-120 minutes. The games are designed to address particular developmental issues. The five pillars of Magic Bus – safe environment, 100% participation, fun with responsibility, mentoring, and experiential learning – form the basis of all Magic Bus sessions. The programme pillars interconnect, overlap, and support each other. None of them can stand as individual elements.
- Safe Environment: We believe that providing a safe environment for children entails not just ensuring the physical safety of a child but emotional safety as well. Magic Bus’ foremost priority is to build a relationship where the child develops a sense of safety and the ability to trust; to experience the feeling of not being used or being harmed each time they get close to someone and to experience a relationship, which gives them sense of belonging Therefore, Magic Bus is extremely vigilant and has strict processes around staff and volunteers in the children’s lives.
- 100% Participation: When children enrol into our programmes, they often come with inhibitions and are unable to express themselves, especially the girls. They are used to doing what they are told and so naturally look to the mentors to make decisions. However, Magic Bus creates a platform where children are given the space to think and express thoughts for themselves around how the programme should evolve, and form their own boundaries that they adhere to. They are encouraged to become peer leaders and facilitate the involvement of new participants. The process of review in Magic Bus has emerged from the children’s intense need to share their experience and their demand for a space for such expression. It is from this interaction and continued involvement of the children that the essence of the programme has evolved.
- Fun with responsibility: Fun establishes the positive environment for learning. Fun according to Magic Bus is the pure sense of joy, laughter and happiness. It creates positive and happy memories for children to take back to their daily struggles and difficult life and providing a source of rejuvenation as children re-live them in their thoughts. However, it always carries itself with responsibility: an individual cannot have fun by saying something or doing something harmful to another individual or himself.
- Mentor: The mentor is the foundation of the programme on which the pillars rest. The mentor acts as a guide facilitating a process where he/she becomes the sounding board, listens to what the children have to say, works along with them in resolving dilemmas and simply supports them in their initiatives in various spheres. The mentor also learns to understand the children and their needs and evolves along with them.
- Experiential Learning: Magic Bus believes in the process of ‘learning by doing’. Education to us is not just about gaining and memorising information; it is about having an experience, reflecting on that experience, drawing learnings from that and applying it to other situations. It is about a process that entails ‘plan-do–review–do better’. Such a cycle can lead to fundamental shifts in mind-sets, changing perceptions and build positive attitudes. Experiential learning is not just a part of our programme but it is an integral part of our organisational culture.
These pillars reflect the child rights stated in the United Nation Convention on Child Rights (UNCRC). The programme pillars interconnect, overlap, and support each other. None of them can stand as individual elements.
Preparation:The Mentor (CSC) plans what developmental issue is going to be addressed in the session based on our focus areas and feedback from the community. The entire activity and review is conducted under the mentor’s supervision. The mentors also become role models for the children and youth. 25-30 children come together in an open space under the guidance of a mentor for the session. The session has three parts – warm-up, main activity and review session. Every activity has a fun and engagement element to it while ensuring the physical and emotional safety of the children and youth.
A typical session: The session begins with a warm-up where the development goal is introduced through songs and interactive ice-breaking activities. This is followed by the main activity where the development goal is reinforced using sport (football, handball, cricket etc.) and activity-based learning. The last part of the session is a review linked to the development goal. Here, children are encouraged to reflect upon what they did in the activity and then draw parallels to real life. The CSC only facilitates this discussion, which is essentially driven by the children.
| Element |
Content |
Nature of activities |
| Warm-up |
Development goal is introduced. |
Songs and interactive activities. |
| Main Activity |
Development goal is reinforced using activity-based learning. |
Using cones, markers, balls and different sports such as football, handball, cricket etc. |
| Review |
Linked to the development goal, children are encouraged to discuss based on what they did in the Main Activity, and then draw parallels to real life. |
Discussion facilitated by the Youth Mentor (YM) or the Community Sports Coach (CSC) |
Magic Bus conducts around 40 different sessions oriented to address the issues related to education, gender, health, leadership, livelihood and right to play over a year. Magic Bus also regularly interacts with the community in various ways by conducting rallies, group discussions, parent meetings, community sports tournaments, cleanliness drives and other activities crafted for local needs.
|
