Magic Bus' work in this community is made possible with the support of our donor, Minnie Burman.
Thank you, Minnie!
INA Colony is located between ring road and railway colony in South Delhi. It is situated on the east side of Sri Aurobindo Marg, opposite Laxmi Bai Nagar.
The population is around 1,500 of which 800 are children. Most of the men from this community work as ice-cream vendors, labourers, mechanics and vegetable sellers. Women work as sweepers, labourers and domestic help.
Water is supplied by the government through tankers. Most of the houses do not have toilets. There are a few public toilets in the locality but not enough to meet the needs of the community. Residents have to resort to open defecation in the nearby maidan. As a result, sewer lines are choked and a foul smell hovers around the community.
Magic Bus started operations in INA Colony in 2012. Rajni, 22, is the Training and Monitoring Officer in charge of the community. She is assisted by Pardeep, 21, the Youth Mentor.
A cricket tournament was organised by Magic Bus in November 2013.
Seventeen-year-old Gaurav lives with his grandmother in INA Colony. His parents passed away three years ago in an accident. He has no siblings. Gaurav dropped out the school after class 9 and started working part-time as a mechanic.
One day, he saw Magic Bus sessions in the playground and was intrigued by the idea of playing sports with other children. He asked the Youth Mentor if he could join.
After he started attending Magic Bus sessions regularly, the Youth Mentor motivated him to pursue his studies and talked to the Principal of Government Boys Senior Secondary School, where Gaurav was previously enrolled. His attendance was short. So, he could not be promoted to class 10. So, Gaurav was made to write class 9 exams again.
With constant encouragement from the Youth Mentor, Gaurav took the exam and cleared it. Currently, Gaurav is in Class 11 and regularly attends the school.
Sessions are held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 am to 11 am and from 4 pm to 6 pm (evening). Sessions are divided into 3 parts: