In an enlightening conversation with TheCSRUniverse, Ashok Rathod, the founder of OSCAR Foundation, delves into the transformative power of sports and education in uplifting children and youths from India's low-income communities. Rathod shares compelling insights into OSCAR's unique approach, leveraging football to instil life skills, gender equality, health awareness, and more, while maintaining a strong emphasis on academic excellence.
He says one of the major challenges in rural areas is that it takes lot of efforts to counsel parents to allow their girls to wear shorts, play football and stay in school. Also, he suggest partners to visit the project sites to see the impact instead of focussing more on the project reports.
With a candid exploration of the challenges, triumphs, and far-reaching impact of their initiatives, this interview unveils the heart and soul of a foundation committed to shaping a brighter, more inclusive future.
Scroll down to read the full interview:
Q: Can you elaborate on how the OSCAR Foundation contributes to community development through sports and education?
A: OSCAR Foundation works with children and youths in low income communities in urban slums and rural villages across India, using sport as a medium to bring them together and inspire them to make positive change in their community. Through football we create a safe environment to deliver life skills, mentorship, team building, communication, gender, health and hygiene. We work closely with parents, educating and guiding them in their child’s development. We teach children not to discriminate, to play as a team. Our Gender and Disability programmes make a profound and positive impact. We believe passionately in inclusivity.
Q: How does involvement in sports, especially football, impact the lives of children in low-income communities?
A: Football greatly impacts the lives of underprivileged children; football simply requires a small space and a ball and children of all ages can join. OSCAR sessions are fun and because the children enjoy it, they continue to join. They call their siblings and friends to come along; it is like a child revolution!
Q: Why do you believe life skills training is crucial for children, and how does OSCAR Foundation incorporate it into its programs? How does the OSCAR Foundation approach the upskilling and reskilling of children from low-income communities?
A: I believe life skill is the key because it motivates children to continue their education, they grow in confidence, become independent thinkers and decision-makers. Life skills prepare them for the future. The National Education Programme states every child should have at least one hour a day of physical activity and life skills at a young age.
OSCAR’s life skills programme is simple and effective and continuously monitored. Every child’s school attendance is registered and mark sheets recorded. School participation is 100%. OSCAR has one simple rule, No School, No Football.
OSCAR youth receive regular mentorship and workshops on careers and further education and we have recently launched the OSCAR Alumni Programme. If any youth have the talent to pursue football, we help them apply for academy scholarships. Many OSCAR youth play for National and State level teams.
OSCAR has an Education Programme with dedicated Community Learning Centres across Mumbai run by qualified teachers. The Young Leader Programme is at the core of OSCAR’s work. To date we have trained over 1,000 Young Leaders across India. OSCAR Young Leaders mentor batches of 30 children up to five times a week.
Q: Who are your funding partners for your various programmes? How much was your total budget for all the activities you undertook in the FY 2022-23?
A: OSCAR is 60% funded by corporates, TATA, Reliance, FIFA, Common Goal, plus we raise funds from individual donors and crowdfunding. Last year’s budget was INR 6 Crore.
Q: Could you share insights into how international exposure and participating in tournaments abroad shape the lives of the children at OSCAR Foundation?
A: OSCAR children never dared to dream they would own a passport and fly in a plane but we believe in creating and delivering life changing opportunities. OSCAR International Tours motivate and inspire the youth to stay in school and work hard for selection. International exposure creates role models, who return to their communities empowered with leadership skills and experiences, which they use to inspire and motivate community youth. On tour OSCAR youth become part of a global community, they learn from their peers, irrespective of nationality, religion, gender or caste. The tours motivate the girls to stay in education and say no to an early marriage and youth pregnancy. OSCAR Tour Alumni are inspired to raise their game and seek opportunities to improve not only their own life but that of their families.
Q: What is your suggestion to the CSR policy makers towards making these activities easier from implementation perspective? What are your suggestions to the corporations who fund such activities?
A: My suggestion is that more funds should be invested in sports for development, especially grass roots level. From my 16 years of experience, I know that participation in sports makes the long-term impact. Sometimes funding should be unrestricted and in place of ‘reporting’ the donor should visit the programme. Staff time can be limited and reporting can be onerous. Corporates should also consider longer term funding.
Q: What challenges does OSCAR Foundation face while working with underprivileged communities, and how do you overcome them?
A: Lack of infrastructure and access to ground facilities are the biggest challenge. Restricted accessibility in some areas makes it hard for children to join. We have to dedicate a lot of time to counsel parents to allow their girls to wear shorts, play football and stay in school. Many parents still do not understand the value of sports.
Raising funds for sports and life skills is very challenging; most corporates do not fund grass roots projects. Upskilling and capacity building require funding and it is difficult to secure the funding required.
Q: How does the OSCAR Foundation measure the impact and success of its programs? How do you plan to expand your impact?
A: We use impact measurement software and collect children’s mark sheets, attendance, and progress report. Before joining our Football and Life skills Programmes, we do a detailed assessment recording the children’s understanding of life skills. We repeat it after a year to record and assess the progress again. 100% of OSCAR children go to school, close to 7,500 in total, of which 38% are girls. This clearly demonstrates OSCAR’s impact.
Q: What advice would you give to other NGOs looking to use sports as a medium for social change and youth empowerment?
A: We have a training model and if any NGOs want to contact us, we can train their youths and they can then reach out in their own communities. OSCAR’S Train has created many leaders.
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