Video Gallery: The OSCAR Foundation - A story of opportunity

Being born into the slums of Mumbai is one of the toughest hands a child can be dealt. Poverty, crime, alcoholism and other addictions layer the foundations of all too many lives. Children are often denied an adequate education and taken out of school prematurely to work in the market place. Things are no different in Ambedkar Nagar, a slum community in Cuffe Parade, South Mumbai. Impressionable, uneducated, and with very little prospects – kids growing up exposed to this too often repeat the cycle.

Ashok Rathod, founder of the OSCAR Foundation, is determined for this to change. A product of the slum himself, Ashok knows first-hand the trials that come with residency. He recognised a growing interest in football amongst the youth of the slum, and hatched a plan. He set up The OSCAR Foundation, introducing a football team to the slum’s youth that anyone could join with one rule attached – no school attendance and they’re out.

This is the story of how football has been used to break a vicious cycle of poverty by facilitating and promoting the value of education. Kids destined for dead-end jobs, have now been instilled with a confidence and self-belief through the power of education. These kids who had potentially been written off by the world are now aspiring to be doctors, lawyers and business leaders – genuinely believing they can make a better life for themselves and future generations.

This is a story of opportunity, and how football has instilled faith, hope and economic change in the lives of those who need it most.

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