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Considering your project concentrates on young children, how do you go about with their education?
This project was initially a pilot. We are now working with Gram Vikas for the next three years and we visualise the four schools we work with as sports academies. We’d like to bring schools together under one community in the near future. There are also plans to start sports clubs within communities and villages in the regions we operate in.
We also aim to have a Centre of Excellence programme running by mid-2014. It will be a residential programme. We will start with weightlifting and then go on to volleyball and move on to other sports later.
The plan is to bring education and coaching under one banner and do it together as one is as important as the other.
Young children are keen on sports
Have you come across any problems with parents who are reluctant to allow their children to pursue sports at the cost of education?
Most of the children are from tribal areas, they are usually the first generation in their families to get an education even at the primary level. Unfortunately, a few have left the project to concentrate on studies.
Our focus is on making sure the kids under our supervision complete 10th standard as a bare minimum. Kids need to succeed at both – sports and education.
We recently had a father of a promising 13-year-old weightlifter, who was bemused seeing his son lift weights. He questioned the Gram Vikas in-charge on the motives of the programme. He couldn’t understand why his son had gone from lifting stones to lifting weights in just over four months!
Therefore, I think it is necessary to educate the parents as well as teachers about sports. Young talented sportspersons need to find the right balance between sports and education. The mentality of choosing one over the other has to change. It is possible to be well educated and be a top athlete.
Do you see yourself associating yourself with other similar projects such as HVI and Yuwa?
Definitely. Our focus is currently on sports development, while a few other projects look to bring about development through sports. Our main aim is to introduce and teach sports to children, but also produce athletes who can represent India at the highest level.
A similar organisation to us is Rural Development Trust (RDT), who are based in Andhra Pradesh. They have great facilities and programs for games like cricket and hockey. Their stadium often hosts Andhra Pradesh’s Ranji Trophy games as well.
Do you find it easy to get funds to run your project?
Our current project is funded is Gram Vikas. We are lucky to be contracted to them for the next three years. The plan is build on from there and look at funding from other sources, even international ones.
Are volunteers readily available?
We always find volunteers who are willing to help. A lot of people who come as volunteers and interns even take breaks from their day jobs for a period of 3-4 months to assist us.
Finally, what are your future plans? Do you intend to extend your future projects to other parts of the country?
Our focus currently is solely on Odisha but yes, we would like to explore other pockets of India. We are a young organisation and we are learning at every step we take.
We plan to have partnerships with foreign universities whose facilities, technical knowledge and know-how about sports are very in-depth. They can help us with a lot of aspects that are missing in India. We would also like to learn from the development of sport in other countries, say such as the United Kingdom, as their experience would go a long way in improvingsports in our country.
You can contact Mr. Suheil Tandon and Pro Sport Development at their website prosportdev.in or mail them at [email protected]
About Pro Sport Development
Pro Sport Development or ProSportDev is a sport development organisation that uses sport as a means for the holistic development of youth, especially within the underprivileged sections of society who lack the resources and opportunities to participate and compete in sport. ProSportDev not only promotes the sustainable participation of youth in sport, but also provides those with the ability and desire, a platform to excel and progress to an elite level.
About Khel Vikas
KhelVikas, which literally translates to “sport development”, seeks to provide the underprivileged and tribal youth in the state of Odisha access to participation in regular recreational sport.Moreover, KhelVikas seeks to support highly talented and motivated athletes in their quest to achieve sporting excellence. ProSportDev is implementing the KhelVikas project in partnership with globally renowned rural development organisation, Gram Vikas. Gram Vikas has over 35 years of experience in working with marginalised and underprivileged communities, and also runs residential schools for underprivileged tribal children in the Odisha. The project is currently working with youth in these Gram Vikas residential schools, as well as within several Gram Vikas communities.
Watch the Khel Vikas promo below:
