Heroes

sports

journey

football

journalism

Part of Mumbai Mirror’s 8th anniversary celebrations, the Heroes campaign looks beyond everyday do-gooders and simple acts of kindness. This initiative will honour people or institutions that have decisively - and positively - changed Mumbai for the better. If you know a hero, nominate them @ mumbaimirror.com/form.cmsTwojournalists crowd-source gear and train underprivileged kids, giving them a shot at playing right.Kunaal Majgaonkar and Shail Desai’swith Project Play reads like a movie. The two 28-year-old sports journalists wrote aboutand other, ‘noncricket games’, and one of the commonest stories they filed was of children from underprivileged families who played magnificently and against all odds. “It’s a human interest story that everyone wants to read, but then what?” asks Majgaonkar.Aware that these kids, aged between eight and 15 years, could easily slip practise on account of lack of funds, or indeed, even the right gear, the duo decided to act. In August 2011, they cofounded Project Play, a non-profit volunteer-driven venture offering well-designed and appropriate gear (balls, shoes, hockey sticks) to kids. Last year, they began to train players as well.This is how it began. “We asked a few clubs like Kenkre Football Club to donate whatever they could,” says Majgaonkar. The response floored them. “Some of the equipment (we received) was so good, we were tempted to keep it for ourselves.” They sponsored six footballers that year who went on to represent their schools in the Mumbai School Sports Association’s annual inter-school tournament.Majgaonkar is emphatic about not calling this charity. “They were chosen on merit, based on their dedication towards their game, and the regularity with which they trained,” he explains.Last year, the duo came across children from Juhu koliwada, playing football on the beach and offered to train them. “Shail and I had decided that if even one kid turned up to train the next morning, we’d go ahead,” laughs Majgaonkar.When they reached the beach, five children were waiting for them. Within 15 minutes, 35 more joined. This group recently won the U-14 football trophy at the ONGC NGO Cup. “All those early mornings we put in paid off,” Majgaonkar says.Managing the Project Play training schedules along withis tough, but the venture now has three additions: journalist Shreya Bhandary, photographer Gautam Ruparel and marketing professional Jigna Padhiar. Football coaches Alex Ambrose and Darren Caldeira involve them in drills professional players are used to. They also involve them in discussions about how to make it big by following one’s passion.“Gary D’souza, a friend, is a soccer teacher at the Arsenal Soccer Schools in Dubai. He visited Mumbai last summer and trained our children,” says Majgaonkar. Help also comes from unexpected sources. “We recently organised an inter-NGO football tournament with just Rs1,500. Everything else, from the venue and trophy to the jerseys was sponsored,” says Majgaonkar. The tournament Kick Stars was held at the Karnatak Sporting Association’s ground in Churchgate, and 12 NGO teams participated in it.Project Play is also training the hockey team at Our Lady of Dolours school in Marine Lines, and helping three Juhu koliwada girls with athletics training by taking them to and fro from their classes in Lokhandwala. By raising money for hockey kits through a plea posted on Facebook, and receiving game kits from an online acquaintance in England, Project Play has taught both, founders and children, a lot about humanity. “The same kids who used to fight with each other are now teammates,” beams Bhandary.