Skip to main content

Laureus Academy Member Steve Waugh takes a ride on the Magic Bus in Mumbai

MUMBAI, March 23, 2010 - Large crowds gathered to welcome Laureus World Sports Academy Member Steve Waugh as he paid an emotional visit to Mumbai to meet and play sport with disadvantaged children from the slums of the Bombay Port Trust area of the city, at the Laureus-supported Magic Bus project.
Magic Bus is a sport for development project which helps to improve the lives of children living in at-risk communities where the majority of residents live on or below the poverty line in difficult and overcrowded conditions.  Magic Bus creates 'classrooms without walls' for these children, using football, outdoor activities and games to give them an opportunity to develop vital personal and social skills that will help them to a better future.
Australian cricket legend Waugh, who was the most successful captain in the history of Test cricket with 41 wins in 57 Tests, said: 'I have a 24 year history with India and am inspired by the people of this great country. For over 12 years I have been involved in charity work in India and over this time learnt a lot about the challenges that young people face. So many of India's children do not have the opportunity to meet their full potential. Magic Bus is an inspirational programme making a difference for some of the children in India. It's been great to meet the kids and everyone involved in the project. I am happy to support this Laureus Sport for Good programme as a Laureus Sports Academy Member. Through sport we can make a real and significant difference to childrens lives.'
At the project, Waugh met Magic Bus founder Matthew Spacie who explained to him that Magic Bus provides opportunities for less privileged children through recreation and sports activities. Activity within Mumbai is focused on the children from the slums in the Dharavi, Mankhurd, Jogeshwari and Bombay Port Trust area of Mumbai where 54% of the population lives below India's poverty line.  Outside of Mumbai the programme is reaching out to over 140,000 children in Delhi, Andra Pradesh and rural Maharashtra.
Vodafone, Global partners of Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, selected eight employees to accompany Steve for the Magic Bus initiative. They participated in a fun filled ‘Leg cricket' match with the children.
Founded in February 1999, in partnership with other local organisations, Magic Bus has developed and grown into one of the largest projects of its kind for children from 7 to 18 living in urban and rural poverty in India. The project allows each child to escape the harsh reality of life for a few hours every week. It works to find the abilities and potential within each child, enabling them to build strong and aware communities free of religious and caste prejudice and gender divides. Magic Bus believes in the child's right to a positive future in which they make their own choices and take responsibility for change. Only through this change in mindset can they themselves move out of poverty.
The previous day Waugh had visited the Indian headquarters of mobile communications group Vodafone and spoke to 300 members of the staff.
Waugh's visit to Mumbai follows on the highly successful 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards held in Abu Dhabi earlier this month. The Awards honour the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen of the year and generate support for the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Proceeds from the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the Laureus Foundation.

Popular posts from this blog

Love, Sex and Adultery in Ancient Egypt

Women had more freedom than their counter parts in Mesopotamia, for instance, but never as much as Paris Hilton and pals. Egyptians married young, very young indeed, and, in royal families, between themselves. Childbirth was dangerous but encouraged in ancient Egypt - prosperity was a goal for everyone and that included having a big family. The love and sex lives of the Egyptians were as complicated as they are today. Turin's famous Erotic Papyrus assures us that the Egyptians were sexually adventurous, with a penchant for naked belly-dancing, and collections of love poetry from the Amarna era reveal that they were also big romantics. According to Angelina Jolie in recent news “fidelity is not essential in her relationship with Brad Pitt”, but adultery is one of the oldest reasons for divorce, death and depression - the 3 D’s - and in ancient Egypt as in most of the modern world, women often still file for divorce on the grounds of adulte...

Sample of Rajasthan architecture

GLITTERING LIKE A JEWEL: Sri Sankeshwar Paraswanath temple. Photos: S. Siva Saravanan Sri Sankeshwar Paraswanath temple, in R. S. Puram, Coimbatore, is a magnificent specimen of Rajasthan's intricate architecture. Dedicated to Sri Sankeshwar, the 23rd teerthankara, this 25-year old temple is a well-known Jain pilgrim centre. Acharya Vikram Suriswarji performed the `Anjan Shalaka Pran Pratishta' (Kumbhabhishekam) of this temple in 1981. He was the inspiration behind the Coimbatore Jain Swetambar Murthipujak Sangh which has sponsored this temple. The temple has three garbhagrahas — Sri Sankeshwar (at the centre), flanked by Sri Shanthinath and Sri Mahavir. Separate niches There are also separate niches for Sri Munishwar, Sri Adinath and Sri Sumathinath. This temple, situated on the busy Ponnurangam road, glitters like a jewel. All people, irrespective of their faith, are welcome inside. However it is expected that only vegetarians enter the precincts. The temple, built on the li...

Born poor, now self-made billionaires - Ed Liddy

Ed Liddy, former chief executive officer of American International Group (AIG ) had to face lot of hardships before he rose to great heights. Ed Liddy's father died when he was just 12 years old. According to a BusinessWeek report, he had a poverty-stricken childhood. Liddy graduated from Catholic University of America in 1968 and received a master's degree in business administration from George Washington University in 1972. He worked with Ford Motor before joining G D Searle & Co in 1981. The 63-year old Liddy earned about $130 million during his eight-year tenure at Allstate. In the wake of the financial crisis, Ed Liddy came to rescue the ailing AIG, worked for a salary of $1. But the act turned disastrous when the company handed out employee bonuses totally $165 million after it had accepted $170 billion in government bailout funds. This forced him to quit AIG.