Magic Bus India Foundation and Laureus Sport for Good launch the Resilience Esports Series

Matthew Spacie, Founder, Magic Bus

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 24: Magic Bus and Laureus Sport for Good launch the Resilience Esports Series. Their first initiative in Esports will see the organisations partner to host a FIFA 21 fundraising event this year, proceeds of which will go to Magic Bus. The event will see Indian and international celebrities take part in a celebrity showdown with both organisations inviting special guests to make appearances during the broadcasts.

Speaking on the occasion, Matthew Spacie, Founder, Magic Bus said, “Learning inequities have widened due to pandemic generated school closures and there has been an adverse impact on children’s education. Further, the livelihood crisis will lead to a surge in the demand for child labour and the number of children being pushed into illegal and ‘hazardous’ work. What is important at this hour is to ensure children have access to learning. We are doing whatever it takes to facilitate this virtually, in the interim, until schools reopen. We are extremely grateful for this collaboration with Laureus Sport for Good that will address an urgent situation; to ensure learning continuity of more than one million children across India.” he said.

Apart from guest appearances by celebrities, there will be a pro-FIFA tournament and an open fan-based tournament for the FIFA communities in both regions, providing a key opportunity for fans and players of FIFA to put themselves to the test in the world stage. The event will be launched on July 31^st2021 with a live launch party.

Laureus Sport for Good, Chief Executive, Adam Fraser said: “Laureus Sport for Good has been proud to partner with organisations changing the lives of young people in India for many years. Right now, amidst a humanitarian crisis, much of the incredible work that has been done risks being undermined. Alongside the fear of death and disease is an unprecedented increase in lack of access to education and safe access to learning – and as ever, it is those who are most at-risk who will end up most affected. We are proud to be partnering with Magic Bus and our other partners to play our part in addressing and, one day, ending this terrible situation.”

The core ambition of the Resilience Esports series is to host a variety of events to raise awareness and funds to address an urgent need to help 1 million children across India get back to school and complete their education.

With a vision to bring children and young people out of poverty, Magic Bus enables children to complete secondary education, reduce the risk of early marriage and enables young people to be placed in sustainable livelihood opportunities. Magic Bus uses a sports activity-based curriculum to use the power of sport to equip children from a young age, with the life skills they need, to break out of poverty.

Following a Magic Bus Survey on the Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on families and children, it revealed 83% of adolescents reported having no access to online learning resources. To address this problem during school closures, Magic Bus has ensured learning engagement continues across its programme in 22 states of India. It has created virtual groups of school children to ensure children are connected to learning. Small group sessions are conducted on virtual platforms such as conference calls and WhatsApp, Google Meet and Zoom, using a need-based curriculum.

In addition to this, the Magic Bus Community Learning Centres (CLC) have been set up. They are an educational platform outside the formal education system usually set up in the community and managed by the local people to provide various learning opportunities supporting empowerment, social transformation, and improvement of the quality of life of the people. The primary objective of these centres is to reduce school dropouts, improve foundational literacy and numeracy, and in turn improve overall learning outcomes. Due to school closures, the CLC sessions are now being conducted virtually.

The movement into e-sports will not just create a further opportunity for all participants but will be a driving force within future educational strategies having a huge positive impact within the regions both organisations operate within.

About Magic Bus India Foundation

From 3000 children in 1999 in Mumbai, Magic Bus has transformed the lives of over one million children and young people living in poverty, taking them from a childhood full of challenges to a life with meaningful livelihoods. Magic Bus is one of the largest poverty alleviation programmes in India, impacting 4,00,000 children in 22 states and 80 districts in FY 20-21. We deliver sessions in close to 1363 schools and 1961 communities. Since the Livelihood programme began in 2015, we have over 50 livelihood skilling centres and 8 entrepreneurship incubation centres in high-need strategic locations in India. Through these livelihood centres, more than 60,000 young men and women have been trained and more than 70% were placed in jobs in the organised sector with an average salary of INR 11,500. Magic Bus also works in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar with 8912 children in 40 communities and 31 schools. We have networking and fundraising offices in the US, UK, Singapore, and Germany.

About Laureus Sport for Good

Founded in 2000 as the Laureus World Sports Awards, Laureus has now also become one of the most influential and active sports-driven social enterprises through its charitable arm, Laureus Sport for Good.

Since its inception, Laureus has helped to improve the lives of more than six million children and young adults, and now supports more than 250 sports-based community programmes around the world, fulfilling the visionary words of its First Patron Nelson Mandela – ‘Sport has the power to change the world’.

Laureus also provides a platform for sportsmen and women to use their collective voice to highlight and promote the value of sport in society and use their positions of influence to make a powerful impact on issues and conflicts which go beyond sport

Live Broadcast: Saturday 31^stJuly 2021 – 5 pm to 9 pm IST.

Link: https://www.facebook.com/ResilienceEsports2021

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