Transform Outcomes for Children at Risk In India

Have you ever wondered whether it is really possible to usher change? Whether superhero movies have some underlying meaning which actually urges people to take action? Whether we can indeed get together a community and together rewrite history?

While these questions continue to riddle the minds of several young leaders in the world, we at MAD issued a clarion call, urging these young minds to ‘Be the Spark’ in a child’s life, to not only dream change but to be a part of that the very process of heralding it. Our call received a phenomenal response, overwhelming us with around 12, 000 registrations and enabling us to start our activities in full swing across 77 shelters in 23 cities.

As the classes and activities progressed, this year as an organization we decided to take on a much bigger challenge to improve the lives of our children-it dawned on us that the problem that we were addressing was not illiteracy anymore, but a problem that had its roots entrenched in much larger issues concerning society itself. It lies in the reluctance of the society to welcome these children living in shelters back in its main folds. It's the great apathy we exhibit in our behaviour about the conditions these children live in and the issues they face. However, one thing that we are certain about is that there are many who wish to do something and look for avenues in which through which to channel their support.

Previously held on 8th September [World Literacy Day], Backathon started in 2013 with the motto of 'Pushing Illiteracy Backwards' in order to #MoveForward. The event involved the community coming together and symbolically walking backwards to garner attention about the deplorable state of education (and the lack of it) in the country.

This time Backathon was held not with the motive to just 'push illiteracy backwards' but to connect a child back to the community-a community where he or she belongs; a community that should care.

Backathon 2015 was held on 13th September across 22 cities and recorded the active participation of a whooping 13, 000 people constituting active cities who expressed their solidarity with the cause of these forgotten children whose future rests on the collective conscience of this nation.

With such bonds providing us with all the inspiration we can hope for, we inch slowly towards the quarter which will see us celebrating our ninth birthday with MAD Week, between November 1st and 7th. This is the time when we will get together as a MAD family and express our heartfelt gratitude to those who have made stories like the Rani-Mridul story a reality.

Next, we will progress to our Community Fundraising season, where volunteers get together to participate in various fundraising activities to organise for the most waited event of the year, Dream Camps. An experiential, outbound 3 to 4 day camp, these camps are designed to help these children to not only experience a much needed holiday, but to experience a ‘circle of growth’ through carefully designed sessions related to group dynamics and self awareness.

With a good part of the year gone, we wait with bated breath for the next half to start in full swing, to make thousands of dreams come true!