Mann Deshi Champions Academy

(A Step towards empowerment of childrens of rural India through the medium of Sports)
Mann Deshi Champions Sports Academy is a project that offers sports facilities, equipment,
grounds, training, and nutrition to young tribal athletes in Mhaswad, India. The aim of the Mann
Deshi Champions is to address gender inequality and overall community development through
sports. The reason for starting the Academy was to engage the rural children with sports and to
create a place where boys and girls play together. In India most of the rural government schools
fail to provide sports facilities, coaching and sports awareness to school children due to missing
governance and substandard sports policies
Man Deshi Champions pursues various goals. Commonly, poor and tribal children in India do
not have access to proper sports training due to lack of awareness, lack of finance, social and
cultural issues and availability of facilities in rural places. Within only a few weeks of starting
the Academy, the talent of these young children was discovered. The fact that these children
were so dedicated and willing to learn and improve their skills reinforced the value such a
program has for children. Additionally a great part of the children who joined Mann Deshi
Champions did not attend school, because they had to do labor work in order to help their parents
earn food and shelter
Children can participate in the program for free, so that a lack of finance is no longer a barrier.
Further, Mann Deshi offers sports facilities, a 400 meter running ground, open volleyball court,
handball field and field hockey ground. The program provides a trainer who is from the same
community as the children. The current trainer is experienced in sports and is a former national
level wrestler. The trainer coaches the children in various sports such as soccer, gymnastics,
track and field, mallkhamb, handball, and volleyball to increase their overall fitness and
confidence

As part of the program Mann Deshi Champions offers medical treatment, clothing, equipment,
and meals. A regular basic examination is provided to each child at Mann Deshi Champions.
This is important, because children often suffer from worms and other diseases. In order to
prevent the children from losing nutrients and energy, Mann Deshi Champions offers once a year
de-Worming treatment
Most families cannot afford to provide shoes or sport outfits to their children due to their
financial situation. Therefore, the children have to train barefoot and play in their school
uniform. That is why Mann Deshi provides sport shoes and clothes for children who regularly
attend the training sessions. In 2011 Mann Deshi joined GlobalGiving, a non-profit philanthropy
organization that connects social entrepreneurs worldwide with donors to raise funds that they
need to improve their communities (GlobalGiving, n.d.). In only seven weeks, the project Be in
Their Shoes raised $ 10,000 from donors worldwide. The meal which children receive at home
is often insufficient. In order to compensate the lack of nutrition, Mann Deshi Champions
provides a nutritious meal after the sport session. It usually contains banana, peanuts and eggs
Every day, except for Saturday, Mann Deshi Champions sessions run from six a.m. until nine
a.m. The training starts in the morning, because of afternoon school schedules and children who
have to work home or on the fields. Within these three hours athletes are trained to do the warm-
up and practice for their own particular sports. During breakfast Mann Deshi Champions conduct
leadership programs and gender equality discussions to engage the kids into the learning
procedure. This training is a central part of the sports program and embedded in the breakfast
session to use the opportunity to gather boys and girls together in a casual environment. Every
child should be given the opportunity to talk about achievements and challenges their favorite
player or idol face and how they overcame those challenges

Since 2011 Mann Deshi Champions has trained more than 1000 children. One of the Academys
highlights was that 28 young athletes between the age of 8 and 13 years were chosen for the
national school of sports in the city of Pune in 2012. One of the tribal athletes who was trained
by Mann Deshi Champions is Sarita, a 13 years old girl who currently plays field hockey on a
national level. Saritas family lives below the poverty line. For six months, she used to live and
attend school in Mhaswad, but for the remaining six months she used to migrate with her parents
to cut the sugarcane at different sugarcane plantations. Her task was to help her parents to cut the
sugarcane and take care of her younger brother. When she was in Mhaswad she attended Mann
Deshi Champions. The Academys coach saw the talent in her and requested her parents to send
her to the Academy regularly. After intensive conversations, the parents were convinced about
the benefits the sports program had for their daughter. She was soon able to practice, train and
participate in sports with other children who improved their skills. Today, she is in national
school of sports and the government provides her food and education. To develop the rural
community and empower women on a grassroots level, Mann Deshi Champions is using sports
as a tool to improve the lives of children.