Magic Bus India Foundation

“The children from a Magic

Bus programme learn to
believe that they may be
born poor but they don’t
have to stay poor. Changing
that is in their hands”.

Matthew Spacie
Founder, Magic Bus
 Our vision
A world where children
break out of poverty and
lead fulfilling, rewarding
lives, contributing positively
to their community and to
the world around them.
The Current Landscape in India
• 22% (403.7 million persons) were estimated to
be living below poverty line in 2011-12*
• 40% of the total girls enrolled in school drop out
by the age of 13-14 years* in 2011-12**
• Among girls who ever got married, 30% of them
were married before the age of 18 years***
• 42% of those aged 20-24 years, in the lowest
wealth tercile, were married before the age of
18****

*Poverty estimates for 2011-12 by GOI Planning Commission

**Educational Statistics MHRD 2014
***Census 2011
****India Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy, Based on NFHS 2015-16, Young Lives, 2018
The Current Landscape in India
• 50% of the population is below the age
of 25 years*
• Of the current workforce, 31% are
illiterate, 13% have a primary education
and 6% are college graduates*
• Only 17% adults are in salaried work**

* Ministry of Skills & Entrepreneurship Annual Reports

**Report on 5th Annual Employment-Unemployment Survey (2015-16), GOI, Min of
Labour & Employment, Labour Bureau, Chandigarh
 1
The Magic Bus solution
Childhood to Livelihood (C2L) Programme - Structure

Life skills Education Community Employability

Livelihood connect
education enhancement connect skills education

Our key differentiators in this 7 years journey………

Sports & • Play and learn • Trained young leaders • Involve and get buy-
Community CYLs* from within the in from parents,
activity-based • Appealing to the Ecosystem
based community teachers,
learning
children and youth
leaders • Community
Role models for collaboration community elders,
children local govt. bodies
mentorship

*CYLs – Community Youth Leaders

Childhood to Livelihood (C2L) Programme - components
Life Skills Education to improve skills like
teamwork, problem solving, managing self,
learning to learn and communication to
enable children and young people become
more resilient and show higher self-
efficacy in the face of destabilisers like
child marriage.

Education Enhancement to improve basic

literacy and numeracy among children and
teacher training to improve education
outcomes in schools
Childhood to Livelihood (C2L) Programme - components
Community Connect to work with
childrens’ ecosystem – parents, school
teachers, local leaders, School
Management Committees – to ensure Community
communities come together to focus on mentorship
and facilitate education, gender equity and
livelihood skills attainment
Employability Education to improve
financial literacy, digital literacy, spoken
English and career awareness that will
help young people to get a job of their
choice
 Childhood to Livelihood (C2L) Programme - components
Livelihood Connect to get sector-specific training based on young peoples’ interests as well
as demand from employers in different sectors along with placement and post-placement
support to help young people to stay with their jobs
Community
mentorship
 Childhood to Livelihood (C2L) Programme - Impact

Completion of school Get jobs

Delayed age of marriage

37% points improvement in school 70% of youth trained at Magic

regularity* to 98.9% over a 2 year Bus are placed in salaried work
period with an average income of INR
10,287 / USD 147
* % of children attending school five days a In India, 30% of women are married
week
before 18 years. Only 17% adults nationally are
in salaried work
 CYL doing a Access to Teaching/ Training Together at the
community walk Technology Session end of the programme

Rapport Building
Community
School and

Discussion
Mentoring
Enrolment / Student Rapport Life Skills and Application Project Delivery
Registration Building
 2
About Magic Bus
• Founded in 1999 by Matthew Spacie, the
Magic Bus programme takes children and
young people on a journey from a Childhood
full of challenges to meaningful Livelihoods
and break the crushing cycle of poverty.

• We have impacted the lives of 1 mn children

and young people, their parents and their
communities, delivering an award-winning,
sport activity-based curriculum that
culminates in a Livelihood programme at 18
years of age.

• Magic Bus children complete their

education and successfully fend off child
marriage, child labor and crime.

• The Magic Bus Livelihoods programme

connects the aspirations and potential of
young people to market opportunities, so
that they can break out of poverty and often
be the first in their family to have a salaried
job in the organised sector.
Transforming lives in India, Nepal, Bangladesh & Myanmar
(April 2018-March 2019)

381,000 children

5580 CYLs

in 2000 communities 960 schools

Providing jobs training to 10,000 youth

Geographical presence and
Outreach

India
375,000 children and young people
10,000 young people trained for jobs
5500 trained Community Youth Leaders
22 states
80 districts
1961 communities
930 schools
42 livelihood centres
Geographical presence &
Outreach

Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar

6000 Children
80 trained Community Coordinators
40 communities
31 schools
Conducted 364,000+ 700,000 hours of
sessions programme delivered
Keeping parents engaged in their children's well-being

Reaching out to over

8300 sessions
161,000 parents
 3
Magic Bus Stories of Hope
Courage doesn’t come with an
age limit
Ramya is 12 years old. She is also someone who stopped her younger sister
from getting married.
It all began the day Ramya’s father decided to marry her off.
Ramya belongs to the Shillekyatha tribal group of Eklavyanagar
in Mysore, Karnataka. Their traditional occupation is to stage street shows and
puppet shows to earn a living. Girls are married off at a young age so that they
can join their husbands for street dancing. Ramya’s mother, too, was married at
the age of 15 and continued being a street dancer until her first child was born.
When Ramya was engaged to be married, her Magic Bus mentors intervened to
stop the marriage. Unable to convince her father, they spoke to the headmaster
of her school, who, in turn, put a stop to this.
When Ramya’s father proposed that the younger daughter should be married, it
was her turn to stand up against it. She was ready to report the matter to the
police. But her Magic Bus mentor spoke to her parents and dissuaded them
from getting their daughter married.
Ramya and her sister are in school. Both of them have learnt the necessity to
stand up for what is right.
It was more than just fun and
games for him
14 year old Shivam is the son of a farmer in Bhiwandi, a semi-urban
town of Maharashtra. The family struggled to make ends meet. This
turned for the worse when his father passed away. He couldn’t keep
his spirits high during this tough time. He became aloof and his grades
dropped.

But fortunately, he was a part of the Magic Bus Programme in school.

When life looked difficult, he found solace in the games and laughter
of the playground. Little by little, he learnt to lean on his friends and
Magic Bus mentors. Little by little, he won the confidence of carrying
on with life, despite the difficulties.

Today, he is committed to completing secondary schooling. He knows

he has to look for work and support his family but he also wants to
pursue further education. Scratch the surface of adversities, and you
might find valuable life lessons to live by.
She had the will. She made her way
The only person in Nazmeen’s family in Delhi, who believed she could make it
big one day, was her younger brother. Their elder brother could afford school
fees for just one of them, so the younger brother decided it had to be his bright
and eager sister, Nazmeen.
This sacrifice added to Nazmeen’s determination to succeed. She cleared class
10 with 75% and class 12 with 85%, but her mother and elder brother were not
keen on letting her study further. They wanted her to learn household chores so
that they could find a suitable groom. But Nazmeen was steadfast. She used her
scholarship money to do distance learning without her family’s knowledge.
There were many such attempts to stop her from continuing her education. But
Nazmeen thwarted all attempts with careful planning.
An opportunity from Magic Bus Livelihood Programme came knocking at her
door. She expressed her desire to enroll and earn a living. Her elder brothers
were angry. Her mother was reluctant, but with the help of her Magic Bus
mentors, she was able to convince them. The rest is history.
Nazmeen wants to be a teacher. But she has taken up a job with HDFC Bank to
help her support her family and her dreams. Her mother is proud of her
successes and wants her to become a teacher.
His Confidence soared. His career
followed.
Vikas comes from Chamle village in Maharashtra. Both his parents are
farmers with a monthly income of INR 5,000 / 55 GBP.
After completing his secondary education, Vikas had to find a job to support
his family.
He struggled to find work with just a higher secondary education and when
all doors seemed to be closed, he fell in the company of youngsters who
spent the entire day playing cards. His uncle urged him to join Magic Bus
Livelihood Centre.
Vikas came with little hope. He quickly took to the Centre which offered him
the scope to learn and grow. He took a keen interest in learning to speak in
English, and in the digital and financial literacy classes. At the end of the two-
month-long Programme, he sat for job interviews lined up by the Centre.
He joined as an RO Technician at a local water treatment plant with a starting
salary of INR 9,000 / 100 GBP per month. His hard work and competency
earned him quick promotions. Vikas believes he is off to a flying start.
Testimonials - Funders
“The first graduation event of Kolkata Livelihood Centre was a great
success. More than 125 young people had gathered, along with
close to 10 employers.
Marks & Spencers, Tata Starbucks, Cinepolis, Big Basket are a few to
name. All the employers had one thing in common to say that the
youths of Magic Bus are more sincere and hardworking and they
will give preference to the MB youths when ever the vacancies
arises”.
Vinod Pandey, Director-Government and External Affairs,
CSR, BMW Group India
"We share an excellent working relationship with Magic Bus. We
appreciate their professional approach and transparent working.
They give periodic updates on the project are quick to respond to
our requirements. Our partnership goes beyond just funding. We
regularly engage in project review and jointly explore
opportunities to make the programme more efficient and
impactful.”
Testimonials - Funders
Sanjay Khajuria, Senior Vice President, Nestlé India
"The Nestlé Healthy Kids Programme is implemented by
Magic Bus across 18 states, in a manner that immediately
engages children and young people across the country.
With a focus on creating health and nutrition awareness,
the programme has seen the visible impact over the last
three years. The stories in 'Stories of Change' book are told
by those who have felt this change. Nestlé and Magic Bus
came together to work towards shaping healthier, happier
futures for children and youth across the country, by
arming them with the knowledge they need to safeguard
their own lives.”
Ophira Bhatia - Director, CGA India & South East
Asia, Mondelez India Foods Private Limited
"Mondelēz India has been partnering with Magic Bus since
2014 on various CSR programmes across 7 states. Through
our Shubh Aarambh programme, Magic Bus along with
other NGO partners have been educating children and
mothers to lead a healthy and active life through various
initiatives in the areas of nutrition, active play, and health.
The programme has made a significant impact on social
attitude and behaviours towards staying healthy and
becoming more active.
Today we are touching the lives of about 100,000
beneficiaries and Magic Bus has been a key partner in this
journey and success. We value this partnership and are
happy that together with Magic Bus, Shubh Aarambh is
Changing Lives and Transforming Communities”.
Testimonials – Child participant, CYL, Mother
Child participant, Sravya Madasu, 14 years, Pudur village, Telangana, India

“In Pudur village, every other adult is engaged in daily wage work that keeps them out
for long hours. They cannot spend time with their children. There are so many children in
my school who are irregular. There are others who do not pay attention in class. All of us
need mentors in our lives. Our Magic Bus didi is just like that to us.”

Community Youth Leader, Mohsin Farukhi, 21 years, Bhatta basti, Jaipur,

Rajasthan, India

“I am, by far, the most educated member in my family. My parents never went to school
and my brothers dropped out because they had to earn. But I don’t want to stop
studying. I want to be educated so that I can work in dignity.”

Mother, Salma Khatoon, 45 years

“My girls go for the Magic Bus sessions. I have noticed how confident they have become.
They are also able to communicate with others quite freely. This was not the case earlier
primarily because girls were not allowed to step out into the public space. How will they
learn to interact with others if they are not allowed to step out? Magic Bus sessions
changed this. It took them time but children who participated in the sessions shared
their amazing experiences of learning new things. Several neighbours who were skeptical
about sending their girls have now done so. Rabiya, my eldest who is now in the 12th
standard is a Community Youth Leader now.”
 THANK YOU
Support us in ensuring that children and young people
living in poverty, have the resources to live, learn and
grow well, ending the cycle of poverty permanently and
for future generations.

Visit us at
www.magicbus.org
www.magicbususa.org
www.magicbusuk.org