90 groups of children will take part in the Magic Bus programme this year!
January to April 2005

Adventurer Trips
Magic Bus volunteer Sohan sponsored a day trip to Kanheri caves for 40 children from Hamara Club. Chirag led the trip. Rock climbing and rappelling was the focus of the day and children learnt to openly share their experiences and express how they overcome fears at the top of the rock face.

A New Partnership with Sports Authority of India
On 15th January, Matthew Spacie met with Shri Sunil Dutt, Minister, Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. In addition to supporting Magic Bus's endeavors, he congratulated us on our admirable service to deprived children in our society. Further, he offered us the use of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) facility at Kandivili East for our sports programme, together with coaches, and a travel discount for our children. Mr. Bhandarkar at the SAI complex was very supportive. The programme will commence in June.

We will always remain grateful to Shri Dutt Sa'ab for his support and are deeply saddened by his sudden and untimely demise. We grieve his loss.

Voyagers
We launched our Voyager programme with 25 girls from Asha Sadan all between 15 and 17 years old. February saw weekly 2-hour sessions starting with rapport building and an introduction to Magic Bus. In March our first day trip was held to the Children's Campsite in Vasai where drama sessions and obstacle course activities were undertaken. Girls enjoyed the trip saying it was new exposure and freedom from their daily routine. Spending a whole day with the girls gave a good indication how well the rapport building had gone and when the girls were freely opening up and expressing their emotions we realized we had been successful.

Challengers
5 of the Challenger groups went on day trips. St Catherine's girls, children from Vimla Vikas Kendra and Sunbeam went to Kshitij Resorts for swimming and an afternoon of activities on the beach. They made models in the sand with waste materials. Hamara Club boys enjoyed adventure activities at Kanheri Caves. The boys felt sufficiently challenged whilst rock climbing and trekking down the mountains of the park. A few boys enjoyed the entire day without gutkha. Children from Navjeet and Navjeevan girls went to Borivali National Park for outdoor games, a nature trail and an environmental programme. Finally, children from Prerana went on a riding session at the Amateur Riders Club in Mahalaxmi. For some children it was a dream come true! For the others they had to overcome their fears before mounting the horses.

   

Explorers
In February and March over 300 children from Sunbeam, Hamara Club, Salaam Balak Trust, Vimla Vikas Kendra, Prerana, Akanksha and Anmol visited Kshitij for swimming and a programme on the beach. The children loved the sand. They scribbled on it, built castles, rolled, ran, and played. They relished the freedom of getting as dirty no one objecting to it! The staff was able to use this time with the children to assess the impact of the life-skills learning imparted in the weekly sessions.