An innovative way of building life skills is through sports. That’s what Society for Development Activities believed when in conceptualized its project ‘KHEL’ (Kids Holistic Education and Life-skills). Sports require and teach discipline, confidence, team-work, patience, tolerance, etc. which are essential components of life skills. Sports help prevent children from engaging in anti-social behaviour by navigating their energy in activities which are fun and productive.

The Society for Development Activities (S4DA) was started by a group of non-profit professionals who wished to bring about positive change in society. Project KHEL was conceptualised by the team in an effort to improve the futures of underprivileged children by adopting sports as a medium to impart life skills. The project started off very recently in 2012, without any external funding, using the founder’s own savings in order to kick-start operations and begin making an impact.

Target Segment/Area: KHEL targets underprivileged children and youth (10-18 yrs of age) living in rural/semi-urban and urban area, both in and out of school in Lucknow and its outskirts.

The Person/s behind Project KHEL: Akshai Abraham is an MBA from the prestigious Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal. He has over 7 years of experience including 6 years in the social sector in the areas of research, program development, project management and organization building and also a year’s international experience as a cultural exchange intern in Austria. A keen sportsman and enthusiast, and a committed non-profit professional, Akshai’s vision is to impact the lives of underprivileged children and youth of India through KHEL.

Impact: The project engages more than 250 children comprising of children in village schools and street children. In a short span of interaction, it has been observed that children have become more participative in activities, their interaction with friends have increased, confidence levels have improved along with public speaking ability. Very interestingly their attitude towards gender equality has also improved. In a short while, simple changes like from being ‘told’ to encourage and support others in their efforts, to doing it instinctively and taking genuine pleasure when a peer performs well in a game or at a task have come about.

Future: KHEL plans to scale up not only in terms of geographic coverage but also vertically by introducing a routine curriculum, music, painting and other art forms to engage the children. Further, it plans to establish linkages for further education, vocational training and job placement of the youth beneficiaries.

Message to Society: Anyone can help bring smiles to the faces of children, be it through volunteering their time on weekends, donating used sports equipment or mobilising what we call FUNDs.

For some ideas on fun ways to help KHEL, visit http://www.projectkhel.com/get-involved/raise-funds or contact Akshai Abraham, Founder and Volunteer CEO, Email- akshai.abraham@projectkhel.com

Joyita Garg is an entrepreneurial manager with over 15 years of experience in executing multi-disciplinary projects and building new sources of revenue, with a focus on the quality of service and long-term impact. She is a healthcare business consultant who is currently working with organizations in areas of business development, health and technology, and better resource management.