Football crazy
Turn off Chennai’s congested Anna Salai motorway, past the grand headquarters of international banks, and you come across the SM Nagar slum community. Four-storey blocks of flats have replaced the huts that were cleared by the slum clearance board in 1972. In the space among the buildings, new palm-leaved shacks have already been put up by recent arrivals.
Women and girls collect water in metal pots from the communal standpipes while other children play, the older ones looking after little brothers and sisters. In many ways a contented scene, but it’s during school hours.
Breaking the cycle
School drop out rates in this community are high. Some children leave if they fail their 10th Standard exam, if they get even that far. Parents are often illiterate, so cannot help with homework and do not motivate their children to stay in school. Other children leave because of family pressure to earn money, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous employers.
Manoj dropped out of school in 7th Standard, because he says, ‘I did not like to study there. I did not feel well in studying school things.’
Now, motivated by our youth leader Bala, and our football coach Vijayan, Manoj is studying for his 10th Standard through the National Open School (NOS). Each evening he comes to the tuition classes that Oasis runs in the slum. ‘It is nice to come,’ he says. Having your 10th Standard is the minimum qualification needed for getting a decent job and is also a requirement for things like driving licenses.
Tuition
 We have only been working in this community since 2007 and already some 53 children and young people have registered for the tutorial classes. Split into two groups, they come for two hours each evening. The tutorials give extra help to those who are still in school. Oasis also helps those who have dropped out of school to join the NOS distance learning course. Through this they can sit their exams. The tutorials help prepare them for the exams.
Manoj says he wants to become a professional footballer. All his friends agree that so do they, but none of them seem to have a plan for what to do if this doesn’t materialize. Oasis is in the process of setting up youth self help groups, which will be registered with the government. The government can then provide vocational training and offer job placements to the groups.
As well as building relationships and improving their football skills, the boys also learn discipline and the regular sessions provide some routine to their days. We initially come into contact with many of the boys through our football coaching. It’s a great way of getting to know them and gaining their trust.
One of the boys says that in the past no-one organized birthday celebrations or made a fuss. Now Vijayan buys cake whenever there is a birthday, and all the boys sing happy birthday.
Bala spends time with the boys’ parents, encouraging them to support their children in their education. Bala says, ‘Before their involvement with us, the boys were not accountable to their family. So this is our way of saying families are meant to look out for each other. It also helps the parents to understand what Oasis is doing.’
Learn more
Oasis India’s community development work is enabling people to improve their lives and living conditions in Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. Read more here.
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