Good things happen at KHEL times
Contributed By: Hitkarsh Srivastava
Dated: 5th January, 2015
Project KHEL, came as a life-changing thing to me. Before joining KHEL, never had I been so much satisfied with myself. Since my early schooldays I would see and observe the kids of my age group, selling toys, balloons, newspapers and other items. That time I used to think how interesting and entertaining is their life; away from the hectic schedule of studies and home tuitions. But as I grew up, I came to realise that what I once used to consider a boon for them, was the biggest bane of their life. Those poor kids were not only loosing the chance of learning but also contributing to reduced man power of our country in coming generations. And even if they somehow manage to go to schools run by government and trusts, will they ever be able to sustain in a society where well learned people from top universities are their competitors?? Just learning to write their name, tables up to 20, and basic mathematics was not all they needed. They deserved much, similar to what I and my friends were learning in my school. But the question was, how and when??
It was our founder Akshai Abraham, who gave me the answers. The moment I came to know about ‘Project KHEL’ an organization working for underprivileged kids using “Sports for Development”, I googled it. And yes!!There it was. It seemed like the answer to all my questions. I read about the program, its aspects and felt like, this is the thing that can help me in quenching my thirst for working with the same sector I always wanted to work for.
As I am writing this note, I remember an incident, which I would like to share with the dear readers, that sold me upon the idea of using sports as a medium of personality development. There is a boy at one of our locations named ‘Deepak’ who is an extreme introvert, so silent and reserved that most of his replies were in his decent ‘smile’ only. When I saw Deepak in my first session, I had no idea that this silent and extra shy boy is a pro in Handball. I came to know this in my second session with him, when I got a chance to conduct a ‘Handball’ match with the boys. And seriously, the spirit of game and thrill of match changed our shy Deepak to an extra smart and sporty Deepak whose every pass and grab left me awe-stricken. That was the day when I, for the first time, realised that really sports has great powers to extract the smarter part, out of everyone; no matter how dull and clumsy one might be in other tasks. No kid is what he/she is in his/her bench in the classroom; there always exists another side of their personality which comes out on the playground.
This is well used by Project KHEL and the lovely and energetic team I met here. Apart from imparting Life Skills Education through sports, the other thematic sessions such Red Spot, Ab Bas!, Substance Abuse etc. are also truly outstanding. It is now Project KHEL that always keeps me talking about better things, needed changes, how to educate out of the classrooms etc. In short that is all the KHEL effect on me and I am loving this all very much. Not only did it give a purpose to my life but I also got to learn; in fact still getting to learn; a lot of things that are, day by day, moulding me into a better person. These are truly the most memorable moments of my life and I would never wish them to end. Many more things to tell, but would have to search for some more words to express them out.
For now all I have to conclude is that ‘‘I have been told that good things happen at good times, but now I feel Good things always happen at KHEL times.’’