The Ashayen Community Centre is in the heart of Dharavi and its main goal is to provide a space for programs requested by the community to local youth. Upon starting Reality Gives, our community asked for English and Computers programs for their community. In response we started our Youth Empowerment Program as well as open the community centre for evening computer classes, a library, and community engagement programs like art classes, movie screenings, and opportunities to play chess and other games.

Through team sport, Yuwa provides a platform for young women to make a change in their world.

Yuwa is an organisation with roots in the state of Jharkhand, in North Central India, a region infamous for child marriage, human trafficking and lack of opportunities for girls. Yuwa started its first football club in February 2009 for the young girls in the area, providing an escape from the day-to-day grind of their lives. Through football, Yuwa has gotten girls back into school, and is combating child marriage and human trafficking. It has since expanded to 250 girls covering 15 villages.

The program is run by the community for the community. The girls are put in charge of their own program. They find their own fields, buy their own footballs and set their own practice schedules. They contribute financially as well for football kit, through team-run savings cooperatives. Yuwa’s coaches have 3 simple rules: 1. Don't talk too much, 2. Show, don't tell, and 3. Positive reinforcement—always. The end result is empowered girls taking charge of their own futures...and damn good football—four girls from Yuwa have even been selected for the India National Team.

But Yuwa is not just about football. When a girl organizes or joins a Yuwa team, through positive peer pressure she becomes a more regular student—players elect team captains, who keep track of school attendance, and many girls attend daily study sessions at Yuwa Club. She pays attention to her own health and to the health of her teammates, and gets access to information about her body through weekly adolescent health classes with her teammates. She marries when she chooses—on Yuwa's first team, not a single girl has gotten married below the age of 18, even though several of their older sisters had been married off at age 15. She will raise a healthy family. The cycle continues.

Yuwa started a program in Dharavi in May 2012, with 3 coaches from Jharkhand, and we have 20 girls coming regularly for practice.

In March 2011 Reality Gives started a program to provide English Language support at Kala Killa, a Government School in Dharavi. This need for this support in Marathi (local language) medium sections of the school was identified by local education Governors.

We currently provide support for Standards 1 and 2 (6 to 8 years old), following similar techniques to the Muktangan method used in the Muskaan kindergarten. This is done in the form of daily, 45 minute classes.

These child-centred teaching methods are very difficult different to what the children are used to traditional classrooms. There is a very low student to teacher ratio (approximately 10-15 to 1), teaching is done sitting on the floor in circles, and the students are encouraged to think as opposed to learn by rote. The result are is more engaged and enthusiastic students.

As with the Muskaan kindergarten, lessons are planned by the teachers in advance, using the government syllabus, but bringing it to life using songs and visual aids, as well as filling information gaps. This planning is supervised by the Head of Education, and then feedback from the teachers is gathered in weekly meetings. The lesson planning, class feedback as well as teacher training is all documented.

As part of our Youth Empowerment Program (with courses in English, Life Skills, Computers), we have been developing our own course materials. We have realized that these types of courses are needed in, and appropriate for, many other communities in Mumbai, across Maharashtra, and throughout India.

With this in mind, we decided to develop the materials for a wider audience. The ultimate goal is a set of educational materials and associated teacher training, available to all that need them and that can be used in other underprivileged communities in the world.

Conceived in Mumbai's Dharavi slum in February 2009, Project Front Foot (a registered UK charity) is a Kit 4 Kids campaign in two distinct phases: the first to publicise the project and collect cast-off, out-grown and second-hand cricket kit and equipment in the UK; the second to get the kit to Mumbai and then set up and run a series of coaching clinics for the slum children.

Leading the project is Vic Mills, from Lindum Cricket Club. Vic has collected lots of cricket equipment including bats, stumps, pads, bags, shoes and other clothing. He has also managed to collect other sports clothing, such as football shirts, and LOTS of tennis balls! Vic has been out here 4 times in total, each time bringing more kit and helping with the coaching of the children. His last visit resulting in having Rs 500kg of equipment shipped from the UK.

The coaching for the kids of Dharavi takes place on 3 mornings each week at Indian Gymkhana, 15 minutes away on foot and whose management have very kindly allowed us to use their facilities. The program caters to about 50 kids from 11 to 18, run by two qualified local coaches and there are 3 young assistant coaches - all from Dharavi.

The kit is provided to the kids of PFF's cricket program as well as to other organisations.

Please visit www.projectfrontfoot.org for more info.