According to the report of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), 32 million Indian children of age up to 13 years have never attended any school, the majority of them belonging to the socially disadvantaged class. The literacy rate of Madhya Pradesh is still below the national average. According to a recent report released by NITI Aayog which uses a multi-dimensional poverty index (MPI) over 1/3rd of the population of Madhya Pradesh lives under poverty and Bhopal has a 12.91% population in poverty. Global Shapers Bhopal understands the gravity of the situation and strives to help underprivileged children by exposing them to various activities.
In view of this situation, Global Shapers Bhopal organized activities with local NGOs wherein they arranged for a day out boating with underprivileged kids from across the slums of Bhopal. The primary agenda of this activity was not only limited to spending quality fun time with them but also includes their exposure to National water sports and exploring new opportunities for them in a tad less competitive environment compared to other sports.
Boats and snacks were arranged for the day and Global Shapers Bhopal also managed to arrange kayaks, canoes, and a dragon boat for the kids to have a first-hand experience of the sport. National and state-level players were present to motivate the kids to join the sport and share some practical information on its benefits in the long run both on health and with respect to their career perspective.
Around 50 people attended the event and had an exhilarating experience because for many of them it was their first time being near a water body. Also, kayaking and canoeing with national and state-level players was a life-changing experience for them.
Global Shapers plans to conduct many such events with the underprivileged kids of the city, exposing them to new opportunities.