THE GAME CHANGER
Iwas hot headed as a youngster and would always get into trouble because of that. Until, I took up sports seriously and channelised all my energy and anger into it. It changed me, and put my life back on track,” says Siddhartha Upadhaya, a man who has turned his own case study into an entire movement.
At the age of 21, in the year 2000, he decided to use sports as a tool of development to channelise the talent and energy of children, especially those from less privileged background, and help them get an equal footing in society through their sporting skills. The result is an organisation called Stairs, a NGO that helps as many as 1.5 lakh kids play an outdoor sport such as football, volleyball or cricket. The sports centers of Stairs, spread across the country, provide free sporting gear, training and other facilities needed for children to learn and excel in sports. “When I started this, everyone laughed at me. They said it is impossible to get funds to promote sports or sporting talent in India. So, I funded the whole endeavour myself. I still do the same, but today, several organisations, including the government, have come forward to assist in various ways, and that is heartening,” says Upadhaya.
In the Capital, sports camps have been set up in various localities like Trilokpuri, Majnu Ka Tila, Mangolpuri, Janakpuri, among other places, and involve the local youth. “Anyone can participate. The idea is to keep them away from bad influences like alcohol, drugs, petty crime, that are common in the lower strata and to motivate them to find a place for themselves in society through their talent as a sportsperson,” explains Upadhaya. And it really seems to have worked. “At the camp in Majnu Ka Tila, we introduced a game called Sepak Takraw, a very rigorous ball game played in Malaysia. Not only have the boys of the area picked it up, they play it so well, that four of them were selected for the final camp at the Asian Games 2014,” shares Upadhaya.
Stairs also organises an annual inter-school football league that sees children of some of the top schools in the country playing on the same team as under-privileged kids. “We want to tell these kids that if you’re talented, your background does not matter. You can then be on the same footing as anyone else around you,” says Upadhaya. The Stairs Football League 2015 is underway in Delhi now.