While India is serenading cricket, two youngsters in Mumbai are using a football to change the lives of kids atu00a0a Mulund slum

LOOK at my bangles!" says an excited Komal, swinging two football markers she has decided to accessorise her arms with with for the day. A minute later, she's back -- this time, showing off the handi she's made by placing one marker atop another. "She's being imaginative.

I gave her markers to play with and she's made bangles and a pot. That's a sort of learning," says Rohit D'Souza, with obvious excitement, before Keerti comes and tugs him away for an improvised game of lagori. This is a typical Sunday afternoon at Durgawadi landfill opposite Hari Om Nagar, a Mulund (E) slum. Rohit and Prajakt Patil, friends and partners in The Ball Project, meet slum kids to impart life-skills through play. All their Sundays since August last year have unfolded in this manner.

Just another Sunday for Rohit D'Souza of The Ball Project who uses sport to teach kids from Hari Om Nagar lessons in teamwork, gender equality and hygiene. PICS/sameer markande

A dumping ground, Durgawadi is home to families who make their living by segregating garbage and selling dry waste. "This is the third generation making their living this way," says Prajakt, 28, architect-photographer. That's an observation that Rohit, football player and employee with NGO Magic Bus, made when he was here to check out a football ground. "On my way, I saw this dumping ground.

Out of curiosity I chatted with these families about how they made ends meetm andu00a0 decided to do something for the kids here, " he remembers.

Three months of planning and visits later, The Ball Project was born. "I watched a TV documentary about an organisation called Right To Play. It used sport to help children in war-torn regions relive their childhood. They profiled a girl who was preparing for a gully tournament with such dedication that I had goosebumps. Later, on one of my visits here, I found a kid with a ball. We started juggling and kicking the ball, and that's how it all took off."

No chalk here

One look at the glee on kids' faces and the deafening yelps as they pass the ball, and you know it's working. "We teach through games, not books. While playing fooball, they learnt that they needed to prevent foot injuries, which in turn persuaded them to wear shoes or slippers. When the boys play with girls, they see them as equals; that's a lesson in gender equality. Earlier, the older kids would gamble in their free time. Now, they join us. When we started out, a lot of them didn't even wear clothes. Look at the difference now!" smiles Prajakt.