FOLLOWING the success at last November's BAFTA's of a film documenting the visit in 2017 by 14 underprivileged boys from the Mumbai slums to the Cotswolds, UK patron of the Oscar Foundation Lucinda Sowerbutts has overseen a tour of girls to the area.
Lucinda from Frampton Mansell became involved in the Oscar Foundation charity on a visit to India in 2015 and came up with the idea of bringing the Mumbai children on a two week education, culture and football tour.
Businesses, schools and residents in Cirencester and the Cotswolds took the charity to their hearts and helped Lucinda raise the money needed to make the tour a reality.
It was a huge success, and a film of the tour by CBBC called ‘Mumbai Street Strikers (My Life)’ won the production team from Bristol a BAFTA in the children’s factual category of the prestigious awards last year.
Lucinda said: “It took me 22 months to get passports, visas, raise the funds and engage local schools.
“In October 2017 the boys arrived for a life changing two week tour based in and around Gloucestershire.
“With the incredible support of Beaudesert Park School, local companies in Cirencester and Cheltenham and the many residents in the Glos area the tour was a resounding success.”
She added: "The Mumbai Street Strikers BAFTA is fantastic recognition for The OSCAR Foundation.
"It was a great night and I am very grateful to CBBC and Bristol based, Drummer TV for so sensitively telling the story of 14 very poor Indian boys who came to the UK on the trip of lifetime."
Lucinda followed up on the successful trip in 2017 with a tour last October of 15 girls, who visited Gloucestershire.
She said: “The documentary was instrumental in convincing uneducated parents living in the slums to allow their daughters to travel.
"This is not only a major step forward for the OSCAR foundation but for India."
The Oscar Foundation is a charity which uses football to instil the value of education and empowers under privileged children with life skills to take responsibility for community development.
More than 3,000 boys and girls now form the OSCAR family, playing football and going to school.
Lucinda is currently in Mumbai working on two more tours - an Under 17 OSCAR boy's tour to the UK and an Under 17 girl's tour to Denmark.
The CBBC’s documentary is available now on iPlayer bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0b6y2wh/ad/my-life-series-10-1-mumbai-street-strikers
Visit oscar-foundation.org for more information on the charity.
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