The Akanksha Sports Program aims to teach teamwork, discipline and perseverance through a range of games and team activities. Akanksha children also play cricket matches and have their own football team that is part of the Schools Football League. “The most important thing I learnt from sports is discipline and above all to look into the eye and respect the one talking to you. I want to be a champion and to be a champion I have to be a sportsman.” - Pankaj
	Ravi Kasbe, 15 and member of the football team, tells you about himself in his own words.

First we used to live in a village called Dhoki. My mother worked as a farmer and earned Rs. 50. When she came home at night she was tired a lot and my older brother used to massage her legs. When my older brother cooked for us my father used to come in drinking and he used to beat my brother saying why are you cooking for them. My mother used to sleep for a while and my father made her life miserable. One day my mother got angry and since my father used to beat us my mother came with her brother to Bombay. It was like a normal village and we didn’t have a house to live in. We started living under a plastic sheet on the road.

Now I am going to introduce myself. I was born in January 1990. I was black but handsome. I was very fat and everyone used to tease me, which made me very angry, and I used to beat them a lot.

My family managed to make a small house for ourselves and then the municipality used to come and break the house down. That time I was in Akanksha and Shaheen Didi used to come there and give us food.

I used to misbehave a lot in the center and sleep at home. When I stepped into Akanksha I thought that I will learn something and be a nice boy. But I could not because some friends of mine used to make me laugh constantly. That year I learned nothing. Then I started to concentrate and sit far from my friends. Eventually I succeeded.

What inspires me is that I force myself when I am going the wrong way to come on the right path.

My dream is to become a singer because I sing very well and a dancer and a football player. Glenn Bhaiya has taught me to be punctual, hard working, disciplined, concentration and above all not to give up in sports and in life – try and try till you succeed. I want to be respected and disciplined player when I grow up. My football icon is Beckham because he plays the game with understanding. Ronaldo has impressed me a lot too because he is the wall of the Brazil team.

My dream is that a rich person will think of a poor person that I am not only rich these poor people are rich too, not by money but by their hearts. My dream is that one day all children will get a chance to do something good for themselves and for their own country.

I want people to say about me that he used to give us love like our parents but not to say that he was too good or great or like God but that he was like a human. People should not say that we are not going to live without him but that we will also try to do what he has done.

Here is what some of our other children have to say about sports:

“When I grow up, want to be a good footballer.” - Ajay

“I have learnt discipline, self control, the basics of football, team work and above all punctuality.” - Nikhil

“You should play a game with a cool mind.” - Ravi

“I’m already coaching football but want to be a profressional coach.” - Hasan

“ I just want to play football.” - Masrud

“I’ve learnt a lot about physical fitness and I’ve even lost a lot of weight!” - Sandeep