I came across this amazing story of P Gopichand (2002 All England Badminton title winner) who is transforming the lives of athletes, mired in poverty and empowering them to win accolades for India
Some success stories:
- Agsara Nandini, the daughter of a domestic help who won a bronze medal at the Asian games
- Kunja Rajitha went from collecting firewood from the forest to accumulating medals at international meets
- Internationally celebrated para athlete Deepthi Jevanji, at one time did not even have money for a bus ticket to come to the academy
All this started when Gopichand noticed that several women athletes would periodically miss practice sessions. He learned that many were too poor to afford sanitary pads, and would need to miss training during periods.
This discovery led to an initiative that has now produced several national and international athletes for India.
The journey:
- To help, Gopichand started weekly races and give cash price to participants. This amount care of basic needs and buying food items
- The Mytrah group stepped in and the Gopichand- Mytrah foundation was born. A system was put in place where identified talented athletes were brought to the Academy which gave them accommodation food and training.
- Even if they could not win medals, the Academy helped them find some government job. It pulled the athletes out of poverty, and gave them a life of dignity
This is really a story of finding true purpose, service and transforming lives of those around us !!!!!