Michelle Obama Dances with Underprivileged Kids of Make a Difference
Media Release
Mumbai, Nov 7: Saturday November 6 turned out to be an unforgettable day for the 30 underprivileged students, aged 10 to 13, of Make a Difference (MAD), a national youth organization, as the First Lady of US Michelle Obama not just attended MAD camp but even danced with the children.
She danced to the tunes of Rang De Basanti and even played hopscotch with them, answering questions like spelling of America to advance in the game.
As part of her global initiative to promote youth engagement, Michelle Obama interacted with global youth leaders from Make a Difference (MAD) at the Mumbai University campus on Saturday. She also met with a handful of Make A Difference volunteers who work with the children to help them realize their potential.
She appreciated the work done by Make A Difference towards educating underprivileged children and encouraged the students to dream big. She said, “The truth is, pretty soon the responsibility of building our future will fall on you. I believe you and your peers around the world are up to the challenge. All children regardless of their circumstances deserve the same chance to get educated and build a successful life.”
MAD is an innovative Indian youth organization empowering the urban youth to deliver high quality education and active mentorship to children living in low-income communities by pioneering a technology-integrated volunteer management system.
Throughout the day, participating children engaged in activities designed to help them become better leaders and communicators. The activities became even more meaningful when the First Lady joined them at the end of the programme. She also spoke to the children about the importance of education. “I didn't grown up with a lot of money,” she said, “I never imagined being the First Lady of the United States. But because I had an education, when the time came to do this, I was ready.”
“As an organization founded and run by youth, this day confirms our belief that if young people come together for a common cause, we can make a difference not just in our communities but the world over,” said Jithin CNedumala, managing director of MAD. “We believe that the youth are stakeholders in society and we have power to make a difference, just by putting in a few hours of our time every week. It's time to stop cribbing and start acting. Youth across India are realizing this. We thank Michelle Obama for being such an inspiration to our volunteers and kids by spending time with them.”
“The First Lady’s visit is an inspiration not just to the kids, but to all of us,” said Tanmay Arora, president, MAD Mumbai and a student at Narsee Monjee Institute in Mumbai. “Our interactions were a reinforcement that we are on the right track. We hope this inspires more youth to come forward and make a difference."
“Two years back a bunch of bhaiyas (brothers) and didis (sisters) told me I could reach for the stars,” said MAD student Poonam Raju from Sneha Sadan, Mumbai. “Today a star reached out to me. I would like to thank the First Lady for making me believe I can.”
About Make a Difference
Make a difference was founded in 2006 by a group of university students in the YMCA Boys Home in Cochin. The idea of youth-led social change quickly caught on across India and MAD became India’s fastest growing youth volunteer network. As of today, MAD reaches out to close to 2500 children in 10 cities through 800 trained volunteers.
MAD is currently operating in Trivandrum, Cochin, Chennai, Bangalore, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur and Delhi.
MAD's parent project is teaching communicative English, based on the Cambridge University English for Schools curriculum. Other projects include interactive library projects and experiential career awareness programs.
With an innovative technology integrated volunteer management system that has attracted international attention, MAD is proud to maintain a zero percent drop-out rate among its students. Every child that completes one year with MAD is able to comprehend and communicate in basic English. MAD’s placement programme keeps children aware of their career options and motivates them to stay in school.