HRH The Countess of Wessex becomes Patron of OSCAR International

HRH The Countess of Wessex becomes Patron of OSCAR International OSCAR International is delighted to announce HRH The Countess of Wessex as Royal Patron.

UK registered charity, OSCAR International, and The OSCAR Foundation in Mumbai work together, raising awareness, funds and creating opportunities for children living challenging lives. The charity works with girls and boys from underprivileged communities, using the power of football to teach the importance of education and equipping young people with the tools they need to fight poverty for the next generation.

The Countess has shown substantial and valued support for OSCAR International’s Mumbai based partner, the OSCAR Foundation, both in India and the UK. Her Royal Highness is passionate about gender equality and committed to championing the rights of women and girls.

Lucinda Sowerbutts, Head of OSCAR International: “It is with enormous pride we announce the patronage of HRH The Countess of Wessex. Over the years, The Countess’s support has given OSCAR girls and boys something to be proud of. She inspires OSCAR beneficiaries to stay in education, to believe in their dreams and work for a better, brighter future. Knowing they are in Her Royal Highness’s thoughts makes not just the OSCAR children, but their parents, siblings and wider community feel valued. It motivates and empowers them to speak out for their right to an education.”

OSCAR beneficiaries live in some of the most deprived communities in India, often in small one room houses, with no running water, toilet or shower and up to 8 family members. Lack of space frequently forces families to sleep in rotation. Life is challenging and parents have to make the difficult choice of choosing their son over their daughter when allocating the already scarce resources for education. The Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected girls across India with many dropping out of education and taking up poorly paid labour which can lead to child marriage and youth pregnancy.

OSCAR was founded by Ashok Rathod, in 2006 aged 18. Born and brought up in the Ambedkar Nagar slum in Mumbai, he had a difficult life but was fortunate his parents sent him to school.

An education gave Ashok the chance to create a better life, whilst many of his friends fell into crime, addiction and early marriage. Ashok was determined to do something to stop the destructive poverty cycle. He set up OSCAR with 18 school drop-outs, teaching them football and patiently waiting for his moment to introduce the concept of going to school. Today OSCAR engages over 3,000 girls and boys.

Background: In 2018, The Countess hosted the OSCAR Under 17 #kicklikeagirl Football team to a curry lunch in her Surrey home, and accompanied the girls on a private tour of Windsor Castle, followed by a Go Ape tree top experience. In 2019, Her Royal Highness supported the touring OSCAR U17 boys’ football team against Eton College and later visited the Ambedkar Nagar community in Mumbai, home of OSCAR’s founder, Ashok Rathod and the touring girls’ team, during a visit to India. The community welcomed the Royal guest with the traditional Tilak ceremony and she visited Ashok’s family home, as well as the computer centre and Dhobi Ghat laundry area.

HRH The Countess of Wessex interacted with OSCAR beneficiaries over Zoom on 29th September 2021

On taking on the role of Patron, The Countess of Wessex said: “I am thrilled to have taken on this role and it’s me that should give thanks to you for asking me.

It’s an enormous privilege to be working with such an amazing foundation. My visit to India was so important to see where you’re actually working with the boys and the girls and to see the working conditions and also the living conditions.”

Ashok Rathod said, “Your support will motivate our OSCAR children and it will motivate me personally to continue my work. Thank you so much for believing in me and my work. Thank you.”

“We have more than 2200 kids in Mumbai. We want to buy tablets and sims so more kids can attend online education…. We don’t want any child to drop out of school…. we know how difficult life is once they drop out, early marriage and child labour. So, our target is to support all the children.”

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OscarUKTour Instagram https://www.instagram.com/oscarint2021/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OSCARInt2020/ Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/oscar-int/?viewAsMember=true Further information: Lucinda@oscar-foundation.org +44 7780705280 , communications@oscar-foundation.org