Some years ago when 16-year-old Vir Chopra went out to play football, he observed the street kids looking at his team members and him from across the fence. He noticed how they too wanted to play. He was just 12 then, but could feel the pain of the underprivileged kids.
Vir’s mother, Mahima Chopra was working with the Kutumb Foundation — an organisation that works for the upliftment of society by helping people from lower income groups. “When she got to know about my interest, she asked me if I’d like to teach the kids of the families the Foundation was supporting. Having seen the kids’ interest in the sport, I immediately agreed,” says Vir, a Class 12 student at Vasant Valley School, and studying commerce with maths.
Vir, who himself started playing football when he was in Class 4, started coaching the kids during weekends, and continues doing so. When he started, there were 20 kids he was training. Now, the number has reached 40. “I’ve always been passionate about sports. Though I couldn’t reach the national level, I have played for many school tournaments and interstate levels,” he says. But teaching the underprivileged kids gives him a strong sense of satisfaction and he keenly awaits the weekends.
After training and mentoring the kids for almost four years, a breakthrough came recently when alongwith members of the Kutumb Foundation, Vir took the responsibility to organise “Goal of Life” — a football tournament involving around 100 underprivileged kids from Khan Market, Nizamuddin and Ghevra areas.
“The programme involved planning the coaching regime, motivating the children, running weekly coaching classes and simultaneously organising the tournament,” says Vir.
For the tournament, Vir divided the kids into 12 teams and even got different coloured jerseys for each team. “It was real fun to do all the planning and proceed with the tournament,” says Vir.
However, befriending the kids from the three areas wasn’t exactly easy. For that, Vir conducted workshops among the different teams before the tournament that included ice-breaks and creative games.
After a successful tournament, Vir has more plans for the future. “The last four years have been very satisfying. I hope to keep doing the good work,” he says.