Magic Bus
ORGANISATION OVERVIEW
Founded in 1999 by Matthew Spacie, Magic Bus works with children
and young people, living in poverty, in India, taking them from a
childhood full of challenges to a life with meaningful livelihoods. We
equip children and young people in the age group of 12 to 18 with the
skills and knowledge they need to grow up and move out of poverty.
Children on the Magic Bus programme successfully fend off
destabilisers such as child marriage and child labour. They complete
their secondary education and go on to become first-generation salary
earners having secure careers in the organised sector.
Our youth-centered Livelihoods Programme connects the aspirations
and potential of young people to available market opportunities. We
build their employability skills and map job potential based on
individual strengths and mobility.
We work with support structures like parents, the community at large
and local gover nment institutions to ensure social, emotional and
economic well-being for all young people living in that area. Our
approach mobilises the entire ecosystem available to the child or
young person to create transformational change in their lives.
KEY FACTS
• Since 1999, Magic Bus has transformed over 1
million children and young people helping
them move out of poverty.
• Magic Bus is working with more than 375,000
children and young people in 22 States and 80
districts of India. Our activity-based sessions
are carried out across 798 schools.
• We have trained 10,000 young people in 42
Livelihood centres across India. We have
placed 70% of these trained young people in
salaried jobs.
• In Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, Magic
Bus is working with 6000 children, in 40
communities and 31 schools with 81
Community Coordinators.
• Our childhood programme works in support of
the country’s most important child rights
policies, including the Right to Education Act,
2009.
• The Magic Bus Livelihood Programme is in
alignment with the Government of India’s
National Youth Policy.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES OF THE
PROGRAMME
• 95% girls do not marry before the age of 18. This is
significant since as many as 30% girls in India are
married off as children.
• Young people on the Magic Bus programme get stable,
dignified jobs
• Women and girls on the programme are more likely
than their non-Magic Bus counterparts to remain
economically self-reliant throughout their lives
CHILDHOOD TO LIVELIHOOD
Our Childhood to Livelihood approach has the following
key components:
Life Skills Education has teamwork, problem solving,
managing self, learning to learn and communications for
children and young people to become more resilient and
show higher self-efficacy in the face of destabilisers like
child marriage.
Education Enhancement to improve basic literacy and
numeracy among children and teacher training to
improve education outcomes in schools.
Magic Bus is among the very few Indian
NGOs to be working in Nepal, Bangladesh
and Myanmar.
Community Connect to work with childrens’ ecosystem –
parents, school teachers, local leaders, School Management
Committees – to ensure communities come together to focus on
and facilitate education, gender equity and livelihood skills
attainment
Employability Education to improve financial literacy, digital
literacy, spoken English and career awareness that will help
young people to get a job of their choice
Livelihood Connect to get sector-specific training based on
young peoples’ interests as well as demand from employers in
different sectors along with placement and post-placement
support to help young people to stay with their jobs
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MAJOR AWARDS GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIPS | INDIA

• Our Founder, Matthew Spacie, was awarded Social Entrepreneur of
the Year by Business Standard (2018).
• Magic Bus won th e ET Now Leadership Award for our work on
Education & Learning (2018), the c harity of the y ear award at the
Asian Voice Charity Awards (2016), UK and the UEFA Foundation for
Children Award (2016)
• Magic Bus is the first Indian entity – and the only non-profit - to
have been awarded the prestigious Laureus Sport for Good Award
(2014)
• We also won the President of India’s Rashtriya Khel Protsahan
Award (2014)
• Other recent awards won include: The Spirit of Humanity Award
(2013); the World Bank Development Marketplace Award; and
Rising Star (Finalist) Award by the Resource Alliance (2013)
• In 2007, our Founder, Matthew Spacie, was awarded an MBE (Member
of the British Empire) for services to children in the Commonwealth.
In 2015, he won the Beyond Sport Leadership Award
• MOU with Government of Maharashtra in 2018: Magic Bus will
partner with Village Social Transformation Foundation (VSTF) to
enable the completion of secondary education for 1 lakh
adolescents, and skilling and placement of 15,000 youth across
2 districts of Maharashtra
• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA): A Government of India's flagship
programme to universalise elementary education. Magic Bus is
partnering with Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram, Delhi, and
Maharashtra to help implement the SSA
• Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, India
• Government of Mizoram, India
FURTHER INFORMATION
Full list of donor partners: magicbus.org/partners
Audited accounts: magicbus.org/transparency

MAGIC BUS IMPACT

Registered Office: Magic Bus India Headquarters, 3rd Floor, JK Textiles Building, Mehra Estate, Near Jaswanti Landmark, LBS Marg, Vikhroli West,
Mumbai -400079, | Phone: +91 22 62434848 | Email: info@magicbusindia.org| Website: www.magicbus.org