Mumbai, July 26, 2024 – The KC Mahindra Education Trust proudly announces the re-defined intervention from Project Nanhi Kali with an innovative campaign that integrates football into the curriculum for underprivileged schoolgirls across India. This campaign, created by Ogilvy, underscores the Trust’s commitment to holistic education, blending academic learning with essential life skills acquired through sports.

KC Mahindra Education Trust started Project Nanhi Kali to encourage and support underprivileged girls to complete 10 years of schooling. In alignment with the National Education Policy which advocates integration of sports as part of the curriculum Project Nanhi Kali is introducing the girls to the game of football.

Project Nanhi Kali’s campaign film captures the transformative power of football on young girls, highlighting real-life stories of school girls from across India who are part of this programme. These girls are not just learning to play football; they are gaining confidence, leadership skills and a sense of self worth that transcends the football field. The film is a testament to how sports can be a powerful vehicle for change, teaching values such as teamwork, perseverance, and resilience.

Project Nanhi Kali has transformed the lives of more than 700000 girls across India.

Watch the film here: https://youtu.be/R5icw4Pvuao

Commenting on the new film, Sheetal Mehta, Trustee and Executive Director, KC Mahindra Education Trust, says, “At Project Nanhi Kali, we empower underprivileged girls through a transformative blend of education including 21st-century skills and sports leadership training. This holistic approach provides the girls with the essential tools to succeed in life. Our 'Lessons from a Football' film vividly showcases how football teaches crucial values like teamwork, leadership, and perseverance. By incorporating sports into our program, we see Nanhi Kalis evolving into strong, confident leaders who are ready to take on the world.”

Asha Kharga, Chief Customer and Brand Officer, Mahindra Group, also added, “Nanhi Kali represents Mahindra’s philosophy of Rise in action. We approached the new campaign with the mindset of an innovation launch. In alignment with the National Education Policy, Nanhi Kali has revamped its curriculum to be more holistic by integrating sports, while maintaining a focus on English, Math, Digital and financial literacy and softskills.“

“We needed to effectively communicate this shift and a day with the Nanhi Kalis in the village of Jambusar gave us rich insights. For these girls, football is more than a sport, it instills in them the confidence to Rise.”

Ogilvy India conceptualised this thought-provoking film. Kainaz Karmakar and Harshad Rajadhyaksha, Chief Creative Officers of Ogilvy India opined: “We visited a rural Nanhi Kali centre and spent a lot of quality time interacting with several Nanhi Kalis, and their coaches. The raw, captivating, and liberating stories of what the simple game of football has come to mean for these little girls and their sense of confidence and self-worth, is what inspired us to create this piece of communication.

“It is a privilege and honour for all of us at Ogilvy to partner with the super-driven Nanhi Kali client team in this journey. We are also very pleased with what our director, Afshan, has been able to bring to life in this film, working with so many amazing actual Nanhi Kalis who had never ever faced a movie camera in their lives, before this film.”

Team Credit

Creative Partner: Ogilvy India.
Chief Creative Officers India: Kainaz Karmakar & Harshad Rajadhyaksha

Production House: Good Morning Films
Director: Afshan Hussain Shaikh
Executive Producer: Vikram Kalra
Producer - Prasanna Naik
DOP - Tassaduq Hussain

About Mahindra Group

Founded in 1945, the Mahindra Group is one of the largest and most admired multinational federation of companies with 260000 employees in over 100 countries. It enjoys a leadership position in farm equipment, utility vehicles, information technology and financial services in India and is the world’s largest tractor company by volume. It has a strong presence in renewable energy, agriculture, logistics, hospitality and real estate.

The Mahindra Group has a clear focus on leading ESG globally, enabling rural prosperity and enhancing urban living, with a goal to drive positive change in the lives of communities and stakeholders to enable them to Rise.

Learn more about Mahindra Group on www.mahindra.com / X and Facebook: @MahindraRise/ For updates subscribe to https://www.mahindra.com/newsroom

About K. C. Mahindra Education Trust

The K. C. Mahindra Education Trust (KCMET) was founded by the late K. C. Mahindra in 1953. With its vision to transform the lives of people in India through education, by providing financial assistance and recognition to them, across age groups and income strata, KCMET has undertaken many education initiatives. Since inception, these initiatives have made a difference in the lives of over 1,376,456 deserving students through the provision of more than USD 136.30 million in the form of scholarships, livelihood training programmes, after school tuition support, and financial aid. www.kcmet.org.