Sporting start to the year for Mumbai's Goal girls!

This report has just come in from Goal in Mumbai. . .

Goal Mumbai began the New Year on a sporting note by participating in the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon and the Down to Earth Interactive sports meet over 2 weekends in January.

It was a proud moment for the girls to have their own ‘Goal’ contingent among the various groups who formed a part of the Standard Chartered Contingent at the marathon. 25 Goal participants and a few Standard Chartered Goal volunteers formed the Goal group.

On Sunday 16th of January at 7.30 in the morning, the Goal girls set off to Azad Maidan with banners and placards. The girls took part in the ‘Dream Run’ of the marathon. They were excited to see so many citizens of Mumbai taking part in the marathon supporting various causes like save the environment, water conservation, child rights, issues of old people etc. The Goal girls felt proud to represent the cause of women and shouted slogans about Goal, the rights for women and the need for a united Mumbai.

The girls felt elated to participate in the Marathon and walk with thousands of people celebrating the spirit of Mumbai.

Down to Earth Sports Meet:

The Goal program also took part in the Interactive Sports Meet organized by Down to Earth on the 23rd of January 2011 at the Karnataka Sports Ground, Mumbai. More than 400 children from all over Mumbai came together to celebrate!

It was wonderful to have the Goal girls interact, engage and compete with so many children. The event was organized completely by a group of committed and enthusiastic volunteers. All the games with unique names like magic carpet, junk in the trunk and tip the joker encouraged team building and discipline.

One of the Goal participants Chhaya Gaikwad said: "I was very excited about going to the meet this year again! It was amazing to see so many kids from all over Mumbai. I made many friends. I loved playing the various games that I had never played before. Our team had boys and girls of all ages and there was a lot of challenge and excitement in quickly understanding the games and helping our team members complete the tasks!”