Name: Avtar Singh

Age: 46 years old

Location: Bulladewala, Bathinda,Punjab

Work: School Principal

Sports in the tiny hamlet of Bulladewala, issomething reserved for senior kids – Primary schoolchildren don’t play.

So when Mr. Avtar Singh, Principal of BulladewalaPrimary School, found himself at a training campon sports, initially he was dubious. Ambuja Foundation’s trainersdragged teachers to play frisbee - sweat pouringfrom his unseasoned Punjabi body, his initialreaction was ‘yikes!’. However, before long Avtar’sinner child emerged, soon he was laughing andrunning around like a great, big kid. Excited, hereturned to his school eager to change things.

Now Bulladewala Primary School was a typicalGovernment school, where attendance waslimited to 3, maybe 4, days of the week, tops! Sowhen teachers discussed the concept, there wasskepticism. But Avtar’s enthusiasm soon caughton and before long, 2 hours of daily athletics waslaunched.

Nursery toddlers lined up for running races, gigglingtheir way to the finish line; kindergarten kids triedlong jump – leaping into the air with glee; and 1stgraders learnt to pass a baton in their very first relayrace. The joy of it all was infectious.Attendance levels skyrocketed with almost 100%attendance across all 6 days of the week. And, ofcourse learning levels inched up also. Childrenwere more disciplined, understood teamwork andunderwent a complete change in attitude. Theirendurance and stamina grew, as did their agility andstrength. Optimism was rife as the entire culture ofthe school transformed.

You can imagine the excitement then, when 40students were selected to represent the school atthe Block Level Games. And when 5 children wonmedals at District Competition and participated inState Level Competition, well, they could hardlycontain themselves!

“We don’t have facilities for other games, butathletics is something that we can do anywhere,easily. Every primary school across India must dothis!” Avtar said.