One hundred fifty children from orphanages in Kolkata walked into Express Baazar’s Axis Mall store with a rare offer: pick what you want. They were between 8 and 15, and the company announced the outing on June 23.
That was the point of Project Muskan. Express Baazar, which also trades as Baazar Style Retail Limited and Style Baazar, ran it with Lions Club International, with support from the Lions Club International Foundation. The company says it wanted children to have a freedom that is easy to overlook: choosing. Instead of getting donations someone else had selected, they filled their baskets with clothing, essentials, snacks and treats.
Members of the Leo and Lions Clubs came along. Every child got a Leo volunteer as a partner for the day, an older-sibling figure who helped with the store, the decisions and the conversation, then joined the child for lunch. Express Baazar added special gifts.
Managing Director Shreyans Surana described the scene this way: “Watching these children shop with confidence and excitement was truly inspiring,” he said.
Aayush Bagla, Past Leo-Lion Board Liaison at Lions Clubs International, said the volunteers were meant to learn something too. “Our target with Project Muskan is to make our young leaders of Leo and Lions Club experience empathy when they help the children shop,” he said.
Project Muskan is described as a flagship community initiative led by Lions and Leo Clubs members for children from underprivileged backgrounds.
