Help some of poorest girls in Uttar Pradesh avoid child marriages and break the cycle of poverty by sending them to school & helping them save for the future. 100 girls will receive free tuition, healthy meals, clothes, school supplies, healthcare & family support services and, upon graduation, proceeds from a savings account that grows with every year of their schooling. The fund, free education and other services provide a strong disincentive to child marriage, still a common practice here.
The terrible practice of child marriage is still very common in this area of Uttar Pradesh. Many poor parents see girls as a burden, marry them off by 12 or 13 and send them to live with their husbands' families. Many are little more than servants in their new homes and often bear children while still children themselves. Unable to read & write, unprepared to care for their children & unaware of their rights, they are easily exploited and abused, & destined for lives of deep, continuing poverty
Education & delaying marriage are two proven pathways out of poverty for girls. 80% of the 1400 students in FFLV's schools are very poor, low-caste girls. We create many incentives to get parents to enroll their daughters: free tuition, clothing, daily meals, health care, & priority in admission for siblings. Our Save the Girls Fund creates individual savings accounts girls access when they graduate & may use however they choose: for higher education, to start a business, or for their dowries.
FFLV empowers girls in & around Vrindavan to escape poverty. By delaying marriage until adulthood, girls will be healthier & more capable of caring for themselves and their families. Literate and aware of their rights, they will better advocate for themselves & raiser healthier, better educated children. Some will even pursue professions like teaching & nursing, once inconceivable for girls of their caste and economic status. 100 poor girls, their immediate & future families will benefit.
"I feel lucky to be a student here. If not for my school, I would be married, have a child by now, and probably working at a construction site like my mother. My future will be different!"
- Radha,, a 16 year-old Sandipani Muni School student
Total Funding Received to Date: $44,971
This project is now in implementation and no longer available for funding. Received funds will be used to accomplish concrete objectives as indicated in the project's "Activities" section. Updates will be posted under the "Project Report" tab as they become available.
Donors' contributions and pledges to this project totaled $44,971 . The original project funding goal was $64,000.
Combined with other sources of funding, this project raised enough money to fund the outlined activities and is no longer accepting donations.
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