Get 10 000 children out of labour and into school

Sakshi (name changed) is a 14-year-old girl from Karhe village, Maharashtra. She is studying in 9th grade at Karheshwar High School. Her parents are wage labourers, her father is a driver on a private jeep, and her mother works on other people’s fields. They do not own any land and they have six members in the family: parents, grandmother, and three sisters, including Sakshi who is the eldest. 

Sakshi and her sisters faced a lot of discrimination and pressure from their father and grandmother, who were unhappy that they had no sons. They treated them as a burden and criticised them constantly. Sakshi’s mother was also unable to stand up for them, as she felt guilty for giving birth to only daughters. This made Sakshi feel inferior, shy, and isolated. She had no friends and hardly spoke to anyone. 

Sakshi’s life changed when she joined the Savitribai Girl’s Club, a project run by NISD, a local partner of Karuna Trust. The project aims to empower girls through self-defence classes, menstrual hygiene education, health lectures, leadership development, and motivational sessions. Sakshi became interested in the club activities and showed her leadership potential. She was elected as the leader of her group by her peers. 

Sakshi is now a confident and active leader, who organises various programmes for her group members, such as information sessions on menstrual hygiene, personal hygiene, adolescent health, and importance of education. She also helps her friends with their studies and encourages them to continue their education. She has a good rapport with the teachers, SMC members, and local leaders. She takes the girls’ problems to the teachers and tries to solve them. She also supports other school friends in their studies and challenges. She says, “I am happy that I am a girl. I am nothing inferior than any girl or boy. I will complete my education and shape my career well and prove to my parents and others that girls can also do equally better like boys.” 

Sakshi is one of the many girls who are transforming their lives and communities through the Savitribai Girl’s Club project. Karuna Trust works with local partners like NISD to overcome discrimination and violence against girls and women. We also work to challenge the social norms and structures that perpetuate inequality and injustice.