Empower girls like Priti in slums in Pune, India

As Karuna programme manager for this project I visited twice during this period (November 2014& Feb 2015) to review project activities and go through the narrative and financial reports with the team.  I have been pleased to see the level of recording of project data and reporting improve steadily over the past two years and see this current year-end report as a significant step forward in the quality of their reporting. The project now has good systems in place for tracking the number of girls participating in each program and for assessing the impact of the work on broader issues affecting adolescent girls.

This is a long- standing community-based project that has been working effectively for more than ten years in the slum districts around Pune. It draws many of its project staff from within the beneficiary community and works in a holistic way to address the specific issues facing adolescent girls living in the slums. This consistency has enabled the project team to develop and refine their experience, skills and approach over time, whilst building strong and effective community networks. For example they have developed new advocacy skills through their participation in the Maitri Network and this now gives them the confidence to liaise effectively with police, local schools and other local authorities over issues affecting adolescent girls.

Another significant new development is that they are now involving adolescent boys in some of their classes and awareness raising activities. Karuna welcomes this development as we see it as essential to involve boys as well as girls in seeking to bring about a sustainable, long- term shift in gender attitudes.