By Akhilesh | Project Leader
Child marriage is a major issue affecting life pattern for adolescent girls. It is a local, national and global issue. Our partnership with GlobalGiving is addressing this as priority issue of adolescent girls Sonam is 15 years old living in Rampur slum of Lucknow. She learnt risks of early marriage, rights of girls, communication skills through life skill education provided under the project. She has been regularly participating in adolescent girls group and community volunteers meetings. She heard the discussions in her family about her marriage. She did not want to be tied up with marriage like responsibilities at this age and wanted to continue education and learning to shape her life. She shared her learning about risks of marriage with her parents. She also told her parents about the law that marriage before legal age of 18 years is a crime. Community volunteer also visited Sonam,s parents house for counselling on risks and legal issues related to child marriage. Sonam is happy as parents have agreed to postpone the marriage. It has set the example for other girls and families.
Our project in partnership with GlobalGiving is empowering adolescent girls by providing platforms for their participation & communication on their issues, encouraging education, building life & vocational skills, changing behaviours of parents and community towards girls. Our strategies like formation of adolescent girls groups, integrated slum planning on girls & community needs, life skill sessions with adolescent girls & women, engaging community volunteers for behavioural change communication at household level and feedback to public service providers like school teachers, health workers, local governance institutions. These processes are leading to growing number of adolescent girls in schools, their immunisation, prevention of early planned marriages, participation of adolescent girls in vocational training courses. Change in mind set of parents towards girls can also be seen. It is reflected in adolescent girls participating in group & community meetings, updating slum action plans, visiting service providers, attending life skill sessions and conducting household visits for behaviour change communication among parents.Community volunteers including both women and men are supporting adolescent girls on their issues like education, mobility, early marriage and facilaiting access to government service provisions like immunisation, enrolment in schools. During the reporting period from July to September 2017, project benefitted 1592 adolescent girls spreading over 90 slums in Lucknow through life skill sessions, adolescent girls groups meetings, community health counselling camps, orientation on vocational skill development opportunities.Households visits and women groups meetings were conducted with a focus on behaviour change communication issues such as sending girls to schools, risks of early girl marriage, sanitation and hygiene practices like use of toilets, hand wash with soap at critical timings, use of sanitary pads for menstrual hygiene management.
We thank you for your continued support for making life of adolscent girls better in slums.
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