Every 4th girl is a child bride. Help change this

Dear Donor,

Hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy!!

Mentioning below some of the key highlights of our work between July and September 23!!

Success story from Jharkhand that illustrates how girls are displaying courage in resisting early marriage and pursuing their education and dreams.

Shivali (name has been changed for privacy reasons) has achieved the top position in her district's class 12 exams in the arts stream. She and her family are elated and proud of her remarkable accomplishment. When asked about her dreams, Shivali promptly replies, "I want to clear the JPSC (Jharkhand Public Service Commission) examination."

Shivali hails from Lalpur village in the Padma block of Hazaribagh district. Her journey to this achievement was far from easy. The discussions about her marriage started when she was in class 10. Shivali, who had joined the Breakthrough program as an Ujjwal Tara, thoroughly understood Breakthrough's messages against early marriage. Inspired by the program's messages and the lessons from Taaron Ki Toli (Legion of star) sessions, she began negotiating with her family against early marriage. It was a challenging endeavour. By the time she reached class 11, her marriage had been arranged. However, she persisted in her negotiation to be allowed to complete her class 12. She and her mother attended Breakthrough meetings, and her mother was influenced by the message that one should support their daughters' education and aspirations. She became Shivali's strongest supporter and ally. Shivali dedicated around 4-5 hours daily to her studies, taking them seriously.

When she achieved the top position in her district in the class 12 boards in the arts stream, she became a role model for other girls. Her parents and her prospective in-laws take immense pride in her achievement, and she has made it clear to both families that education and aspirations come before marriage. They are now willing to support her.

Our core life skills-based gender transformative curriculum is empowering many adolescent girls to develop negotiation skills, communication skills, and leadership, enabling them to speak out against gender-based discrimination, violence, and issues like early marriage.

TAARON KI TOLI SESSIONS (Legion of Stars)

We work through Taaron Ki Toli with two age cohorts. The 10-14 age group called ‘Ujjwal Taras’ and 15-18 age group called ‘Roshan Taras’.

During the reporting period we were able to reach 24163 Ujjwal Taras and 9381 Roshan Taras through the Taron Ki Toli sessions. The Taaron Ki Toli sessions are inspiring many girls to also negotiate at home for further studies and even non-traditional career pursuits.

Kishori Samvaads (a fair at village level focussing on inter-generational dialogues) in Lucknow and Gorakhpur

We saw during these Kishori Samvaads that the entire community remained riveted as the song “Byah Na Karao Baba” (Father, Do not plan my marriage, I want to fulfill my dreams and aspirations) created an emotionally charged and overwhelming atmosphere. The women, girls and even men could relate to the sentiments expressed in the song and had tears in their eyes. Men, women, adolescents, youth, stakeholders -all not only attended these events, they were ready to stay there and participate actively even till hours stretching late evenings. The girls used such platform to express their feelings related to their dreams, aspirations and appealed to their parents to support them. In fact, these scenes were common in all our104 interventionvillages of Lucknow and Gorakhpur where during the evenings, Kishori Samvaads were held (reaching out to 21090 people). An adolescent from Hasnapur village of Gosainganj came forward and said-“ I feel this song has been composed for me. I want to study further and fulfill my dream of pursuing a medical course. But my family is under tremendous pressure from the relatives to marry me. I want to appeal to my parents and aunt not to marry me yet and allow me to pursue my aspiration”.

Theatre of Oppressed in Jharkhand

Breakthrough employs the Theatre of the Oppressed as a powerful tool for sensitising and mobilizing local communities. This unique theatrical form engages the audience in exploring, contemplating, and transforming the issues portrayed in the play.

From July to September, Breakthrough planned 99 Theatre of Oppressed shows in Hazaribagh to convey messages related to the dreams and aspirations of adolescents, particularly the pursuit of non-traditional careers. These shows have sparked tremendous interest, participation, and support within the community. Despite adverse weather conditions, such as drizzles, community members gathered undeterred in open spaces to watch the Theatre of the Oppressed shows.

Furthermore, many adolescents and youth overcame their hesitations to openly share their dreams and aspirations before large audiences, receiving enthusiastic support and applause from the community.

This all work is happening because of support of DONORS like YOU. We would request you to continue your support and if possible recommend our project to like-minded people.

With Hope and Gratitude,

Aman Chhabra.