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Dear Donor,

Hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy!! Thanks for your support for our work. Sharing some of the key highlights of our work between Feb 24 and May 24.

Taaron Ki Toli Sessions

Taaron Ki Toli curriculum is delivered to 11-14-year-old cohort whom we call Ujjwal Taras and also to 15-18-year-old cohort whom we call Roshan Taras.

During the reporting period, we held these sessions 24329 with adolescents (11 to 14 years’ cohort) in UP and 4737 adolescents (11 to 14 years’ cohort) in Jharkhand. We also held these sessions with 20942 adolescents (15 to 18 years’ cohort) in UP and 1754 adolescents (15 to 18 years’ cohort) in Jharkhand.

The sessions have focused on empowering them to recognise and assert their rights, pursue their aspirations, and challenge gender-based discrimination and violence. The following reflections and sharings by adolescents indicate how they are benefitting from such sessions-

• “The session ‘Ye Na Hoga’ made me realize that we need to learn to say ‘No’ if we do not like something. If someone stalks us we should run and inform our parents and report using the helpline. We can take help from our elders and report in the nearest police station”, said Ujjwal Tara of Kasturba Gandhi Residential School for Girls in Katkamsandi.
• An Ujjwal Tara from Shiv Shanti Children Academy, Dohariya Bazar said, “In today’s session I realized how girls are discriminated against and their potential is undervalued. How they are stopped from progressing in life, how it affects their lives and dreams. If both are given equal opportunity they both can fulfil their dreams and make progress in life.
• A Roshan Tara from Khuthan village from Bhahat Block of Gorakhpur said, “Breakthrough sessions have helped us understand that negotiating collectively helps us to convince others easily. There was a fair in our neighbouring village. We all wanted to go. Had we asked individually, our parents wouldn’t have allowed us to go. But we persuaded our parents collectively, so they allowed us to visit the fair. We now have learnt to negotiate collectively to solve our problems

Kishori Melas

28 Kishori Melas were held in Lucknow reaching out to 3532 people. The purpose of the Kishori Melas was to provide a platform for adolescent girls to discuss their aspirations, fostering a supportive community environment where they can advocate for their dreams.

At the Kishori Mela iin Babulal Inter College, Principal Jaikaran highlighted the impact of Breakthrough's program, noting how it helped students gain confidence in public speaking and express their viewpoints effectively. He emphasized that such initiatives are enriching students' learning experiences and will continue to do so in the future.

Following a play by students, Vidya Devi, mother of Anu, a student at the school, reflected on how the performance illustrated the challenges girls face in pursuing their dreams, often disrupted by a lack of educational opportunities. She pledged to fully support her daughter's education and encouraged others to similarly support their children, ensuring they have continuous access to education.

During the power walk activity at Kasturba Gandhi Residential School's Kishori Mela, an Ujjwal Tara shared insights into the inequalities girls encounter throughout their lives. She acknowledged the subtle discrimination that starts at home from birth and expressed the need for a supportive environment where girls can pursue their dreams and education without hindrance. The Ujjwal stressed the importance of starting conversations within families to create equal opportunities for girls to thrive in life.

Team Change Leaders take lead in demanding pad machines from district administration in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand

Menstrual hygiene management is an important aspect of the Adolescent Empowerment and is deeply intertwined with gender equity and the overall wellbeing of adolescent girls. It has profound effect on an adolescent girl’s self-esteem and bodily autonomy.

Therefore, this Menstrual Hygiene Day on 28^th of May 2024, youth and Team Change Leaders of Breakthrough (We groom select youth aged 19-25 years as change agents through special trainings and workshops) intervention blocks of Katkamsandi, Tatijhariya, Katkamdag, Sadar and Padma in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand took lead in celebrating World Menstrual Hygiene Day in their communities. Total 77 youth, 169 adolescents and 180 members of Adult Group participated in the celebrations. This is an example of strengthening of our deep transformation work and the budding leadership of TCLs.

They took out street procession, did wall writing, poster making, group discussions and made placards and took selfie on the self-made selfie stand etc. The youth even visited the district administration and shared various issues prevailing in the villages like absence of pad machine in schools and community, lack of proper awareness and myths associated with the menstruation. The initiative by youth was greatly appreciated by the CDPO (Child Development Project Officer) and the BDO (Block Development Officer). The initiative got wide media coverage too.

“I am very happy to see that you people are celebrating the Menstruation Hygiene Day, and I assure you that the installation of pad machines is under way at colleges and schools. We are soon going to have robust facility of pads in community as well.”

                                                                                -BDO, Katkamdaag, Hazaribagh, Jharkhand

Menstrual Hygiene Management Day celebrations in UP - Busting Myths and stigma related to Menstruation

Discussions were on among TCLs of Tarkulha village of Gorakhpur as how to celebrate MHM day. It was the boys who came up with the idea-‘Why don’t we hold a friendly cricket match in which boys and girls together play to give the message that girls can do all work during menstruation even play cricket. There is nothing impure in menstruation. It is a normal bodily process”.

With MHM written on their bats and donning red ribbon around their wrists, the adolescents, youth and TCLs played the friendly cricket match. About 70 people gathered in Tarkulha village to watch the match. The TCLs and youth even invited the Breakthrough District lead and his team for this. Everybody appreciated this initiative and the ASHA worker of the village said that this is a great way to counter the myths and stigma attached to menstruation.

Similarly, youth and TCLs of 81 villages of four intervention districts of UP namely Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Mahrajganj and Ghazipur took lead in celebrating this day and disseminating messaging to address myths and stigma related to menstruation through slogan writing, wall writing, rallies, poster making and group discussions. In some of our intervention villages like Argha and Mithaura of Mahrajganj The pradhans arranged sweets and water for all the people who had gathered to celebrate MHM day. A Total of 2552 people took part in these celebrations including adolescents, women, men and stakeholders besides the youth and TCLs who led the process. Such community ownership and leadership of youth and TCLs indicates how our deep transformation work is getting strengthened.

All our work happens through the financial support we received from donors like you and are immensely grateful for the same. Request you to continue your support and, if possible, refer us to like-minded people in your circle.

With Hope and Gratitude,

Aman Chhabra.