Give GIRLS in India a CHANCE at life

Dear Donor,

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

Mentioning below some of the key highlights of our work between Dec 20 and March 21.

Engagement with adolescents in schools and communities:

In this year, owing to the uncertainties of the Pandemic, we decided to digitise TkT sessions from the module.

These focused on topics of health, hygiene, nutrition, intergenerational dialogue, early marriage, and rights, and have been created using videos, comics, riddles, and story-telling. During the process of digitisation and contact data collection, we decided not to conduct separate training sessions with the 2 cohorts- Ujjwal Tara (11-14yrs) and Roshan Tara (15-18yrs) respectively. We conducted some of the digitised TkT topics in small groups, with both the age groups through digital mediums. As things improved and small gatherings were allowed in some gram panchayats, we conducted sessions to recap some topics in smaller groups on-ground. All the while, we continued online sessions in GPs which were still in the orange and red zones. These select lessons were chosen so that the adolescents are able to: - 

1. Identify gender based discrimination that they may experience at home especially during the lockdown. 
2. Develop skills that enable them to start a dialogue and negotiate for equal opportunities. 

Towards the end of year in December 2020, the Government reopened the schools. During this time, attendance was optional since the administration only called the students whose parents gave consent. Therefore, we began facilitating the sessions in schools but also continued conducting the sessions in the communities for the adolescents who were not comfortable in going to school. We conducted 4 sessions in the reporting period of December to March and reach was 15153 adolescents in the age group of 11-18.

Kishor-Kishori (Adolescents) Health Melas conducted:

In Haryana, Breakthrough collaborated with the District Legal Service Authorities, Department of Health and Department of Women and Child Development. We conducted Kishor Kishori Health Melas in 123 intervention gram panchayats across six districts to fight the pandemic.

479 melas were organised to generate awareness among adolescents and community members on hygiene, nutrition and health and Covid-19 precautionary measures to defeat Corona virus. We were able to reach 23300 community members including adolescents through the Melas. These melas also focused on providing non-discriminatory access and opportunities to health services, nutrition for the adolescents’ and non-judgmental access to health services to growing adolescents.

Community Mobilization Campaign- Dakhal Do:

Community mobilisation activities are a critical part of our intervention as it helps build a conducive environment for girls to thrive by bringing all stakeholders on a common platform. 

Breakthrough launched a multi-year campaign on bystander intervention where we emphasized that violence against women is unacceptable and not a private matter- intervention is critical. Through the campaign we aim to encourage individuals to reflect on their own role as change-makers and build on the fact that every action, however small or big, matters. 

The community mobilization in Haryana this time was in alignment with the larger campaign of ‘Dhakkal Do’. The theme was of a musical journey called- ‘Geet Apne Gaanv Ke’. The complete performance consisted of 8 thematic songs with folk elements to connect with the audience. There were interactive sessions/dialogue (varta) after every song to reinforce the message the songs were conveying. The sessions were engaging for the audience and were concluded by asking the community to ‘Dakhal Do’ (intervene in situations of violence and discrimination against women and girls). 

In order to mobilize as many people as possible for the performances, we conducted school based assembly sessions as a part of the ‘Dakhal Do’ community mobilization campaign. These sessions were a preview of 2 songs that got adolescents in schools interested and mobilized their parents to view the main performance that took place in the community

As the message of the campaign continued to spread, we got an overwhelming response from everyone in the community including the administration and stakeholders at different levels. Women in the communities especially felt a strong connection with the songs being performed; a group of women said, “we want to sing these songs in our homes and want every family member, especially the male members to listen”. 

Through this campaign, we have reached approximately 65652 community members including adolescents, and parents in 249 spots of all 123 gram panchayats across six intervention districts in Haryana. We made the Dakhal Do Calendar, a special product connecting with the theme to distribute within the communities. The calendar has 3 photos showing unequal dynamics in relationships between couples and 3 photos showing the flipside of the situation where husband and wife are sharing all household responsibilities and expenses. The calendar also has 12 questions, one for each month of the year. These questions encourage people to think and reflect on how women are treated at home and within the communities; asking them to reflect on their contribution to gender equality. 

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.