Help Girls to End the Cycle of Poverty & Violence

The onslaught of the 2nd wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is of a scale that has not been witnessed by anyone alive today, having wreaked havoc and affecting lives and families of millions the world over. The 2nd wave of the pandemic has had an adverse effect on people across all ages, from the old to the young, with an especially severe domino effect on children from marginalized communities. These difficulties have severe and devastating impact on urban poor, migrant workers and daily-wage labourers who are with non-existent economic buffer or social security or welfare safety net. 

Save The Children India, through its Anti- trafficking efforts, has been working with the most vulnerable communities, providing young women with skills training and livelihood opportunities. We are happy to share that all through the 1st wave of the pandemic, as well as the 2nd wave, Save The Children India has continued to provide skills training to young women, making use of digital platforms, and pivoting them towards trades that have good livelihood opportunities, given the current market scenario. 

With the continued support of donors like yourself, we aim to upskill and positively change the lives of many such vulnerable girls.

Shabana, a zestful, euphoric girl from Ghatkopar happens to be the eldest child in a family of 7 siblings. Shabana had the opportunity to attend school till VIIIth grade, however post that she had to discontinue her studies because of an inevitable financial crunch that her family faced. Shabana happily gave up all her desires of pursuing further education and soaring high for the sake of her family.

However, destiny had some more troubles in store for her. Since shabana was confined to the walls of her home she easily got tricked by her uncle who under the garb of buying a dress for her forcefully brought her to Gujarat. This marked the onset of 3 long dark years with no sliver of hope. To top it all, her uncle abused her physically, tortured her mentally and exploited her emotionally. Nevertheless, after years of relentless struggles, the fighter in her finally managed to escape the clutches of her uncle.

Life finally took a positive turn for Shabana after she met a kind hearted soul who not just helped her navigate through the choppy waters but also went the extra mile to reunite her with her family in ghatkopar. Upon reaching Ghatkopar, Shabana opened up about her horrendous experiences and plucked up her courage to lodge a police complaint against her uncle.

Seeing Shabana’s life struggles, STCI pitched in and wanted to extend help that could ease her life in some way. We at STCI left no stone unturned and ever since there has been no looking back. The power of perseverance helped Shabana sail through difficult times and these challenging times helped her get stronger in her resolve to persue her dreams. Shabana became a part of Sahas Kendra, where she had the opportunity to fulfill her dreams and resume her education. With the help of teachers at Sahas Kendra and her own tireless efforts, Shabana passed her SSC 10th Standard with flying colors. This initial success acted as a stepping stone that gave her the confidence and motivation to achieve much more in life. With renewed vigour she then geared up for her XIIth boards too. With the help of STCI, She got herself enrolled in SNDT College for FYJC from Arts stream. She regularly attended the college and visited Sahas Kendra everyday where she completed her college homework, got all her doubts clarified and studied with full zest .

Team STCI supported Shabana in every possible capacity from supporting her with tution / college fees to filling up exam forms and even family counseling and home visits to convince her parents to let her sit for the exam. With steady support received from STCI Shabana burned the midnight oil and staved off any challenges that came her way. Ultimately all her hard work has paid off as she recently passed her XIIth board exam in the year 2019-2020 with wonderful grades.

Apart from studies Shabana has also nurtured her hobby of sewing by pursuing a tailoring course at Sahas Kendra. She finds her true passion in tailoring and thus aspires to be a top notch fashion designer one day.

With support from donors like yourself, we can help thousands of such girls end the cycle of poverty and violence.