By Renuka K R | Director
Centre for Women’s Development and Research
Life Skill and Sexuality Education for 1000 girls-India (14480)
Update- June 2018
April to June months are important in several ways for the girls and for us, during this time they complete their examinations particularly for 10th and 12th standard girls they attend their board examinations, they also get their results during June and they have to make important decisions regarding their future. For us it is the time the girls get long annual holidays, so we organize career guidance programmes, helping them getting admissions and financial helps. We also organized community development trainings and street play and folk arts trainings for adolescent girls. This year on 28th May we also celebrated world menstrual hygiene day.
We are happy that this year also all the Snehidhi member girls who attended 10th and 12th standard board examinations passed their examinations. 120 girls attended 10th standard examination 84 girls attended 12th standard examinations passed their board examinations. The schools where we had conducted supplementary education programmes achieved 80-92% results in their board examinations. But like previous years except for 4 girls all other 80 girls in 12th standard scored below 1000 marks out of 1200. This creates problem for their future career, it’s become difficult for them to get admission in government colleges, the means they have to enroll in private colleges with high fees and also have to travel. We are in the process of helping these girls find colleges or vocational skill training institutes and get admission and financial support for their education.
During this period, we have also conducted a survey on child marriages and also conducted education programmes on child rights and child marriages in our working slums. It is during this period parents think about their daughter’s wedding, mostly if a girl fails in the examinations and for 12th standard girls they are 18 years or nearing so if they do not continue their higher education, most of them do not go for higher education due to financial constraints. We have organized mother’s meetings in our working area to educate them about the importance of girls children’s education, child rights and child marriages, the new supreme court judgement that criminalized sex with minor wife aged 15-18 years, it said it is violative of constitution. This year we have also celebrated world menstrual hygiene day in our working areas educated girls about puberty, sexual reproductive health rights, reusable or bio-degradable sanitary pads. Nearly 500 girls benefitted from these programmes. We have also continued our lifeskill, sexuality education programmes during the weekends nearly 600 girls participated in these programmes.
As part of our computer skill training programme, In colloboartion with ‘The Learn and Uplift Foundation’ Canada, we have started enrolling girls in their online vocational skill training programmes on ‘Retail Management’ and English courses. Now 30 girls have enrolled in these programmes.
In the coming days the enrollment for colleges will begin that means we have mobilize more funds to help these girls who stop their education because of money, that also may motivate their parents think about their marriages. If a girl goes to college, she will continue their education upto 20-21 years of age, she will also start thinking about her career. This would help girls escape from the vicious poverty cycle and child marriage.
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