Providing Life Skills to 300 Girls living in Slums

Dear Friends,

On the Occasion of 15^th August, India’s Independence Day, girls from Vacha Centresreleased their 13^th Edition of Newsletter titled ‘Hamari Battein’ (Our Voices) in their bastis.

Newsletter is an opportunity for the girls to practice and display the skills they have gained through the centre activities. Girls formed committees for news gathering, typing, fund raising, and editing. They covered various issues such as availability, safety and hygiene issues related to community based toilets, girls’ access to public spaces, and safety in public spaces, advantages and disadvantages of internet, sexual harassment and sanitation in bastis. Girls also wrote poems, puzzles, and riddles to add fun to the newsletters.

Along with the release, they held various events such as photography exhibition that emerged from the photos taken by girls as part of workshops, songs, speeches, street play and rallies. One of the centres held a programme to dispel myths about superstitions. These events were attended by community leaders, Community Based women’s groups, parents and teachers. The girls went door to door to sell copies and get feedback of the newsletters.

Vacha has a council of young people across its centres in Mumbai. The representatives for this council are elected through democratic process. First meeting of the newly elected representatives was held post Newsletter Release and function and the representative exchanged their learning, experiences and feedback with each other.

Events and exercises like newsletters help our girls to practice their computer skills, social skills as well as marketing and negotiation skills. Parents get firsthand experience of the new confidence of their girls to speak in public or dealing with peers in a group.

We thank you for your support to this initiative and hope to have a continued engagement in girls’ empowerment.