Gender Equality India Project #42872

Support 500 girls in India through football!

by Enabling Leadership Inc.

Support 500 girls in India through football!

Project Report | Apr 7, 2023
2022-23: A fantastic year for our girl leaders!

By Aparna Nayampalli | Head, Grants & Impact

2022-23 saw just over 2500 girls back in our football program and on the football field. After a 2-year gap, the joy and enthusiasm in our students was beyond description. 2580 girls across 6 cities and 3 rural sites (40 villages) had an average session attendance rate of 77%. Your support helped us hire 103 coaches to work with 2580 girls (and equal number of boys), training them in girls' and mixed-gender teams.

The adolescent girls (especially adolescent girls who are changing physically, emotionally and mentally) we work with face formidable obstacles:

Poverty
Patriarchal customs and traditions
Distance of schools from home
Physical insecurity, molestation and rape
Child marriage and related factors that restrict girls access to education

Over the years, however, we have seen girls taking ownership for their own growth and showing grit, hard work and discipline to excel on the ground and in school. It has been a privilege and an amazing experience for us bringing football especially to rural communities, changing mindsets and helping girl athletes develop a passion for the sport and fulfill their potential.

Some highlights of our football program in 2022-23:

Football for girls is not seen as taboo here anymore. Parents encourage their daughters to participate and practice regularly. This mindset change of letting girls explore opportunities is game changing and will have a positive long-term impact on the girls, their families and communities.
Parents who, till now hesitated to let their daughters travel out of their villages, have been supportive of sending them out-station to participate in football tournaments, girl athletes network events, etc. The exposure and learning the athletes get from this experience is life changing for them..
Impact assessments, year on year, have shown that girls are growing in all areas of leadership skill development
Dharwad girls teams have consistently won in the Annual Just for Kicks National-level matches against city teams
Champions are beginning to emerge. One of the girls Under-14 teams from Dharwad district (Rural) - Government Higher Primary School Govanakoppa - has been outstanding. The team went from winning at the district-level to finishing Runners-Up at the State-level. 1 team member has been selected for the Under-14 at the National Level.

This is an outstanding achievement coming from a group of girls whose parents were hesitant to even let them play football 3 years back. The confidence that this has built in the girls and the aspirations of other girls, who see them as role models, will go a long way.

Entire village communities and even other local organisations have come together to recognise and celebrate our young girl champions
Sports has given the communities a platform to realise their daughters’ potential.

We are seeing the power of the sport shape the lives of our girl students and slowly, but steadily, change mindsets of the communities around them

Another highlight of 2022-23 was ELevate, our flagship national event. Every team participated and competed in their regional league matches across India. The winners of each regional league met in Mumbai for a 2-day national league where they competed for the national titles in various categories (sub-juniors, juniors and seniors). For most of our students, traveling out of their communities and vilalges, was a first-time experience. Whether they won the national titles or not, the exposure and learnings they went home with will stay with them forever.

Your generous support has helped us bring a high quality 'football for leadership' program to thousands of girls across India. And the impact is clear. We hope you will continue to support our students and help us reach more girls in the years ahead.

A big thank you from every young footballer at Enabling Leadership!!

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Oct 10, 2022
More girl power!

By Aparna Nayampalli | Head, Grants & Impact

Jun 14, 2022
Another year...another cohort of girl leaders!

By Aparna Nayampalli | Head, Grants & Impact

2021-22 was another year of uncertainties with schools opening and closing their doors several times through the school year due to Covid19. Finally in January-February 2022 when schools opened their doors, the excitement of our students (and teachers!) knew no bounds! After close to two yers, we were finally able to get back from online to physical Just for Kicks sessions in schools.

2021-22 was another year of uncertainties with schools opening and closing their doors several times due to Covid19. In January 2022 when schools finally opened their doors, the excitement of our students (and coaches!) knew no bounds! After nearly two years, we were finally able to get back from virtual to physical Just for Kicks sessions in rural schools.

In our rural program in Dharwad and Kumata districts (Karnataka, India), we were able to bring back 600 students on the ground, more than half of them girls. A comparison between our baseline and endline student leadership skill assessments showed average growth from 2 to 2.8 (on a 4 point scale with 1 being the least and 4 being the highest score).

While the numbers show growth in student leadership skills, its the stories behind the numbers that say much more. 12-year old Chandana's stories is only one of many such stories. Chandana studies in grade 6 at Government Higher Primary School in Shibargatti village (Dharwad district). She comes from a farming community and she and her siblings are 1st generation learners. Both her parents are farm labourers and earn barely enough for two square meals a day.

When Chandana first joined 'Just for Kicks' in 2019, she was a shy child. Today, however, her parents and teachers see a different girl in her. She and her team had, over the past 2 years, developed a passion for football. Finding a safe space to practise in their village, however, was a problem. Chandana took the issue up and together with her team, they decided to find a solution. They spoke to several community members, including their own parents. Finally, with their coach’s permission and after a go-ahead from the community, the kids cleared weeds, stones and rubble from an unused piece of land and created a size-able playing area. Today, not only her team, but other girls use the 'pitch' to practise.

Problem solving and a bias to action are 2 key leadership skills Just for Kicks focuses on. And Chandana's story is testament to students' grit to solve rather than accept situations. An empowered Chandana says she learnt the importance of staying disciplined and focused, helping others when they need help and working hard and not giving up after she joined Just for Kicks.

With your support, Just for Kicks will continue to engage more adolescent girls like Chandana, who otherwise don't have the means. Our mission is to deliver impactful sessions empowering girls with the leadership skills to become role models and positive contributors in their communities.

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