Train 4600 Indian girls as peer health leaders

Dear Donor,

We are pleased to share that we have officially kicked off our 2026–27 program year, with interventions now underway in both Jharkhand and Rajasthan. We are continuing our partnerships with Ugam Education Foundation in Jharkhand and Urmul Setu Sansthan in Rajasthan to deliver our peer-led health and mental health education programs for adolescents.

In Jharkhand, our program is reaching 45 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) across four districts. Adolescent girls in 9th grade are being trained as Champions to lead health sessions for 8th graders. Phase 1, focused on Menstruation and Anemia, is currently underway, with the Mental Health module scheduled to begin in the coming months.

In Rajasthan, we are working across 24 government schools serving low-income communities in Bikaner district. Here, 9th-grade students are being trained as Champions to lead Mental Health sessions for 7th and 8th graders. Phase 1 is currently underway, while Phase 2, focusing on Social Discrimination and Its Impact on Mental Health, is set to begin in the coming months.

We expect Phase 1 interventions in both Jharkhand and Rajasthan to be completed by early September.

In addition to our interventions in India, we have been engaged in a global collaboration with HeartSmiles and Johns Hopkins University, bringing together youth participants from Rajasthan, India, and Baltimore, USA. Through more than nine sessions, participants have come together to share their experiences, perspectives, and cultural understandings of mental health while co-designing a peer-led, culturally contextual mental health curriculum for adolescents in Baltimore.

The collaboration has created a meaningful space for cross-cultural dialogue, youth-led innovation, and open conversations that challenge the stigma surrounding mental health. Participants have responded enthusiastically, actively engaging in discussions and contributing their lived experiences and ideas to the development of the curriculum. As the collaboration concludes in August 2026, we hope the relationships, insights, and shared learning fostered through this process will continue beyond the program itself, demonstrating the power of young people from different contexts to learn from one another and shape mental health solutions that are more inclusive, relevant, and grounded in the realities of the communities they serve.

We are deeply grateful for your continued support, which makes the consistent delivery of these interventions possible and enables us to reach thousands of adolescents during a critical stage of their lives. We look forward to continuing this journey with you as we expand our work and reach even more young people in the years ahead.

With regards,

Team AHC