By Sunita Sharma | Project Director
Hi Everyone!
This is Sunita the project director with another report. The cold winter days have gone and the heat of summer awaits.
As you know this projects aims to train girls at risk in craft training to such a high level that they will be able to sell the stuffed toys and other items that they make.
We assist the older girls in getting safe accommodation together and our staff support them through this process. If you do not mind we would like to add tailoring skills to the courses we can offer these girls and we have a micro project called “Help girls at risk learn sewing skills” on Global Giving . Please take a look !!
But of course the girls also need a basic education and the photograph shows a volunteer from the UK helping out at the centre. You can visit our website (the link is below) for details of the volunteer programme but this year’s programme is already full.
There is also the problem of child marriage.The below is from a press report,
Bihar is one of the hotspots of child marriage in India as 51 percent girls there are married even before they are 18 years of age, officials said here Wednesday.
"Fifty-one percent of girls are married before they are 18 in Bihar," said N. Vijaya Lakshmi, managing director of the Women Development Corporation of the state government.
In her welcome address at a day-long workshop on the prevention of child marriage in Bihar, she said the mean age at marriage for girls is 17.4 in the state as against 19.5 for the country.
"Child marriage is rampant but reporting is poor. Lack of data is a key issue to make a difference," she said.
According to her, the vicious circle of poverty works in predictable patterns in Bihar. Poverty coupled with other social factors lead to early marriage. The child marriage then leads to deprivation of education and vulnerability to health risks and increases the risk of domestic violence and abuse.
I will leave you with quotes from some of our girls here at the centre,
“ Without you I have no other place to go, it is the first time in my life I have found love and care”
It is the first time I have found respect”
“We are just as important as boys”
Thanks for all your help, please remember March 13th is matching donation day on Global Giving so that’s the day to help!
Sunita
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