Leher
The idea behind Leher is to bring girls together through sports and fun activities to make them aware of the different career choices available to them.
Sobre Você
Seção 1: Sobre Você
Nome
Gaurang
Sobrenome
Chauhan
Website
Organization
Leher
Country
Seção 2: Sobre a Sua Organização
Nome da Organização
Leher
Página da organização na internet
Telefone da organização
0091 9821060965
Endereço da organização
Sua organização é
OSCIP/ONG
País da organização
Índia, MM
Sua ideia
Dê um nome ao seu projeto
Leher
Country your work focuses on
Índia, MM
Describe Your Idea
The idea behind Leher is to bring girls together through sports and fun activities to make them aware of the different career choices available to them.
Website URL
INOVAÇÃO
What makes your idea unique?
The community of which I am a part is a very large community in South Mumbai. Here there are great numbers of the Banjara caste (gypsy caste in India) living amongst other castes and religious groups. Banjara's mostly work as fishermen & women. Girls are employed in this field and have the added responsibility of maintaining homes and caring for children. The situation is such that girls do not have any other options.
Leher is brining the girls of this community together and putting forth the option of footbal to them. They have started to come to Leher sessions because of the option to play football. After attending the sessions, these girls have started learning the values of friendship, teamwork, decision making &competition.
In addition to the opportunity of football we are slowly trying to broaden their knowledge towards the different career opportunities that are available to them such as tailoring, clothes designing, & formal education.
Another issue in this community is that the girls are married at a very young age, average age of 15 or 16. Through these sessions we are hoping that they will realize the importance of decision making for their own futures.
In this community there is a lot of work that is being done on education but there are no programs that involve young girls from the ages of 6 to 18.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Impacto
Temas relacionados à inscrição
What impact have you had?
Leher has begun conducting sessions since December with 20 girls as of now. We had begun on a playground that was easily accessible to them but could not continue there due to certain unfavourable practicalities. We have now located a bigger space that is not as easily accessible but the girls have shown enthusiasm and chosen to continue the sessions here when given a choice. I have also involved a team member as well as a few parents from the locality to provide safety during commuting. We conduct two sessions a week and we have received an extremely enthusiastic response from the girls. They make an effort to attend all the sessions and manage their other work accordingly. They have also begun to take initiative and provide each other with any necessary help with learning activities and games. We have taken the parents into confidence and they have begun to understand and support what Leher is trying to do. We celebrated Womens' Day with the girls. It was completely new information for them and they were delighted to learn about it. We introduce such concepts regularly. We recently had them attend a national conference held on NGO Involvement In Youth Development. It was great exposure for them. We realize that we have a long way to go and understand the value of building trust with them. Through these sessions we are developing a relationship with these girls. By putting our faith in them we hope that they will put their faith in us.
Problem
The locality we work in consists of people from various castes and religions but are mostly nomadic and fishing is the primary occupation. However, it is extremely demanding work that drastically affects one's health but pays very little. The work has no recognition and is not valued by the society. It therefore does not seem like a viable option for the next generation. The school girls drop out ratio in this area is very high because of a low literacy level among parents. The reasons these girls drop out are varied. Some common reasons are : These girls get caught up in house work as that is seen as their priority. They have to stay at home and take care of young siblings as the parents are unable to provide them with the necessary attention. They even have to go to the docks to work. As a quick solution to the problem of these girls' future, they are married of at an extremely tender age of 15 or 16. They are seen as a liability. No one really takes their future seriously.
Actions
We are providing sessions twice week that teaches football along with fun activities. During this time we also hold discussions to build rapport with the girls and the rest of the team. We talk about current affairs and issues that with their daily lives.
The Leher team keeps in touch with the parents of these girls, gaining permissions and informing them of the activities that we undertake.
We are presenting the option of vocational guidance to the girls who are above 14 years of age. Currently we are looking for methods to include this as part of our program.
We make the girls visit different locations, grounds, matches and new places.
Results
Through the football and fun activity session we want to increase their involvement and interest in sports. This will enable them to be more confident, take decisions, learn teamwork, leadership and build their sense of responsibility.
By keeping the parents of these girls in touch we are building the community's trust in us and the work we do. Girls are very protected here and we have to be careful when working with them. By keeping parents informed we are also keeping them involved in the activities that are carried forward.
When we introduced vocational guidance to these girls they began thinking about the opportunities that are available to them. We asked them if they would be interested in learning new things. Now we are looking for ways to build their training. We are hoping that by giving them these options they will have some direction to which they will work towards. This will allow them to have their own income, build their independence and confidence increase as they will be increasingly self reliant.
By taking girls to new locations we are encouraging them to work on their interpersonal skills and broadening their limited experiences.
What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.
Year 1:
-Conducting sports sessions twice a week (including life-skills sessions)
-Meeting with children regularly to discuss benefits of initiative
-Meeting with parents to discuss benefits of initiative
-Organizing day trip for exposure
-Organizing matches for exposure
-Participating in workshops regarding career guidance
-Celebrating achievements
-Regular community visits to guage needs of community
Year 2:
-Conducting sports sessions twice a week (including life skill sessions)
-Conducting meeting with children and parents together
-Organizing retreat/camp for further development of children
-Organizing tournaments
-Providing leadership opportunities to girls who want to take the initiative and those who seem ready
-Initiating career guidance and specific training (formal training begins)
Year 3:
-Sports sessions twice a week (including life skill sessions)
-Organizing meetings with children and parents together
-Including parents in program (active participation for individual focus on the children)
-Organizing retreat/ camp for further development of children
-Getting them to participate in district level tournaments, for eg. M.D.F.T
-Providing peer leader training (life skills and sports)so that they ma take over imparting training through this year
- Receiving formal training with respect to the career option they might have chosen (life skills/ vocational skills/ job skills)so that they become self dependent.
What would prevent your project from being a success?
-Lack of playground space
- Lack of equipments/ other resources
-Lack of man power
-lack of networking with other NGOs
-Lack of support from parents of the children
-Children dropping out due to difficulties in transport and lack of affordable refreshments around playing area
How many people will your project serve annually?
< 100
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
$50 - 100
Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?
Não
SUSTENTABILIDADE
Em que estágio está seu projeto?
Implementado há menos de um ano
In what country?
Índia, MM
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Sim
If yes, provide organization name.
Ashoka's Youth Venture, Inida
How long has this organization been operating?
Entre 1 e 5 anos
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
Sim
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Sim
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses?
Não
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government?
Não
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
Through these partnerships, Youth Venture provided by initiative with support for initial start up. These partnerships provide me with opportunities of exposure in the social sector and awareness about availabilities of financial and non financial support.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?
1. Motivation and participation of parents and children in the target community
2. Building organizational infrastructure
3. Utilization and channelization of resources available
A História
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
I used to provide football coaching through organizations like Magic Bus and Oscar earlier. People in the community knew me through this work. I had once visited a little boy called Mahinder, aged 13 years, to talk about his studies and about his practice. His sister and mother were present during the conversation. Suddenly, in the middle of it, his sister Kavi, aged 11 years asked if there was any chance she could get to play football as well. Mahinder burst out laughing at the sheer suggestion and her mother was quite confused as to whether such opportunities were available for her daughter. It was this conversation that made me consider the idea seriously.
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
I think sports are a very powerful medium. It was through sports that i learnt many things in life. Since they are very demanding physically, you can push your limits. It s also a healthy space to vent your frustration and other pressures. And at the same time, the coordination and skill required increases your performance ability. Therefore I though I would use this medium to help girls explore their abilities because I think sports have the capacity to help one explore their full potential. I want them to draw parallel with the games they play and realize that making decision in life depends on being able to weigh one's choices well and then have the guts to take a call. I believe that this innovation will change the entire outlook and approach of a community and the girls will apply this to every decision they make that affects their community as well as their individual lives.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Through another organization or company
If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company
Vipin Thekelathil from Ashoka's Youth Venture, India had come for a n outreach to our community and told me about changemakers.
| Anexo | Tamanho |
|---|---|
| IMG_4546a.jpg | 97.07 KB |
| IMG_4541a.jpg | 93.77 KB |
| IMG_4542a.jpg | 76.96 KB |
| IMG_4555a.jpg | 90.68 KB |
| IMG_4553a.jpg | 116.93 KB |
| IMG_4556a.jpg | 91.7 KB |
| IMG_4561a.jpg | 111.34 KB |
| IMG_4567a.jpg | 114.6 KB |
| IMG_4572a.jpg | 109.1 KB |
| IMG_4575a.jpg | 90.05 KB |
