Two Teachers for Yuwa Girls
Donation protected
There's a quote by Gandhi, 'First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then the fight you, then you win.' That's how it's been for these girls. They still fight all the same fights, they've just become better fighters.
In 2008, I moved to a small village in Jharkhand, India, where 6 in 10 girls drop out of school and become child brides. The next year I cofounded Yuwa along with three high school friends.
Yuwa ('youth' in Hindi) started as a scholarship fund for eight students I'd taught at a local government school, but then a group of girls asked me to coach them in football (soccer).
Of the two groups, the girls on scholarship were missing 40-50 days of school year after year. The soccer girls went from going to school 2-3 days in a week to rarely missing a day. They created a place for themselves where it was cool to be an ambitious girl.
What inspires me and everyone else who spends time with the girls of Yuwa is that they truly represent the best in all of us. They don't expect things to come easily. I've never met a group of kids so hungry to learn, and so willing to put in the work to move ahead in their lives.
Maybe most inspiring of all is how they lift each other up constantly along the way.
Let's give them another teacher for a year in Yuwa's education program. They cheer whenever we announce classes on Saturdays, so you know they'll appreciate it.
Oh, and I've started another page on www.ketto.org/teacher-yuwa, an Indian crowdfunding site, for those who'd like to donate in INR.
Still on the fence? Check our those rad prizes below...
In 2008, I moved to a small village in Jharkhand, India, where 6 in 10 girls drop out of school and become child brides. The next year I cofounded Yuwa along with three high school friends.
Yuwa ('youth' in Hindi) started as a scholarship fund for eight students I'd taught at a local government school, but then a group of girls asked me to coach them in football (soccer).
Of the two groups, the girls on scholarship were missing 40-50 days of school year after year. The soccer girls went from going to school 2-3 days in a week to rarely missing a day. They created a place for themselves where it was cool to be an ambitious girl.
What inspires me and everyone else who spends time with the girls of Yuwa is that they truly represent the best in all of us. They don't expect things to come easily. I've never met a group of kids so hungry to learn, and so willing to put in the work to move ahead in their lives.
Maybe most inspiring of all is how they lift each other up constantly along the way.
Let's give them another teacher for a year in Yuwa's education program. They cheer whenever we announce classes on Saturdays, so you know they'll appreciate it.
Oh, and I've started another page on www.ketto.org/teacher-yuwa, an Indian crowdfunding site, for those who'd like to donate in INR.
Still on the fence? Check our those rad prizes below...
Organizer and beneficiary
Franz Gastler
Organizer
Minneapolis, MN
Yuwa India
Beneficiary