Child Rights, Protection, and Development

Child marriage is still common in rural Jharkhand. Since 2019, our Girls First programme, supported by the Girls First Fund, has worked to end it in Potka Block. Girls meet in village groups, learn about their rights and support each other to stay in school. A girl-led advocacy network (APGR) spots planned child marriages early and works with families, panchayats and officials to stop them.

• 5,278+ girls reached
• 47 child marriages prevented
• 30 villages in Potka Block

Health and Nutrition

Many young children in our villages do not get enough to eat. In our village nutrition centres, children under five get a glass of warm milk and biscuits every day.

• 232 children fed daily across our centres
• Food relief for 150 Sabar and poor tribal families (rice and dal)
• School uniforms for all children in the centres
• Sessions on adolescent health, menstrual hygiene and sexual and reproductive
health for girls

Women Rights & Empowerment

We support women's collectives across 15 panchayats of Potka Block. Women, including Dalit, Adivasi and disabled women, learn about their legal rights and take their demands to panchayats and the district administration. As a partner in the Women Gaining Ground consortium led by CREA, YUVA pushed for better One Stop Centres for women survivors of violence in Jharkhand. Our state-level advocacy contributed to real improvements
in these centres in 2025.

Adolescents and Youth Rights & Empowerment

When a girl steps onto a football field in a village where girls rarely play in public, something changes — for her and for everyone watching.

• Girls' football teams across Potka villages since 2019, with village tournaments growing from 8 to 16+ teams.
• Coaching camps and exposure visits with Soccer Foundation India and Jamshedpur FC
• Football teams for Sabar children
• Girls' street-play (nukkad natak) team and child reporters in each village
• Leadership camps and Kishori Manch

Gender Discrimination and Violence

We work to change the attitudes that allow violence against women and girls.

• International Girl Child Day (Balika Diwas) rallies every year since 2012
• 16 Days of Activism against gender violence, every year since 2019
• A district Gender Mela (2024) with street plays, poster making and a film made by girls, attended by over 200 people
• District events with officials on workplace sexual harassment, POSH committees, disability and trans inclusion

Livelihood Promotion

We help families, especially women, earn a steady and dignified income.

• Training in goat rearing, pig breeding and fish culture
• Pond excavation and nutrition gardens for household food and income
• Skills and enterprise support for young women
• Linking families to government livelihood schemes
, including MGNREGA

Community Organization and Leadership Development

Lasting change needs strong local institutions. We build women's collectives, girls' groups and village committees, and work with elected women representatives and Gram Sabhas. Rani Sardar, a young woman from Kowali panchayat, was elected ward member in 2022. As acting Mukhiya, she challenged unequal wages for women.

Networking and Advocacy

We take what we learn in villages to district, state and national forums.

• Member of Girls Not Brides and the Girls Opportunity Alliance Network
• Partner in the Women Gaining Ground consortium (CREA, Akili Dada, IWRAW Asia-Pacific)
• State-level consultations in Ranchi on disability access and One Stop Centres
• Regular interface meetings between communities and government officials