“A New Way to Change the World by Changing Yourself”

Objective:

To enhance awareness of health and education among beedi worker families and raise awareness among adolescent girls about the prevention of child marriage and child sexual abuse, to educate them on menstrual hygiene, and to help them develop soft skills.

Description:

The programme is active in ten villages of Jhajha, working to connect children to schools, conduct health and eye camps, promote nutritional awareness, and organize adolescent girl groups for empowerment.

Key Challenges:

  • Low wages and hazardous work environments jeopardize health and education. Beedi workers receive only minimum wages despite their hard work.
  • High vulnerability to serious diseases, with a tendency to rely on traditional practices (jhar-funk) rather than proper medical treatment.
  • Nearly 80% of girls are engaged in beedi making, leaving them deprived of quality education. Cultural and social barriers hinder girls’ educational progress. Children grow up in a work-oriented environment rather than an educational one.

Key Activities:

  • Identify never-enrolled and dropout children and ensure their enrolment and retention in school.
  • Increase children’s interest in reading by forming children’s book
  • Strengthen the Village Education Committee (VEC) by organizing regular
  • Organize free health check-up camps and facilitate treatment for seriously ill individuals at government hospitals.
  • Continuously raise awareness among beedi workers about better healthcare
  • Conduct regular meetings and training sessions for adolescent girls to raise awareness, educate them on key issues, and develop soft skills.

Key Achievements:

  • Enrolled 514 children in school and ensured their continued
  • Formed 16 adolescent girls’ groups and created awareness on prevention of child marriage, child sexual abuse, health, and nutrition through regular
  • Organized a free eye check-up camp for 454 beedi workers, resulting in 27 free cataract operations.
  • Conducted free health check-ups for 136 beedi workers and connected 97 patients to government hospitals for treatment.
  • Developed soft skills such as leadership and mutual coordination among adolescent girls through training programs.
  • Improved access to schools for children of beedi workers.