Project Prayas

Being a socio-economically backward District, Balangir is defamed for its abject poverty, persistent drought, distress migration, trafficking of girls & women and gender inequalities. Balangir town, the district headquarter has 10 listed slums within the Municipality region. Around 40% of the families in the slums are ultra-poor, those who solely depend upon wage employment to maintain their families. The situation of adolescent girls of these families is horrible, forcing them to work as domestic labourers, engage in unethical work, and be abused & exploited in the communities. 

They are conditioned to believe that they are inferior and subordinate to men. Sons are idolized and celebrated. The patriarchal mind often enforces helplessness and invisibility upon girls as they grow up. With the onset of puberty, restrictions are put upon the mobility and activities of girls while their counterparts enjoy more freedom and privileges. The girl child is still discriminated against from the moment of birth, through her childhood, adolescence and into her womanhood. Girls are often forced into household work and sibling care, school dropout and low education attainment, domestic labourer, child marriage and early childbearing, trafficking for sexual exploitation, and risk of discrimination. 

The Project will take a three-pronged empowerment approach for adolescents, comprising scholastic support, vocational skill training and life skills education.

It will support out-of-school girls to re-enrol in school and distance learning programmes, especially for class 10th exams.

The project will train adolescent girls in vocational skill to enter into the formal job market and fosters entrepreneurship through innovative projects suited to the local context, like a Beauty parlour course, Salesgirls, Electric Auto Driving etc.

 Cutting across both the scholastic and vocational skills courses is life skills training, which will help the girls build their confidence, agency, and understanding of how to successfully overcome the challenges they face in their daily lives.

• At least 50 adolescent girls enable to access second-chance education through remedial coaching and distance course.
• A least 90 adolescent girls equip with life skills and vocational skills to be self-reliant and have economic independence.
• Domestic Child labour, Sexual exploitation and early marriage incidents will reduce substantially.
• At least 50 adolescent girls will equip with alternative livelihood skills, and they will establish micro-enterprises which contribute to their family income.