When a teenage girl living in a socially and economically difficult area of Cape Town becomes a young mother, she is thrust into bringing up and caring for a precious new life – and yet is often ill equipped to do so. However, if a young girl is well equipped for becoming a woman, she […]
Tag: self-esteem
Building resilience
Andy Jefferson asks: how do we protect our young people from those who would exploit them? The challenge of tackling exploitation can seem daunting. When we hear stories of young people being groomed or taken advantage of in some way, it can make our stomachs turn. And, as a youth worker, it can be heart-breaking […]
“I feel confident and believe I lack nothing.”
Join Devesh Lal on a journey to a slum in India’s poorest state to discover how Viva’s partner network is helping vulnerable girls to seek self-dignity and success, and to choose the course of their lives. Kamla Nehru Nagar is one of numerous slums in Patna, in the heart of the city – the capital […]
Please Like This Blog. My Self-Worth Depends On It.
BY HANNAH BARR What was your first experience of the internet? I don’t know if this was my first experience, but I remember being about nine or ten and having to do a school project on a European city and searching the web for everything it could tell me about Amsterdam. I proudly presented my […]
Lava Floors and Magic Helmets
BY HANNAH BARR At Doorsteps, we’re now a few weeks in to the second year of running Find Your Fire, our youth leadership development programme. We’ve had such a strong start to the year and have been really blown away by how much interest and enthusiasm there has been for the project from young people, […]
Freedom for girls in India
Thanks to Viva supporters, we raised £30,000 for our Christmas Match Appeal to bring new hope and freedom to girls who face violence, harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse because of their gender. In India, the ‘Dare to be different’ mentoring programme run by our partner networks is turning around the lives of hundreds of girls. […]
Empowering Patna’s girls
BY ANDREW DUBOCK It leaves a lump in my throat and a knot in my stomach. Poverty at its most raw: unstable shelters deep in stagnant water, malnourished babies, hundreds of people accessing one well of unclean water, children with leprosy. It’s particularly hard to hear about the situation for girls, who are most […]
Girls make a journey of self-discovery
BY ANDREW DUBOCK “I wish I was a boy.” Akansha’s words stuck in my head, as I grappled with the question: ‘how could any girl think like this?’ Yet Akansha’s thoughts are not isolated – according to a survey by the government’s Ministry of Women and Child Development, almost half of girls in India have […]
More than a dowry: India’s girls’ real value
In India, almost two-thirds more girls than boys die before their fourth birthday.* Jane Travis explains why such a low value is placed on girls’ lives there, how Viva is changing attitudes towards gender inequality and building confidence in India’s precious daughters. “It’s a girl!” Three simple words pronounced at birth that should evoke tears […]
Breaking new ground in Indian girls’ lives
‘Abortion’ was today’s topic. As the 30 teenage girls passed around model foetuses, and listened to the teaching, I soon discovered that most had never heard about babies’ development before – and some of the group were on the verge of adulthood.