Empower Young Women to be Leaders, India

February and March were busy months for WEP Leadership Academy students in Madurai, Ramanathapuram and Hyderabad.

Students at  the Madurai Center were offered courses  in Tally and Advanced Tally (business acounting software) they participated  in sessions on topics including a current affairs class on  fundimental rights, Adolescents: communication and relationsips, the neuroscience of happiness, dealing constructively with criticism, and mental health post COVID19.  They attended a workshop on Women and Society, which included information on cyber saftey.

Students also  honed their leadership skills planning and conductiong club meetings for the Technology, Financial, Language, and Dance and Sport clubs. 

At the Ramanathapuram Academy, Students participated in classes on spoken English and  civics. 

Students from the Madurai and Ramanathapuram Academies came together for an in person celebration of  Annual Day - a special tradition of the Madurai Academy. They participated in a joyous celebration of song, dance, games and speakers on topics of Women's Empowerment- including alumnae returning to share their expereinces. 

In Hyderabad, Students have been maintaining active book clubs in 10 different villages, and they  they participated in storytelling sessions on World Sparrow day, World Water Day, and International Women's Day. 

They have continued their cycling project-  riding a bicycle daily from the academy to their homes- they've also been teaching other village girls to cycle- and sharing their knowledge of the benefits of cycling to their health and the environment with village boys as well! 

42 Hyderabad students are now cultivating home gardens of pesticid- free vegatables, fruit, flowers and medicinal plants. They have been stydying pollinators, natural pest control methods, and composting, adding to the success of their efforts. 5 students from the program are also rearing chickens- which, along with the gardens have become  good micro businesses for them and their families.  

In March, Hyderabad students participated in sessions on womens reproductive health, ocupational therapy and physical therapy, which ended with a visit to a local hospital.  They completed community mapping activities, identifying essential services and learning about volunteerism and creating community solutions. They also  participated in sessions on facing critical situations, and making the right decisions. 

To celebrate International Womens Day, among other activities,  Hyderabad students spoke to their own parents about Gender Equality. K., an intermediate 1st year student, shared that she spoke to her mother about equality between the genders, and convinced her mom that she is not interested in early marriage, and wants to study and work. 

December Monthly Report from Hyderabad Program 

Written by WEP Leadership Academy Program Assistants (Academy Alumnae) 

At WEP-Hyderabad program have different college students coming to us at different timings so we have grouped them into thee different batches throughout the day. The first batch girls are degree students from three area colleges.  For the second batch girls who are coming from distant villages, are girls for whom we have taken special permission from the college management to come to our center at 3:10.  Girls who are studying professional courses they came at 4:10 pm and who stay in the surrounding government hostels.  Daily we have an average attendance of 50 to 70 girls.

Daily Activities:  Every day the students are doing meditation for minutes, voice training and exercise. Then they read newspaper in their groups. 

Leadership Academy: The different trainings that we have given in December month was on World Soil Day event on 5th, where we also gave training on soils. This comes under the kitchen garden activity and now 12 girls have started the kitchen garden and other girls are also planning to start.  We are following up where we find out how many have understood about soils and its importance.  We have given them assignments to identify what kind and quality of soils are there near their homes. We following earlier training on medicinal plants we are following up on that. We are teaching the new students about medicinal plants to those girls who are unable to attend the session. The next one we gave on the “Time Management “under the leadership certificate, we followed the same procedure.  We gave them assignments for personal time lines each student has to make a day time line and weekly time line. They will do a monthly time line in the month of January.  

Book Club:  They take up a book and read them loudly to find out the meaning of the new words and write down the new words in their notebooks.  On Saturdays each of the students selects their books and doing the village book club activities at their home, 12 of the girls have started their book club activities.  All the different groups are have a different day for the book club activity at the center.  Every group takes up a book and find out the different words that are there and its meaning talk about it loudly this is specifically to improve their communication and dramatizing skills and to build up their confidence.   

Visit to the Book Fair:  National Book Fair on 25-12-2021 – Hyderabad, 14 students were taken to the book fair in the city we spent about 1 o clock to 3:30 pm.  The girls visited many stalls bought some books and they browsed through many books at the stalls., The girls were very surprised to see so many books available at one place and so many people that they were interested in reading and it was interesting they had never visited a Book Fair before.  They felt that they must also read regularly. For they were never taught that reading books is very important.

Multi level Garden: In the kitchen garden activity 12 girls have started and they are growing their gardens well.  The Program Assistants are regularly giving them points to improve their gardens with different varities of vegetables and also about natural pest control methods and composting.  Another group of girls are learning to start their gardens.  One student made a chart of all the medicinal plants which we learnt in the training, another distributed lemon grass to all the students.

Cycle club: Cycles have been taken from the last year Academy girls are now will be given to current students.  They will make arrangements to park the cycles near the bus stop and when they return in the evening from the center they will ride the cycle to their homes in the villages. The distance from the bus stop is 2 Km so they find it difficult to go home by walk in the evening.  On Sundays the two girls have volunteered to teach other girls in the villages to ride cycles.

Peer study: We are started peer study groups in the villages and in the center.  Now we have 24 peer study groups. 

Library: Library Days at the center is on Friday and Saturday for the different groups, they have to spend time to read books and discuss in their groups and select books to take with them for the village book club activities, 24 girls have started their bookclub activities near their homes on Sundays. Every Friday and Saturday it’s a library day they have to read books and discuss in their groups then they have selects books from their book club activity.

Learning a skill: We have two sewing machines at the center. The 2020-2021 Academy students are teaching the new girls how to cut and stitch sanitary pads, masks and dresses. The girls are using the material of old curtains and sheets of the center.

Nutrition: The Program Assistants are preparing the nutrition porridge and also we give groundnuts and green gram to the girls alternately. We are maintaining a register for the girls to sign when they come for nutrition. 

Fish farming: The former girls continuing to grow their fish and we are monitoring that. Three students have harvested their fish from the tank after their fish had grown to 1 kg weight. 

Chicken Rearing: The 3 new students have started rearing chickens after we spoke to them about chicken rearing it’s a good micro home based business.

Art & Craft: The some girls have made some hangings with thread and cardboard sheets and papers.

Health: We took the girls 65 girls for a health and medical camp at a nearby hospital and the registration fee was 100 RS for each girl. The doctors gave them good diagnostic attention and asked them to go for further treatment according to their problems.  Many of the girls have menstruation, allergies, thyroid, back pain, dental problems etc.

House visits: We completed 41 house visits to the new student’s homes. House Hold Questionnaire example given below.

1. Student's Age:17
2. Level of Education: Intermediate 1st year
3. Occupation: Studying
4. Who are the numbers of the household?: Three members
5. Who is the earning member? Mother
6. Monthly budget -7000 RS

• Some of the parents have seen a lot of change in their daughters they are feeling that they are confident and communicating well with their parents.  During the house visits we have told the students (with their parents present) that they have to complete the assignments and submitted at the center.

Report Approved by Director