Jharkhand ranks third in terms of child marriage in India. With this backdrop, Srijan Foundation (SF) is working to prevent child marriage in 20 villages of Palkot block of Gumla district and Ichak Block of Hazaribag. Our core beneficiaries are adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) within the age group 13 – 24 years with the aim of developing them as informed and empowered individuals.

The project focuses on two direct components outdoor sports i.e. Football and Knowledge building sessions. We use Football as entry points to mobilize girls belonging to underprivileged communities such as Schedule Caste, Scheduled Tribe, OBC such as Muslim community particularly from hard to reach areas through in/out school setting. We mobilize Adolescent girls and use spaces like schools and community through peer-to-peer learning methods to develop skills and cultivate their critical thinking so that they are able to recognize their agency and are in a better position to make informed choices when given the opportunity. Additionally, for the married AGYW, SF facilitates opportunities for healthy interactions particularly on family planning and birth spacing and interface meeting with the local health service providers.

We also work with VLCPC, SMC, VHSNC, VHND etc and community leaders, religious leaders, frontline workers and build their capacities on benefits of delaying marriage. We also have increased engagement with other community stakeholders, such as parents of the girls, Anganwadi workers, ASHA, ANM, teachers, panchayat members etc. to create a conducive environment by sensitizing them on the issues of AGYW.

• Community mobilization: To ensure active participation of AGYW using  platforms of  inter-generational dialoguing, Gram Sabha, VHND and one to one approach to interact and communicate with key influencers to generate awareness on the harmful impacts of child marriage.
• Engagement of Stakeholders: The project involves active engagement of various stakeholders from the village – Block – district level. Stakeholders like parents/Families, community leaders, religious leaders, PRI members, VLCPC, BLCPC, District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), Police, Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and all other key influencers are mobilized.
• SF also provides legal support to the victims and survivors of Child Marriage.
• SF also partners with various grassroots organizations working to abate Child Marriage and capacitate them on case management on child marriage.