Protsahan India Foundation

Meet Liza, an alumnus from our 2021-22 fellowship batch 🌻 Since the completion of the fellowship, she has been working at a Health & Wellness Company and gaining success at her job. Cheerful and outspoken, she mentored this year's fellows from time to time, too! 🌟

She says, "फेलोशिप के बाद मैंने मेरे अंदर और मेरे परिवार में काफ़ी बदलाव देखे है। अब मैं ज्यादा देर बाहर रह पाती हूं, और जो मैं चाहती हूं वो मैं ज़्यादातर कर पाती हूं।"

When we see her around, she is full of of life 💖We're glad to see her grow after the fellowship and support other girls around her!✨

About Protsahan's Girl Champion Fellowship Program: Our fellowship works on employability enhancement and leadership training among older girls in the underserved communities of Delhi, through key linkages and a curriculum that includes digital & financial education, communication skills, and civic participation.

Under this scholarship, children enrolled in class 9 who secured a minimum of 55% in class 8 results, and whose annual family income is less than INR 3.5 lakhs, are eligible to get a scholarship of INR 12,000 per month!

For Ritika, financial independence has translated into increased control over her movement in life 💫 Less than a year after finishing her fellowship, she has bought a scooty with the salary from her first job and is soaring around town on two wheels 🛵🧭

With a wide smile she shares, “Didi, I can now drive my mother to the market and ensure that my sisters reach their school safely.”☀️🌸

Her parents also say, “हमारी बेटी ने खुद खरीदी है ये स्कूटी, अपने पैसे से! हमें तो विश्वास ही नहीं हो रहा है कि रितिका अब इतनी बड़ी हो गई है कि खुद कमाने भी लगी है और इतनी तरक्की कर रही है!” ✨

She is currently employed as a Sales Executive at a bakery in Delhi. With diligence and hard work she pursued Protsahan's fellowship, our employability enhancement program that aims to provide key training at the last mile for older girls from underserved communities. Having accessed key linkages and a curriculum that prepares first generation learners for formal workplaces, she is thriving all around 🩷🌟🌸

Organ donors - women.
Organ recipients - men.

The experts in the study shared that women’s caregiving responsibilities extend to the point of even them being ‘expected’ to give their organs because of societal pressures. One transplant coordinator goes on to narrate how in 15 years of her career - only 1 husband came forward to give an organ to save his wife. Zoom in and read the article. Very very telling!

"ज़िंदगी में आपको बहुत पीछे खींचने वाली कई चीज़ें मिलेंगे, मगर आगे बढ़ने और उभरने के माध्यम कुछ ही। प्रोत्साहन के काम की वजह से मेरी बच्ची को आगे बढ़ने का मंच मिला। मैं उसे प्रोत्साहित करता हूँ कि वह अपने साथ अपने साथियों को आगे ले बढ़े।" - Neetu's father ✨🌸

His eyes were full of pride at his daughter's graduation, who after seven months of training at the fellowship is now working in Gurgaon and enrolled in higher education as well 💖 He says that when she was afraid to take up these paths, he stood by her side and actively encouraged her ☀️✔️

He has been speaking to kids in the neighborhood and getting them enrolled in our centers and digital education courses. We're glad to witness changes at the community level 🌻😊

About Protsahan's Girl Champion Fellowship Program: Our fellowship works on employability enhancement and leadership training among older girls in the underserved communities of Delhi, through key linkages and a curriculum that includes digital & financial education, communication skills, and civic participation.

Have a look at the graduation ceremony of Protsahan's Girl Champions fellows! We celebrated the completion of this year's program on a heartwarming afternoon, proud and joyful faces all around ☀️🌸

After a seven month long leadership training and employability enhancement program, where they studied digital and financial skills along, design thinking, business communication, and a lot more, our fellows are super prepared to take on the world ✨🌟💕

Over 75% of them are placed in formal workplaces, and all of them are enrolled in higher education programs. We're so excited for their journey ahead 🌷

Last quarter saw Protsahan caravan building stronger ❤️‍🩹 We are excited to welcome Jaswant Kaur, Mansi Mandhani, Mukul Rastogi and Dr. Amita Sharma in critical roles in our team. Ever so thankful for our funders, friends and colleagues who believe in us - एक साथ हम सब कुछ हैं।

Here’s to bringing some more care, rehabilitation and healing for the forgotten children in the world by strengthening families. ❤️‍🩹✨

“दीदी, जब हम कला का सहारा लेना सीख जाते हैं, तो कोई फ़रक नहीं पड़ता कि कौन हमारे साथ है या नहीं। हम ख़ुद में काफ़ी हो जाते हैं।” ❤️‍🩹✨

Adolescent migrant girls documenting their stories, their expressions and their stories of change, their way at Protsahan digilab. Using films, theater and design thinking in a manner for sustainable impact and mindset shift. 👥👥

Thinking of our mentors this and giving grace to them as they taught us how to fight over our own monsters 👺 and emerge victorious. .coach.anubha.bellani ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

As went by last week, we had the incredibly compassionate and playful duo of and facilitate a four-day workshop for 40 girls at our Girl Empowerment Centre ☀️🎈Our centre was a troupe of beaming, lively faces, as the girls engaged in activities like zine-making, rap, and peer-led learning games while simultaneously engaging with practices of advocacy, inclusivity, and self reflection for well-being 🧩🖍️

From reflection on key leadership traits 🙋 to inquiry into the crucial elements of safe civil spaces, the workshop encouraged our Girl Champions to cultivate the value-driven peer leader within themselves, all through play and experiential learning ☀️🩷✔️

Snaps from Protsahan's participation in the Delhi Half Marathon this Sunday! ☀️🏃🏅 Thanks to our supporters and volunteers for standing strong by us and cheering for our cause 🌟💕

We're all geared up to participate in the this Sunday! Join us in running against sexual and gender-based violence.

Taking a moment to celebrate a year of impact during ! 🌟 With arts-based healing, system linkages, employability enhancement, and access to safe spaces, we're working to make meaningful, comprehensive change for marginalized girls and their communities. Thank you for supporting our work! 🌸 "

This , we're looking back at the impact we've been able to make in a year, thanks to your support! 🌸🌟 From arts based healing for victims of sexual and gender-based violence, to life skills training intended to foster employability enhancement and increased agency, to system linkages that unlock key government benefits, our work intends to comprehensively support adolescent girls in breaking free from intergenerational cycles of poverty and violence ☀️ Thank you for being part of this process with us! 🌟🌸💕

We are on the lookout for proactive, collaborative individuals to join our team in ☀️🌸 If you want to work in the child development space at the grassroots level, check out these roles on our website! 🌟 Write in to us following the instructions highlighted in the job descriptions on our careers page.

Participate in the city's largest sporting event - run for us! We empower adolescent girls in underserved communities of Delhi through arts and system linkages. Support our cause! Click the link in bio to learn more.

It is a joy to speak about Protsahan’s Girl Champion Fellow Prerna's journey. Prerna enrolled into our fellowship program this year, and she knew with clarity and determination that she wants to pursue higher education. Her mother, an Anganwadi helper, was supportive and encouraging of her ambitions.

She applied to to study history full time, and received a 100% Scholarship!

She is presently in Bhopal, the first girl in her community to pursue higher education in a prestigious university outside Delhi. 🕊️

She writes, "Main mere samuday ki pehli ladki bani jo higher education ke liye Delhi se bahar aayi hai. Maine apne saath saath, apne parivaar ki sadsyon ki soch mein bhi ek parivartan laya hai." 💜🌈

Prerna is an enthusiastic and hardworking individual, and we are proud to congratulate her! We are hopeful that her successes open doors for the higher education of other girls in the community, too. 🌸🌟

We are delighted to talk about Protsahan Girl Champion Manya, who visited ISRO this year.

Manya is a bright young leader from one of Protsahan's centres. She hails from the slums of Uttam Nagar, and she loves science, mathematics, and technology.

Last year, on the International Day of the Girl Child 2022, Manya represented adolescent girls at the Conference on Skilling in Non-Traditional Livelihoods for Girls hosted by with support from .

Manya and her friend advocated for making preliminary investments at the government school level for girls to pursue STEM careers.

When Manya shared her dream of becoming an astronaut with Hon’ble Smriti Irani (). she was offered the chance to visit ISRO in Bangalore. We are so proud of our girl champion!

Manya is presently on track to pursue engineering and is studying diligently for entrance exams.

We're participating in the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon 2023 to further our mission against sexual and gender-based violence and childhood trauma.
Join us! The last date to register is 22 September.

Click the link in bio to learn more!

Community engagement at the grassroots level is integral to our goal of protecting as many children as possible.

Engagement with Anganwadi workers and community members enable us to create bustling, women-led spaces that challenge and break from a culture of silence.

We're delighted to participate in the Vedanta Half Delhi Marathon 2023 to further our mission of empowering adolescent girls facing sexual and gender-based violence.

Join us in giving a heartfelt shout-out to the incredible Eashan Kumar, a remarkable 12-year-old VDHM 2023 Young Leader who's not only running but has also raised a remarkable amount for our cause. 🌸

Eashan’s goal is to reach 1 Lakh in his fundraising efforts. Let's come together to amplify his efforts! 💜

You can contribute to Eashan's fundraiser and be a part of this meaningful endeavor through the link mentioned in our bio. Else, simply scan the QR code in this post to make your donation! 🌟

Please join us in congratulating Nishtha who beautifully finished the program : Women Lead Fellowship. Nishtha supports Programs and Partnerships at . We’re so delighted in seeing her shine and advocate for holistic empowerment of migrant girls wherever she goes and in whatever she sets her heart to.

This outstanding fellowship, in collaboration with Reliance Foundation and Vital Voices, handpicked 50 accomplished Indian women leaders, who are actively engaged in addressing pressing socio-economic issues across key domains:

🌾 Rural Transformation: Pioneering sustainable solutions for comprehensive community development.
📚 Education: Bridging gaps to ensure access to quality education for all.
⚽ Sports for Development: Empowering youth through the medium of sports, fostering lifelong learning.
🎨 Arts, Culture & Heritage: Upholding and promoting India's vibrant cultural legacy.

Development sector like these not only recognize excellence but also serve as pathways for , self-reflection, and expanding one's horizons.

What do the young girls want?

Young friends and role models for Protsahan girls are fighting for gender equality globally, like Shamma from Bangladesh (graphics by Andra Pippins, reposted from Malala Fund and UNGEI Feminist Coalition.) Read our blog and notes from the field on the website, to know what our girl champions have been upto!

As an organization, next 6-months seem like so much is happening and we are excited - also a little tired 😴 - but we are not stopping for now 🙂🙂 (Rest is revolutionary in feminist context and we know that long weekends are coming!!) 😁 ❤️

Things that speak to us on random days on random walls in random nooks at Protsahan. Made with love ❤️ from a little artist to all of us! ❤️‍🩹

We’re so happy to share that at the recently held 'Future of Work: Industry 4.0, Innovation, and 21st Century Skills' conversation organized by .bharat and the Department of Youth Affairs, Government of India, Nishtha Kapoor from shared the incredible stories and voices of Protsahan India Foundation's Girl Champions, because when girls go to school, college, and formal workplaces, they not only uplift themselves but also lift their entire family out of poverty.

The Y20 brainstorming session was a platform to discuss the changing job landscape in India and the crucial efforts needed to build a future-ready workforce, with a special focus on enabling young girls to enter the workforce.
In Nishtha’s words, “It was a great experience to learn from the insights and initiatives shared by my fellow panelists, who are driving impactful work in the future of work.”

“आओ मैम देखो, मैंने गीली माटी से दिल और neuron को कैसे ख़ुद बनाके बेहतर समझा! हूँ ना मैं awesome!” 😀😀😀
Everyday behind the scenes of how art & system linkages empower the migrant girl champions at Protsahan 📸❤️‍🩹🎭📖💻 in Education, Healthcare and Skilling opportunities holistically.

Hum hain sikander!! 😃 Meet our 2023 girl champions fellowship cohort! 👩‍🎓 These incredible young learners are embracing knowledge, confidence, and sense of self worth. Across our girl empowerment centers for migrant girls in slums the girls who were left behind are finding access to education, healthcare and skilling opportunities in a model of authentic impact along with critical linkages to government schemes and benefits. To know more please visit our website, volunteer, donate or spread a word!

Hyperlocal classroom campaigns to fight because . Protsahan reaches out to 81,000 girls and their families annually through Arts and System Linkages.

In a conversation with representatives from , .foundation and Antara International at the philanthropy conference today all day, our founder Sonal Kapoor will spotlight questions about Monitoring and Evaluation from a lens of feminist justice and wellbeing. We’ll also be sharing more about our work using arts and system linkages for children at the last mile. Catch us all day at the if you’re around.

Just Protsahan girls being well…. Just Protsahan girls 🙂 Today was one of those days when we mark birthdays of atleast 6-8 girls together. It’s important to celebrate girls. Oftentimes they tell us, that their brothers are celebrated but not them. Our grassroots creative youth peer leader has decided to change that! Here’s a happy picture of celebration.

Masquerades disclose the reality of souls. As long as no one sees who we are, we can tell the most intimate details of our life. That’s when we heal with caring circles of sisters and caregivers.

Every once a while we will share some of those moments that shaped the DNA of our organization over the last 13 years. The good, the bad, the ugly. It’s important for our online community to understand us as people, before as an institution itself. To know more please check the official website - Team Protsahan

Magic ke peeche ka logic! campaign at is involving migrant girls who are first generation learners to innovate with to solve local problems within local contexts. Over 200 girls from 83 slums are participating and creating prototypes for mini-refrigerators 🧊,anti-accident alarms 🚨, devices to report gender based crimes. Once again you ask how old are they?? Well… they are 11,12,13……. across our innovation labs in slums 🌺✨✨
Shoutout to people and communities who fuel the dreams of our girls: .india 🌺🌺

Digital and financial literacy in action for the most marginalized adolescent girls - because power imbalance with patriarchy comes in many subtle ways, recognizing and undoing it - starts at Protsahan’s Girl Empowerment Centers.

Photography as therapy classes at where learning and magic come together with self confidence and making our voices heard. Or as says, “Every Monday, I start my week with the little girls of Protsahan, where we come together to learn and heal through art and storytelling. The girls are learning photography here, but I have no doubt, they will go far and beyond the skills they learn here.

Protsahan rescues at-risk girls from violence and abuse; and with their H.E.A.R.T. model, bring an environment of healing and empowerment through art and technology to these little ones.

Their corridors echo with rekindled innocence which then grows into healing, to empowerment, into finally a battle cry for a world that systematically seeks to take it away from these girls. But they are now fierce and can make their own choices. The photo below is clicked by a girl from my first photography batch at Protsahan from 7-8 years ago. She is now gainfully employed and forging a life on her own terms. That’s encouragement. That’s Protsahan.

Art has the potential to not just heal but to empower. When they tap into their own consciousness to create stories for everyone, that very personal process becomes a journey of self awareness, of recognising your own story and finding your own voice but also finding it in those who revel at those stories and are moved by it. A beautiful chain reaction where the child finds the artist in themselves to where the artist finds themselves in everyone around them. There is nothing more empowering than that. They feel infinite. That is exactly what happens in the corridors of Protshan.”

The Dahi cheeni ritual at Protsahan just before sitting for final exams continues even after 13 years….. 🌺 because every girl is special and deserves encouragement and a BEST OF LUCK!!! 🙂

If you’ve been a supporter of our work for children in crises settings, with a focus on supporting most vulnerable migrant girls by linking them to the critical government schemes and with creative arts based approaches - please share and spread a word and DONATE to Protsahan and save 50% tax. Every rupee matters in mainstreaming those children who otherwise will fall off the margins. ✅📖📚🎭

Senior leaders at Ernst and Young with those at Protsahan. In the coming months, will be working closely together with a fantastic team of experts from EY to strengthen the design of institutional processes at Protsahan and our program strategy to be able to more and more children at the last mile 🙂

In 2022-23, Protsahan’s girl empowerment center GEC02 focussed on strengthening digital skills of 1495 young migrant girls.
These girls who are first generation school goers need handholding, guidance, sisterhood and strong networks to thrive in the workplace environment. So that’s what they get at Protsahan 📖💻 Brilliant shoutout to our master IT coach who leads this vision in the migrant communities, training girls from Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Haryana in slums of Delhi.

Team Protsahan at and Young Innovators Challenge at Guwahati - a wonderful platform for marginalized adolescents to gain skills for a career in STEM! Our team along with 5 girl champions had a blast of a learning experience that was done in 3 phases:

☀️Phase 1: The STEM hackathon for 120 students for 2 months which involved students thinking of innovative ways to solve community problems they see around them.

☀️Phase 2: An accelerated and intensive workshop on Let'sMOD to enable the students to model their solutions on a digital platform.

☀️Phase 3: A big bang finish with an experiential 3-day retreat for 20 top students in Guwahati! A batch of 5 of Protsahan girl champs made it to the top! 🏅🏅 So incredibly thankful to Srichandana and Shradha and their wonderful teams for making this experience possible for so many amazing young people.

Fellowship application forms are OPEN!! 🤩🤩 40 girls will be selected to undergo this rigorous and amazing leadership program. ARE YOU READY? 📚📖🔬🎭🏅

Protsahan’s flagship fellows program enables first generation school going girls 17-21 years of age from historically marginalized communities who are just beginning to make a transition from finishing school towards higher education or skilling or jobs to be supported at the beginning of their professional journeys of what can be immensely successful careers. A little bit of handholding, birthing networks, trainings and duniya mein khud ko khojne ki ser 🙂 We are so incredibly grateful for the support of our funding partners and donors that make this work possible.