Yuwa Updates

Yuwa Holiday Event 2011 - Thank You

Thank-you for all who attended this year's Yuwa holiday event on December 22nd.

The event was a success, as we saw record attendance and had over 30 businesses involved in supporting the cause through the event! It was a great night of casino gaming, silent auction bidding and conversation among attendees.

Thank-you for your support throughout 2011 and we look forward to an even more successful 2012! Happy New Year from Yuwa!

Soccer players change lives of girls through sport

Joanna Lohman and Lianne Sanderson will be traveling to Jharkhand to visit Yuwa. Lohman and Sanderson have founded the JoLi Academy, a for-profit business that has a philanthropic bent. They are interested in spreading their talents and learning from Yuwa's success. Read more on ESPNW.

Read the article on ESPNW .

Jeb Brovsky, US soccer star, visits Yuwa in December

US soccer star and Peace Pandemic founder, Jeb Brovsky, recently completed a two day camp with Yuwa in December. The camp instructed the Yuwa members about soccer techniques, as well as educating the players about health, hygiene and physical fitness.

"Rukka girls to bend it like Brovsky" -The Telegraph.

"MLS player conducts football camp" - The Times of India

Yuwa attracts GlobalGiving.org permanent membership certification!

Yuwa SuperFans-

Thank-you very much for your support of Yuwa’s recent Global Giving August fundraising initiative.  With $5,650 raised through 80 unique donors in 30 days, Yuwa is now an official organization of the Global Giving network!  We could not have achieved this feat without generous donors such as yourself.  Not only will this have an immediate impact on the organization’s programs on the ground, but your donations will allow for continued growth through globalgiving.org for many years to come! 

Thank-you again and please stay tuned for updates on how things progress over in India!

Yuwa Documentary

A short film on Yuwa by an Indian film student. A sincere thanks to Mahindra & Mahindra for funding the film.

Yuwa India: Edina Grads Combat Poverty and Patriarchy

Yuwa was recently featured in Franz Gastler's hometown magazine. The article highlights the unique ground work Franz has been doing and how impactful the Yuwa model has been on the girls of Jharkhand.

Read the article here

Yuwa awarded $25,000 USD for winning Gamechangers

Yuwa has recently won an award to make a new football field with the help of a design team and 25K; this was awarded by GAMECHANGERS. Gamechangers is a campaign run by Architecture for Humanity and Nike Inc. to empower youth through sports by proposing programs that spur social and economic development in a community.

Gamechangers Homepage

View Yuwa's entry

Yuwa now an official Registered Society in India

As of January 20th, 2011, Yuwa is now a recognized organization in India. A special thanks to Franz and Steve for accomplishing this monumental progression in the young life of our organization.

Be the Change: Save a Life (an ABC News Initiative)

Read Franz's winning essay submission on Yuwa's Sita. Be the Change: Save a Life is a global health initiative to bring attention to today's most pressing health challenges, and to inspire people to act.

Yuwa receives more coverage in Outlook Business Magazine

Through a hub-and-spoke model, Yuwa is building a cadre of 100-plus female community sports leaders who will be coaching 2,000 girls daily in three years. But two houses have sprung up on the girls' primary field in just the past year. While the number of players has soared, the playing field has shrunk by a quarter. The state government has offered Yuwa one of the last pieces of land in the area which has not yet been sold off to land agents. The grant would be applied to transform this into a training hub to support Yuwa's growing number of more remote village grounds. Read the full proposal sponsored by Yuwa

When Poonam Toppo, 17, from Yuwa's first team got engaged, she insisted the coaches talk to her fiancé and make him understand why football was important to her. Her fiancé, Rajesh Oraon, says today, 'I will not pull her off the pitch. If that's what pleases her, I have no problem.'

UPDATE:

A month after getting married and moving to a new village (Hesatu), Poonam, now 18, organized three new teams of girls. Since August, 85 girls have joined. Congrats to Poonam!

Sports Illustrated India

Tehelka Highlights Yuwa

Yuwa receives stamp of approval from The United Nation Fund for Women!

The United Nation Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has given Yuwa and its strategy 'for growth a firm stamp of approval.

Spotlight Stories

A year after Yuwa's foundation there have been many successes, but we wanted to share a few that really stood out. Click the links below to access the individual stories: