Strikingly, Jharkhand is the top source for human trafficking in India - itself Asia's number one source for human trafficking, and is the world's third most profitable illicit activity after drugs and arms. The urgency of erasing inequities in opportunity is obvious. An estimated 30,000 people are trafficked from the state every year. Most are young women from tribal areas, illiterate and below poverty line (BPL).

It is a state of paradoxes, mineral rich – 40 percent of the nation's mineral wealth lies in Jharkhand – but miserably poor.  With a population of 27 million, it is home to nearly a tenth of the country's Scheduled Tribes. It is one of India's poorest states, with 44 percent below the official poverty line (nearly double the nation's average) and literacy hardly approaching 67 percent for men and 38 percent for women.

While living with a family of farmers during monsoon and teaching English at a village school, Yuwa's founder noted the following:

• While boys play, girls work, with few opportunities to leave the household. 
  
  
• The state of education - one of the very few chances girls have to get away from housework - is shameful. 
  
  
• Families send boys to private schools if they can afford it, while girls get sent to government school, or if they are lucky, a lesser private school. Focus group exercises during participatory rural appraisals (PRA) confirmed that 1) there is low levels of support and awareness by parents, 2) teaching methods and materials are stiff and uninteresting, and 3) sports programs tied to schools are nearly nonexistent. 

The villages of Jharkhand can seem worlds away – in access and opportunity – from densely populated, fast-growing metros like Bangalore, Delhi or Mumbai.  But young people here are enterprising, energetic, and capable, and offer up an ideal learning lab for youth-led community transformation.

Sports Illustrated India

Tehelka Highlights Yuwa

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

My Game is Beautiful

The My Game is Beautiful journey has continued to get press coverage in both India and the Netherlands. Franz and Willem are getting closer to reaching Switzerland, and their efforts have had a direct impact on numerous lives. Below are some of the clippings. De Pers Woensdag

Edina natives making a difference in rural India

Franz and Yuwa were recently featured in the Sun Current, the local paper in Edina, Minnesota (USA). The article highlighted Yuwa's initiatives and the Chicago Marathon runners fundraising efforts. Read the full article.