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Recent news about Yuwa

These School Girls From Jharkhand Put Their Remote Village Up On Wikipedia Huffington Post

A group of young village girls with enormous grit has put the tiny village of Hutup in Jharkhand on the map as a first baby step towards a giant purpose, fighting odds to demand their right to education. (Video)

Jharkhand rural girls get football training in Spain with Real Sociedad Hindustan Times

Eight girls and two boys from the NGO Yuwa returned home after a two-week trip to Spain for a football coaching course run by La Liga team Real Sociedad.

Yuwa School: Changing lives of Jharkhand tribal girls through sports New Indian Express

Programme run by US couple in Ranchi helps children from difficult backgrounds make fresh start through football, reports Ayantan Chowdhury.

Football a life-changer for these young Jharkhand girls Hindustan Times

In 2008, Franz Gastler founded Yuwa, a football institution, with the aim of combating child marriage and illiteracy among girls in and around Ormanjhi, a village on the outskirts of Jharkhand capital Ranchi.

Futebol é arma de ONG para lutar contra o casamento infantil na Índia Folha (Brazil)
Jharkhand teens pick up coaching skills from La Liga trainers Times of India
Rural Indian girls get discrimination-fighting tool: soccer Washington Post (Via Associated Press)
Real Sociedad trains Jharkhand girls Sportsstarlive
This organisation is helping girl children in Jharkhand villages combat child marriage and human trafficking YourStory
Young girls in rural Jharkhand are fighting discrimination with football The Hindu
From Jharkhand’s paddy fields to Bear glacier in Alaska, this shy teen has travelled far Hindustan Times
Here’s how Jharkhand’s young women inspired Australian cricketers Deccan Chronicle
Yuwa is hope ESPN
Inspiring visit gives Aussies perspective Cricket Network
WATCH: #IndVsAus: Australian players take time off to visit Ranchi NGO that helps young girls DNA India
Sports and social development – #IndiaMyWay Discovery Channel (India)
BookASmile: Changing lives through the power of entertainment and play Sunday Guardian Live
8 Things We Need To Do To Transform India Into A ‘Football Nation’ Youth Ki Awaaz
10 Jharkhand Footballers Walk Onto the Field With Spanish Club The Quint
The real-life ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ – The YUWA Project in India TIG Media
Satyamev Jayate S3 | Unsung Heroes | Ep on Sports | Girls, unlimited Satyamev Jayate
A visit to YUWA – IDIA Jharkhand Chapter IDIA Jharkhand Chapter (YouTube)

Yuwa uses girls’ team sports as a platform for social development in rural India. Founded in 2009, Yuwa is now one of the largest girls’ football programs in India, with 250 players, 150 of whom practice daily.

How football moved the goalposts for girls in rural India The Guardian
Sporting social change in strife-torn Indian states Aljazeera
Tribal teen scores a dream goal at Copenhagen The Telegraph

About Yuwa

Yuwa, which means "youth" in Hindi, works specifically with girls from impoverished families in rural Jharkhand, India—a place where girls are at risk of child marriage and human trafficking. It is a program that uses team sports and education to build character, confidence, and courage. It is a place where girls who don't yet know their worth can meet to compete, achieve goals, and create brighter futures. Yuwa prepares girls to break the cycle of poverty—permanently.

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Yuwa was founded in 2009 when American Franz Gastler moved to Jharkhand from Delhi, where he had been working as a business consultant, and witnessed the striking disparity between the lives of girls and boys. He began to help girls challenge this inequality through team sport and education.

What started with one team quickly grew to several hundred girls. Today, more than 300 girls play each day on Yuwa's teams, making it one of the largest girls’ soccer programs in India, with 90 percent of teams coached by young women. Teams play on unused agricultural fields and any flattened piece of ground they can find.

In 2015 Rose Thomson (now Rose Gastler) founded Yuwa School, a premier school to give girls the tools they need to become empowered citizens, discover their own identity, and prepare for admission to universities in India and abroad. Girls age 6 to 18 in Yuwa School are taught in English, learn from world-class educators from India and abroad, and are supported by a long list of dedicated volunteers.

What sets Yuwa apart? Girls in Yuwa gain the tools and support they need to truly take control of their own lives in the face of extreme adversity. We teach life and leadership skills, and then provide the opportunities to earn scholarships, respect, and income as coaches and mentors. Today, more than 30 girls in Yuwa have spoken at universities, TEDx events, and other conferences across India and around the world. Yuwa girls are inspiring girls in their communities, throughout India, and across the globe to know their own worth.

These girls know their worth.
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