Clubs will empower adolescent girls through education, health awareness, and social & life skills-building
NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 24, 2025: Adolescence is a critical developmental phase marked by various challenges and opportunities. It is a period when an individual lets go of a safe hold on childhood and reaches out for a firm grasp on adulthood. It is a phase of intense physiological and psychological transformation where teens are exposed to the most vulnerable and susceptible conditions, which could steer them to unhealthy and risk-taking behaviours. However, with proper guidance, it will help them to explore their strengths and talents, and conquer their dreams.
On 5 October 2024, the first Adolescent Girls Club under Mission Shakti was launched at Don Bosco Higher Secondary School, Wokha, Nagaland with 50 adolescent girls as its members. Such adolescent’ girls’ clubs are formed at both government and private schools for girls in the age group of 10-19 years.
The Mission of the “Adolescent Girls’ Club” Wokha with the motto “Live the Promise” is to empower adolescent girls through education, health awareness, and social and life skills building to become confident, informed and compassionate leaders of tomorrow.
The clubs are formed in Nagaland with the following objectives:
- Empowerment: To equip adolescent girls with skills, knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions.
- Education: To provide access to resources that enhance academic performance and life skills.
- Health awareness: To promote awareness about reproduction, health, risky sexual behaviour, effects of substance abuse, nutrition, and mental health.
- Leadership development: To cultivate leadership skills through workshops and mentorship programmes.
- Social well-being: To encourage participation in community service projects to develop a sense of belonging and responsibility.
Activities such as workshops and training, mentorship programmes, health camps, community projects, and creative expression workshops are being focused on helping adolescent girls foster their strengths and talents.
A special adolescent Tool Kit to serve as a guide for adolescent girls, and parents is in the process of publication. Teachers and counsellors work on different IEC materials related to adolescent girls such as MHH, mental health, teenage pregnancy and its impact, child abuse and its prevention, helpline numbers, etc., for it to be distributed to adolescent girls. It has also been decided to conduct monthly activities in the adolescent girls club to keep the members active and for them to discuss their concerns.
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