Filmmaker Phil Borges travels to India to learn about an innovative education program called Udaan. It targets girls who missed out on education earlier in their lives. They not only master skills, but also find their voices and prepare to become leaders in their communities and nation.
...2000 by Bharti Enterprises — the parent company of Bharti Airtel Limited, India's largest telecom provider — to improve primary and secondary education in rural parts of the country, the fo…
...women's voice, leadership and participation; ending violence against women; ensuring women's full participation in conflict resolution; enhancing women's economic empowerment; and gender eq…
...depth and scope of gender inequality. To make greater progress, UN Women proposes a stand-alone goal to achieve gender equality, women's rights and women's empowerment that is grounded in h…
...her late father would be proud, Streisand, 71, pressed for gender equality in Israel. "It's distressing to read of women in Israel being forced to sit in the back of the bus, that Women of …
...by the country's one-child policy and campaigns to stress gender equality are undermined by provisions that allow families in rural areas to have a second child if the first is a girl. "Ric…
...women’s rights in Iran, including proposing new draft bills on women, establishing the country’s first Ministry of Women, and ensuring gender equality, including in relation to job opportun…
...attended school or left before completing the last grade of primary education. “When all children have access to a quality education rooted in human rights and gender equality, it creates a…
...2010; and 1,262 in 2011. In 2012, the number reached 1,632. In 2008, Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 900 cases and 1,040 minors were raped in the State in 2012. Lakshadweep is the only a…
...the Women Empowerment Package at their offices to achieve gender equality. The DCO said that there was a need to understand women’s rights to be able to protect them. He said that the city …
..."leans out" of the workforce. However, labor market differences in education and pay don't dictate that this be the mother as often as it is. And the discrepancies are not limited to child …
...of gender equality has to deal with issues pertaining to abuses of women and children, human trafficking, gender based violence scourge of HIV and AIDS etc. It is also incumbent upon the yo…
...UP, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and North-Eastern States. Besides poverty, lack of education, and accessible sources of credit forces poor parents to…
...overcome them. The most immediate and most pressing issue is human rights legislation protecting gender identity and gender expression. The Gender Equality Society of Saskatchewan (GESS) ha…
....They are facing the death penalty over a cartoon calling for gender equality and women's rights that was circulated on an electoral campaign poster last June. The cartoon features a group …
...promote and maintain equality of access to education as well as the enjoyment of the benefits of education by all its citizens”. 2. The United Nations Population Fund Declared that men and …
Association for India's Development is a volunteer movement promoting sustainable, equitable and just development. AID supports grassroots organizations in India and initiates efforts in var…
Supporting CARE is a powerful way to help women and families transform their lives, and 90 percent of CARE's expenditures go to poverty fighting programs.
$6 — will pay for one student's school materials for an entire academic year$16 — will provide one student's uniforms for an entire academic year$32 &mdash…
Greenheart Travel's volunteer program in the state of Rajasthan truly exemplifies our mission of social responsibility and personal growth. As a volunteer in India, you will have the chance to…
Of every 100 girls in rural India, only 18 will reach the 8th grade, and only one will complete high school.
TITLE
An uneducated girl risks a higher rate of maternal and child mortality, will likely marry before her 15th birthday, may never know her basic human rights.
PHIL BORGES [Documentary Filmmaker and Photographer]
Of the millions of children around the world who never get an education, the majority are girls. Chanmani is one of these girls. She's never seen the inside of a classroom. Her chores begin at four in the morning. Then, with her sisters, she spends a few hours making rope for the family business. Around eight, she heads to the rice fields, where she'll work until sundown. Chanmani's parents say they don't see the benefit of educating their daughters. Losing the girls' labor would be a hardship for their struggling family. Furthermore, it's customary for a girl to move away after marriage and become a part of her husband's family. Many parents conclude that educating a girl is just a poor investment.
TITLE
There are nearly 900 million illiterate adults in the world. Two-thirds are women.
PHIL BORGES
Beginning in 1999, India made a bold commitment to educate all children through grade six. I came to India to see how this developing country, with its huge, diverse population, was accomplishing this monumental task. Today, the number of schools has increased dramatically, but the capacity to deliver a quality education, still has a long way to go. I listened in on a group of mothers as they expressed their concerns. They weren't quite sure what their children were learning. They too wondered if the time diverted away from the daily chores, was really worth it. The classrooms I saw were overcrowded with children of all ages. As the students recited memorized lines, I began to understand some of the parents' concerns.
TITLE
Uttar Pradesh, India
PHIL BORGES
CARE is supporting India's historic commitment to education with a unique program called Udaan.
TITLE
Udaan: Accelerated Learning Camp
PHIL BORGES
Udaan was especially developed to reach older girls, who had missed out on an education. My first day visiting this exceptional program was a revelation. From the moment I entered the classroom, I was amazed by the students' engagement. Here I was, a Westerner, who they rarely see, poking around with a video camera, and I didn't disrupt their focus. I was told these girls come from some of the poorest families in India. Before Udaan, most had never seen a school. In just 11 months, they're brought up to a 5th grade level. I asked Vandana, one of the teachers, how this was possible.
VANDANA SRIVASTAVA [Udaan Instructor]
We employ a multi-track teaching method, and use games to make the learning fun. We not only teach reading, writing, and math, we [also] strive to teach them social skills, and make a space for them to express themselves. We want them to be critical thinkers, to be able to speak with confidence and voice an opinion. It's a very intense curriculum, but it works. Ninety-six percent of students finish Udaan, and 89 percent go on to secondary school or college. When the girls first get here, they are shy and unable to express their own thoughts. It's wonderful to see them, as they start to care for themselves, and assert their own ideas. Watching them begin to blossom is so exciting.
TITLE
Pinki Sharman, Udaan Graduate 1999
PHIL BORGES
Pinki was a graduate of the very first Udaan class and is now in college, and has her own apartment. This level of independence for a young single woman is extremely rare in her town.
PINKI SHARMAN
When I go home, all my friends ask me about college. They can't believe I can live alone. My life is so foreign to them. My best friend Shenasi's marriage was arranged when she was 14. She did not want to get married, and pleaded with her parents to let her study further. I told them I would give her my old books, but they didn't agree. Someday I want to be able to help the girls in my village go to school.
TITLE
Shailendri Sharma, Udaan Graduate 2004
PHIL BORGES
Like Pinki, Shailendri is an Udaan graduate. At first her parents were hesitant to send her away to school. Now they're amazed and proud of her new confidence and how well she speaks. Shailendri is about to graduate from grade 12, and taking a computer class after school.
RAM VATI [Shailendri's Grandmother]
In my day, girls did not get educated. I got married when I was 11, to someone chosen by my parents. Shailendri has changed so much. She has become a role model for other girls in our village. Now they want to go to Udaan.
PHIL BORGES
Today, the educational landscape across rural India is changing. Thanks to the government's commitment to education, and schools like Udaan. Udaan teaching methods, developed by CARE, are a model of success for classrooms all across India. But most importantly the Udaan graduates serve as shining examples to those in their villages who weren't quite sure why a girl needed an education.
TITLE
Shuman 17, Sonashri 18, Udaan Graduates 2004
TITLE
By 2015, CARE aims to help 10 million girls in 20 countries complete primary education and develop leadership skills. They, in turn, will be able to guide their families and communities out of poverty.
